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Maddy was sitting at one end of Jonathan’s sofa nursing a cup of tea. He’d invited her over so that they could talk through the loose ends of their latest case which she’d been struggling to make enough sense of for a future reader of her book. The twists and turns didn’t easily bend themselves into a few thousand words and she was trying to figure out what elements she could remove without making it nonsensical. Talking it through with Jonathan like this always helped her because his logical brain spotted any glaring plot holes immediately if the story was altered.
They’d come to an agreement on how it could be presented and Maddy had spent the last twenty minutes or so writing up a new outline in a notebook nestled on her lap. In the meantime, Jonathan had made them both a cup of tea then settled himself at the other end of the sofa with the day’s paper, catching up on the news. He was vaguely aware that the scratching of Maddy’s pen had stopped, and he could tell she was gearing up to say something. It put him on edge immediately and he grasped the paper a little more tightly.
“So I’ve got a date at the weekend,” she said with a hint of a challenge in her voice. “A guy I met in the pub last night with the girls. Came straight up to me and asked for my number.”
“Good for you,” he said, eyes focused on the paper in front of him, refusing to let her see the frustration he felt whenever she brought up other men.
Not managing to get a rise out of him, Maddy carried on. “His name’s Matthew. He’s a doctor. Imagine Jonathan, someone that saves lives rather than chopping women up into bits or setting them on fire.”
Jonathan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Is there a reason you’re telling me this?” he asked tersely.
“I just thought you might be interested. In my life. We are supposed to be friends, after all.”
He should have known from the way she laced the word ‘friends’ with poison as it left her mouth that nothing good could come from replying to her, but he simply couldn’t help himself; he was so used to their loaded dialogue that he was incapable of biting his tongue and allowing her a perceived win.
“I don’t think friends attempt to make the other jealous though, do they?”
Despite – and because of - Jonathan’s words being frustratingly accurate, Maddy’s eyes narrowed and she immediately shot a response back to him. “Jealous? Oh please. What on earth would be the point in that? You’ve made it abundantly clear you’re not interested.”
He bristled at that, more annoyed at himself than at her that he wasn’t able to get the message across that he might, possibly, maybe want something to happen between them.
“Right. Of course I have,” he spat defensively.
Her eyes filled with a mix of anger and sadness. “Sometimes I don’t even think you like me, Jonathan.”
“Sometimes I don’t,” he flung back at her viciously without thinking, the horror of what he’d said hitting his face moments after the words left his mouth.
“I didn’t mean that,” he said immediately, but it was already too late. Maddy was storming off down the stairs and within a minute he heard his front door slam as she thundered towards her car.
The windmill creaked in the wind as if sighing at the events currently taking place in its interior and surrounds.
“Bollocks,” Jonathan announced to the empty room, trying to anticipate the chess game that would inevitably follow this bust up, and which move would be the most sensible to make next. Belatedly he realised that he hadn’t heard her car engine start and there may be a possibility that he could stop her before she left, so he ran down the stairs and launched himself out of the front door.
He came to a halt in front of the car when he saw her sitting stock still in the driver’s seat with tears glistening on her cheeks, a look of complete resignation on her face. As soon as she realised he was there, she thrust the key into the ignition and turned the engine on, readying to leave.
Jonathan positioned himself between the car bonnet and the gate, questioning whether he’d still be alive in five minutes’ time as she put her foot on the accelerator and drove towards him, warning him to get out of the way or else.
She stopped with two inches to spare, his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said,” he called out, seeing that her window was open so at least his words would be heard.
“Get out of the way, Jonathan.”
“Not until you talk to me.”
She revved the engine, causing him to jump backwards. “Get out of the way,” she repeated, ice in her tone.
“No.” He took a step forward and placed both hands on the bonnet. “If you won’t talk then I will.”
Maddy looked at him with daggers in her eyes, but took her hands off the steering wheel, put the car into neutral and crossed her arms in front of her.
“I wish you would stop trying to make me jealous.”
Maddy balked at his words and forgot that she wasn’t supposed to be speaking to him. “I am not trying-“
“-Fine,” he cut her off. “Making a point, then. Whatever you want to call it.”
She glared at him.
He wasn’t sure whether it was the sight of her crying, the thought that maybe this time she might leave for good if he didn’t summon up some courage, or his own stubbornness needing to get through her own bloody-mindedness, but for the first time he decided to simply be honest. He looked at her levelly through the windscreen. “Of course I don’t want you to go on that date.”
“Why not?” she challenged.
He walked around the car and reached in through the open window, turning the keys in the ignition. The car sputtered to a stop as she looked indignantly at him. Then he opened the door and offered his hand. She took it warily, allowing him to pull her up to stand alongside the car before he pushed the door shut.
“You are infuriating,” he said, watching as anger and disbelief bloomed across her face and she made a move to get back into the car again, having expected him to say something conciliatory rather than combative. He quickly grasped the hand reaching for the door handle and held it tightly, stepping further forward into her space and now holding both of her hands in his.
“You are impossible,” he continued, looking into her eyes as she froze from being in such an unexpected scenario with him, unsure what he was planning. He shot her a warning look as she opened her mouth to speak before he carried on.
“And you are insufferable beyond belief.” He took another step forward, his body inches from hers, and his gaze lowered to her lips before settling back on her eyes, confusion and a hint of fear visible in their depths.
“But for some inexplicable reason, I’d really prefer to keep you to myself.” Maddy noted the seriousness in his eyes as she absorbed the words which he left hanging in the air for only a moment before leaning in to kiss her. It was the barest touch of his lips to hers to start with, but soon he was pressing her against the side of the car, kissing her senseless, one hand sliding into her hair, the frustration from their conversation finding its outlet.
Maddy didn’t know what to make of it, this being the first time that Jonathan had been the one to initiate a kiss between them, but very quickly all thoughts blew away with the summer breeze. She concentrated only on the feel of his body pressed tightly against hers, the fingers cradling her head and the soft, warm lips on hers which were thoroughly exploring her mouth and causing a pool of heat to swirl in her core.
Then, all of a sudden, the weight of his body was gone and he was almost halfway across the garden before she knew what was happening. He turned to face her, his cheeks flushed and his eyes as dark and inviting as she’d ever seen them.
“Are you coming back inside then, or not?” he called with an almost-convincing aloofness, spinning on his heels again and striding towards the door without waiting for an answer.
Maddy didn’t need to be asked twice.