“Yes ma’am,” he says with a mock salute as we walk back over to the table where our things are. I grab the Coke Zero and take a sip while Maddox sits across from me.
“So since you’ve been in Nashville a lot longer than me, what are your favorite things to do here?”
I think about his question for a second, and immediately feel a sense of gloom. “Is it sad that I don’t know?”
“Depends on why you don’t know.”
I take another sip before setting it down as I gather my thoughts. “Because I’ve never gotten to experience this city like I wanted to.”
Maddox leans forward on his elbows. “Why not?”
“In college I was working two jobs and going to school. The option for night life wasn’t in the budget for me.”
“I’m guessing it was for douche bag?”
That makes me smile. “Of course it was. He always found a way to head out with his friends—especially during undergrad. After graduation, if we went out, it was mostly whatever he wanted to do. And it was never things I wanted to do. I’ve never been to the Opry or to the Ryman. I’ve never been to a Fury game or any sporting event for that matter. Heck, I’ve only been on the rooftop at Tootsies once. What kind of Nashville-ite am I with that kind of resume?”
“The roof is crowded, you aren’t missing a lot,” Maddox says with a wink. “But the Fury game? That’s unforgivable.”
“I know, I hear they’re pretty good,” I tease.
“Are you going to go do those things?”
I shrug. “I want to. Maybe. Eventually. When things settle down.”
“Or you could start now,” he says. “No better time than the present.”
“I know, but I don’t have anyone to go with. And I know I should feel empowered enough to take myself to a concert, but it’s… I don’t know… unsettling.”
“Ahem,” he coughs, making overdramatic gestures to himself. “I’m right here.”
“You’d go with me?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“Of course. What else are best friends for?”
How could I forget? “Really? Because one of the things I want to do next Christmas is walk through the lights at Opryland. You’d do that?”
“Are you kidding me? I fucking love Christmas. I’ll drive the damn sleigh.” As the words leave his mouth, I watch a lightbulb go off above his head. Not really, but the way his brown eyes light up it might as well have. “Oh! Let’s make a list!”
Like a whirlwind, Maddox reaches over for the book bag he brought and pulls out a… notebook?
“Do you always carry around a random notebook?”
“In season, yes. For plays and to take notes in meetings. I know everything is on tablets these days, but I like making hand-written notes. Helps me remember.”
“You really are a forty-year-old in a twenty-four-year-old body.”
“Guilty as charged,” he says as he opens up a page. “I brought this today so I could write down the recipes and any notes. Which I need to jot down the thing about not too much flour at a time and the nine minutes. But! We can take a page and start making date night ideas.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Maddox...”
He looks back at me with an equally challenging look. “Gabrielle.”
The fact that he always comes back with my full name when I say his like he’s in trouble, is both endearing and frustrating all at the same time. Endearing because it’s him. Frustrating because I know he’s about to charm me into something.
“I told you. No dates. I can’t date you.”
“Dates? Did I say dates? That must’ve been someone else.” He waves me off like I was hearing things. “I meant friend dates. I forgot a word. Silly me. Old hypothetical age and all. Makes me forget things.”
