Broen

6:30 pm, on the dot. Although Madi wasn't usually the most punctual of people the butterflies in her stomach had her moving a bit faster than usual. She had opted to change into more casual garb after work, falling back on the standard. Flare leg jeans hugged her hips and thighs, moving out beginning at the knee, finally falling to cover the toes of a pair of denim pumas in ragged edges. Mud and salt stained the first few inches thanks to her short stature. Torso was hugged by a wifebeater that peeked out beneath the bright yellow t-shirt and black zip up hoodie she wore. She took a deep breath, raising her hand and knocking. It was a minute or so before the door opened.

Dimitri smiled at her, "Hey, right on time. You want a beer or something? He spoke as he turned, his voice echoing against the hardwood floors of his front hallway and getting more and more distant. She followed him, forcing a confident smile across her lips. He had invited her. She had simply accepted. She was not on the chopping block tonight, all she could do was keep breathing and try her hardest to behave like a normal human being.

"Yeah, a beer sounds great." She spoke as she leaned against the left side of the door jam, hugging her notebook to her chest as she watched him move about the kitchen. Sweatpants hung off the round of his ass, the peaks of his shoulder blades pushing out against the back of his t-shirt. Teeth sunk into her lower lip as she imagined the cut lines of muscle rippling beneath his flesh. It had been a long time since she had dug her fingertips in the firmness of someone's shoulders, felt the way warm, moist skin forced fingertips to stick and slide all at the same time. The loudness of the breath that escaped her nostrils startled her, a pale blush filling her cheeks as Dimitri looked over at her.

"You okay?" His smile was cock-eyed, a dimple denting one cheek but not the other. The butterflies were back again. So much for acting like a normal human being. When had she become such an uncontrollable pervert? She cleared the lump in her throat before speaking.

"Uh, yeah, sorry, I just zone out sometimes." He nodded. He could have sworn he had caught her staring at him, but maybe she had just been staring into oblivion. He walked to her, handing her a beer before squeezing though the door. His closeness made her weak in the knees.

Any hope for studying soon dissolved, at least they both had copies of each other's notes to refer to. After three beers, it was apparent Madi was a bit buzzed, her tongue garbling words here and there. She was all smiles and laughter, a million miles away from the silent, sullen girl who had stared out the window with eyes full of misery.

"So, yeah, I'm an amazing hockey player, a prize winning author, and a model… you know, gotta cover all the bases." He laughed at himself and so did Madi. He was glad she could appreciate the humor. "So what about you?"

"Well, I, too, am a model and a prize winning author, but I am also the best campaign manager in the history of American politics. I'm in text books." Madi nodded. "Oh, and I saved my entire platoon in Vietnam." She grinned and poked him playfully. "No, for real. What tricks can you do?"

"What am I? A Labrador?"

"Well, you certainly belong in the pound with that scraggly mutt chin of yours."

"Scraggly mutt chin? Scraggly mutt chin?!? That's it!" He dove on her as she squealed, rubbing the coarse hair of his beard's beginnings against her cheek. She was lost in giggles, squirming delightfully as he pressed her hands into the couch beneath her.

"Owww." The complaint was a half-hearted attempt at getting him off of her, his beard scratching her in the most enjoyable way. She was gasping for air so hard her sides were starting to hurt but it felt good to laugh like this, even if it did take three or four beers to get there. "I promise not to take revenge if you stop right now." The words came in between gasps and giggles as she continued to fight him, her hounds now bound in one of his big mitts, his free hand harassing her abdomen with spasm inducing tickles.

"And if I don't stop?" He grinned, still tickling her. He couldn't deny that he enjoyed the way her torso rolled as she tried to get free. Her chest heaved with every breath and her hair had fallen out of its loose bun, several wild tendrils flying around her face, which was flushed, her eyes sparkling as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I'll…tickle you…until…you pee..yourself." The words were breathy now; perhaps he should give her a break before she passed out or something. He slammed her hands above her head, holding her down with his weight before removing his hand from her waist and sitting up a bit. Her cheeks were raw from his scratching and she smiled as she panted. He had never seen her like that before, wild and alive, he couldn't resist the opportunity as his lips rushed to meet hers. It only lasted a split second before he realized the gravity of the situation. Her body's sudden rigidness brought him tumbling back to reality. Here was, holding down a half-drunk girl and kissing her without warning. Her lips were moist and warm; the taste of beer was less than wonderful though. It didn't matter though; everything about it had seemed perfect, aside from her reaction. The wet heat of her, the feeling of her breathes against his cheek, the way her breasts pressed into his chest. All this in less than a second before he was sitting up and moving off of her as quickly as possible.

"I'm, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" He wasn't sure where the sentence went from there. He didn't mean to what? He hadn't MEANT to kiss her, but he wasn't sorry for that.

"Kiss me? Yeah, I know. It's okay, no big deal." She seemed embarrassed or hurt, neither of which he had ever seen in her before. She laughed, sitting back up and grabbing her coat. "I'm uh, gunna head out. Have a good night, see ya in class." She waved, her face someplace distant as she threw on her coat and turned her back on him. His hand grabbed the tail of her coat, making her jolt back.

"No, I didn't say that. I didn't mean to scare you." There, he had found the right words. She had seemed afraid. "Please, stay and let me prove I'm not just a pervert." She sighed. It was a whole lot easier when it was a drunken mistake, but listening to him talk, she realized he wasn't drunk in the slightest. This was that grey area. The area where lies and truth were easy to mix up depending on what she wanted to hear. "Madi, please. I promise, I won't kiss you again." Oh god, that made it a whole lot easier. She rolled her eyes before turning to face him. If that's what he wanted, then she was willing to settle. It was a role she could play, one she had experience with.

"Okay." She shrugged off her jacket, sitting down beside him again and grabbing his beer. She laughed to ease the tension, hoping he couldn't tell the difference between the sound that had just left her throat and what she really sounded like. "But you better get me another beer."

"With pleasure." He pushed a smile for her, standing and moving into the kitchen. Had he just resigned from his pursuit? Had she just told him to? He shrugged; there was no point in stressing over something he couldn't control.

The rest of the evening passed off without a hitch, except perhaps the hug good night. He had botched the hug good night, completely reluctant to let her go. She had stood there with an arm around him as he pressed her to his body, covertly filling his nostrils with the scent of her shampoo. Finally, she had patted his back gently, the most polite request for someone to let go. "Night, Madi." He smiled as she waved, turning away as he shut the door and watching her through the window as she walked down the street.