Chapter 18: Ethan POV - The Party
The whole week Maddie did nothing but ignore me. I kept calling her and even texting her, but nothing was working. I still don't know what I did wrong. It was already Friday and Chloe is throwing a party at her house. I know for a fact that Maddie will be there because I only see her in Chloe's party. I was getting ready when I heard a knock on my door.
"Come in." I said.
"Cuzy, how do I look?" Jas asked, doing a twirl.
She was wearing one of the dresses she designed herself.
"You look great as always, Cuzy." I complimented her.
"You clean up good as well, Cuzy." she said before leaving my room.
I grab my phone and slide it in my pocket. I knocked on Jas's room, letting her know I will wait for her downstairs. I started the car while waiting for her. She got in the passenger seat and headed straight to Chloe's house. It was a 20 minutes' drive from my house. We got there, and the house is packed. Looks like the party has already started.
I immediately went inside and tried to look for Maddie. I was in the living room and it was packed with people dancing. I went straight to the other part of the house and saw some guys playing beer pong. I went to the kitchen to grab myself a drink when I remembered Jas is with me.
"Sorry, Cuzy. I forgot you were with me." I apologized.
"It's ok Cuzy. Go ahead and find her. I will be fine. Party is my forte." she said before grabbing herself a cup of beer and went straight to the dance floor.
I opened the fridge and poured myself some orange juice.
I barely drink at parties. I always fill my cup with juice or water so people will think that I am drinking. I was about to go to the backyard when Tyler came to the kitchen holding an almost empty bowl of what seems like chips.
"Hey man! You made it!" Tyler exclaimed, giving me a fist bump.
"Hey. Have you seen Maddie?" I asked him.
"Yes. She is by the swing near the pool." he said.
"Thanks, man. I really need to talk to her." i explained.
"No problem. Go ahead before Chloe drags her somewhere else." He said with a laugh.
I went to the backyard immediately. I just passed the pool when I saw her sitting on the swing all by herself.
"Hey Maddie." i said, slowly walking to her to not scare her.
She looked up and saw that it was me. She was about to leave when I stopped her.
"Please don't go. Talk to me, at least. I seriously don't know what I did, and you have been ignoring me the whole week." I explained. I was kind of expecting her to just ignore me again, but this time she did not.
"Seriously, Ethan?! You don't know what you did? Huh! Are you that stupid or are you just a jerk like the rest of your basketball team?" she yelled.
"I am really sorry, Maddie. If this is about me not calling you over the weekend, I already told you what happened. Please, I don't know what else I did to make you that mad." I pleaded.
"For someone so smart, Ethan, you are pretty dumb with making excuses. What did you think of me, huh? Was I just a bet? Was that it?" she cried out.
It was breaking my heart to see her cry and to know that I am the reason makes me hate myself.
"Maddie, you were never a bet. I am not making dumb excuses. Please believe me." I begged her.
"Ethan, I am not stupid. Everyone in the school saw it. Stop lying about it and just leave me alone." she said with anger.
"What are you talking about Maddie?" I was confused.
I do not know what she is talking about and it's getting frustrating
"You really have no fucking clue? Ethan we just kissed and then two days later I see you walking in school with a random girl at your arms. Did you forget that part? Or were you just really so dumb in trying to find an excuse for your sorry ass.?" she yelled.
"Maddie, listen to me. That girl, Jasmine, is not who you
think she is.She is my cousin." I explained, trying to get her to look at me.
She looked at me confused, as if she still does not believe me. I was about to explain more when someone spoke.
"It is true, Madison. I am Ethan's cousin. I am so sorry for the trouble I have caused. Ethan and I have been so close ever since, and we are like siblings. I know I should not be even here right now, but I have been worried about Ethan because you have been ignoring him the whole week." Jas explained.
"I am sorry." Maddie replied.
"No, Madison. You have nothing to apologize for. I am the one who caused the confusion. Now I will let you two talk. See you around Madison." Jas said and then she left.
"I am sorry, Maddie. I did not know you thought like that. I could have explained to you everything." I said slowly walking closer to her.
"I am sorry. I jumped into conclusions. I just did not know what to think. You did not call and...
I did not let her finish her sentence and just kissed her right away. It was longer than the last time. I slowly pulled away and pulled her in a hug.
"You drive me crazy, Maddie. I hope you know that." I said with a light laugh.
I can feel her smile. We just hugged for minutes before I cupped her face so that she was looking at me.
"Promise me you will not ignore me anymore." I said, giving her a peck on the lips.
She just nodded and smiled. I pulled her back into a hug and kissed her head. We stayed like that for 5 minutes.
"Do you want to go somewhere else?" I asked her.
She just nodded.
"Okay. Let me just find Jas and let her know we are heading out. Meet you by my car?" I said.
"Okay." she replied with a smile.
I gave her a quick peck before heading through the kitchen door to find Jas. It was easy to find her. I told her I will head out, and she said that she will be fine. I went straight to my car and found Maddie waiting by the trunk.
"Shall we?" I said, opening the passenger seat for her.
She got inside, and I went over to the driver's side and started the car. We went to the park near their house. We sat on the swing and talked.
"Maddie, I know this is all a sudden, but will you go out on a date with me tonight?" I asked her.
"I would love to Ethan." she replied.
I was so happy that she said yes. I have been dreaming of this day and it finally happened.
"I know that I have kissed you quite a lot tonight, but I want you to know that I will never force you into anything. So if you don't like being kissed or anything, just let me know." I explained.
She walked over to my swing and stood in front of me.
"Ethan Walker, you are an impossible guy." she said before running off.
It took me 30 seconds to realize what just happened. I ran right behind her. I caught her by tree and engulfed her into a hug.
"You are a pretty fast runner, but not fast enough for me." I teased her.
We just played around in the playground. It was such an amazing time. I watched her go down the slide and play hide and seek. Her laugh was the most beautiful sound I heard that night. After playing, we sat by the hood of my car looking at the stars and listening to songs. I did not want the night to end, but she said that she had to be home before 11 and it was already 10:30pm.
I drove her to her house and walked her to their doorstep.
"Thank you for the wonderful night, Maddie," I said.
"Thank you. I had lots of fun." she said with a smile.
I kissed her good night before leaving.
It might not have been what I would have planned for our first date, but it turned out amazing.
I drove home with a smile on my face the whole time. I look like a goofy person who someone might think I am going crazy because I am just smiling the whole time.
After taking a quick shower, I laid down on my bed and sent Maddie a text.
"You still up?"
She replied a few minutes later.
"Yup, just finished taking a shower."
Instead of replying, I called her. She picked up after a few rings.