Maddy

I couldn’t believe I was finally doing this. It had been months since that first coffee date--meeting, coffee meeting--with Steve, and I was joining game night for the first time…

As Maddy.

I kept nervously fidgeting with the sleeves of my oversized sweater. Steve laid a comforting hand on my back. “It’ll be okay, Maddy. Everyone here is cool, I promise.”

I felt my heart rate slowing a little. For some reason, Steve’s touch always worked to calm me down. He was just so big and warm and kind and solid. Some days I wished I could just snuggle into him and tune out the rest of the world.

Just then, the door swung open and the hostess ushered us in. “Hey, I’m Leah! I don’t think we’ve met in person before, but you must be Maddy. Steve is always talking about how cute you are.” She winked as I elbowed Steve.

“Steve, you know I find that stuff embarrassing. Can’t you turn off your ‘nicest guy in the world’ field once in a while?”

Steve laughed. “Hey, just telling it like it is, Mads.”

“Okay, first, you’re definitely exaggerating. Second, don’t call me Mads. I’m not a middle-aged Scandanavian actor.”

“I’ll grant you the second one, but I’m holding steady on the first. I’m just trying to get your view of yourself up where it should be, where everyone else’s is.”

I sighed. The man was incorrigible. “Curses, I guess you win this one. Unless… tickle attack!”

I started tickling at Steve’s abs. To my frustration, he had absolutely no reaction. He started tickling me back and I immediately started squirming and laughing.

“Okay, truce, truce! God, that’s just not fair. How are you so immune to tickles?!”

“Dunno, I must be protected by THESE GUNS.” He posed flexing a bicep as I continued my laugh attack.

Leah shook her head, but she was smiling. “God, you two are cute. At this rate I’m gonna get diabetes.”

Pretty soon, the other players showed up. Besides me, Steve, Zoe, and Leah, there was Leah’s friend Bryan and Bryan’s girlfriend Katya.

After quick introductions, everyone sat down around the dining table. Leah announced, “There’s a bunch of different drinks in the fridge, and snacks are out on the calendar. Feel free to grab anything, unless it has a label on it.” I went and got myself a Sprite and Steve a root beer, and grabbed a bag of pretzels for us to split.

Up until then, everything was going pretty well. I was finally starting to relax a little. People were chatting a little about what games we should play or what snacks they should get. No one was acting like anything was weird, plus I had Steve beside me to help keep me calm. But I was not expecting the next thing Leah said.

“So, how long have you two been dating?”

Uhhhhhh.

Steve

I saw Maddy freeze up, clearly having one of her anxiety moments. I quickly rubbed her shoulders, while turning to face Leah. Although I’d tried to make sure that this particular group didn’t know Matt (me and Zoe excepted) and I was confident in all my friends, I did have to admit that Leah could sometimes be a bit blunt. She definitely meant well, but it was something that had rubbed more sensitive friends the wrong way before.

I glanced at Maddy and then back at Leah. “We’re not dating. Just friends.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! I just--You know, your body language and everything.”

Maddy finally spoke up. “What about our body language?” She sounded upset, and I leaned over to give her a quick hug.

“Well--you’re very physical. Like, you had a tickle fight earlier. Usually at least one of the people involved in those is a kid, or it’s a couple.”

“Are you saying I’m a child?” Maddy was frowning now, the corners of her mouth dragging her round cheeks downwards.

“No! I just--Let’s just forget about it, okay?”

There was a brief awkward silence before Zoe loudly asked, “Who wants to play Betrayal?”

Maddy

Maybe this was unfair, but now I was kinda pissed at Steve for assuring me all his friends were cool. What was Leah’s problem? Couldn’t two people just be close platonic friends and do stuff like cuddling without it being a big deal?

Eventually, as we got deeper into the game I was able to mostly move on. By the end of the night I had had a pretty good time, all things considered. I really didn’t have a lot of friends who organized this kind of calm, small-group gathering, but I liked it a lot more than a big party, or a friend who thought a good group activity was watching him beat people at Smash.

As we said our goodbyes to everyone and walked out to the car, I dodged Steve’s attempt to hug me. His face immediately went from happy to hurt. “Oh no, are you okay, Maddy?”

I sighed. “You told me your friends were cool.”

“They are, usually! I’m really sorry, this wasn’t an issue I anticipated.”

“I feel like Leah thinks I’m weird. You know I hate it when I feel like people are judging me. I already know I’m weird; I don’t need other people to keep reminding me.”

“You’re not weird, okay? And even if you were, that’s not a bad thing. I promise this doesn’t reflect on you at all, just on Leah’s assumptions.”

“I guess… Do you still want to hug me?”

“Always!”

Steve

As I embraced Maddy, I was glad to see a smile return to her eyes. She really was adorable.

Honestly, I’d be happy to date her, but that wasn’t something I’d ever say to her. I didn’t want to be someone who ever made her anxious, and I didn’t even know if she was into guys. Plus I didn’t want to pressure her or take advantage of her in a vulnerable state, and I was worried she would think I was trying to “fix” her or dating her out of pity.

For now, I was just so glad to be her friend.