Madi seemed a little more like herself as we drove. It had nearly broken my heart to see her crying, and I wanted to do anything I could to stop her tears. The fact that Jake had been the cause of those tears was enough to make me want to punch him in the face. He was an idiot for breaking up with Madi, and I knew it wouldn’t take him long to realize. It would be less than a week before he came crawling back to her, begging her to take him back.

I stopped myself as I felt a smile begin to spread across my face at the thought.

“What are we doing at Peggy’s?” Madi asked as we pulled up outside my favorite diner.

“Only getting the world’s best pancake stack,” I replied. “Come on.”

I jumped out of the truck and walked around to open her door before she could argue. She stepped out of the cab and looked uncertain as she followed me. “I haven’t been here in years,” she murmured. “Not since…” Her voice drifted off and she gave me a sad glance.

She didn’t need to speak the words aloud, I knew Madi was going to say she hadn't been to Peggy's since she and Jake started dating. When we had all been friends, we'd often come together. But Jake ruined that the moment he had decided to make Madi his own and refused to let me talk to her. I wasn't bothered by his threats anymore though.

“You’ve been missing out,” was all I said in response.

We took a seat at one of the booths toward the back of the room. Madi immediately busied herself by scanning the menu. I reached over and snatched it from her hand before she could take a proper look though. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what you want,” I said.

She tried to grab the menu back from me, but I held it out of reach.

“Give me the menu, Cole.”

“What, it's not like you're going to order anything other than the BFP?”

“Maybe I don’t feel like the big fluffy pancakes.”

“You know that’s not what the ‘f’ stands for,” I replied.

She glared at me, and it made my heart swell. Her tears were nowhere to be seen.

Madi was saved from responding as Peggy came over. She was wearing the same retro blue dress she always wore, and while she had a few more grey hairs now, she still looked just the same as she had when Madi used to come here with me.

Peggy had been using a stick to help her get around after a bad fall last winter, but I sometimes wondered if she really needed it anymore. She rarely leaned on it and I saw her using the stick to nudge her husband when she wanted something far more frequently.

“Shouldn’t you kids be in school?” she asked. That was the other thing about Peggy; she rarely kept her opinions to herself, and I could hear the clear disapproval in her tone.

“Nah, it’s a special day,” I said.

Peggy lifted an eyebrow, like she didn’t believe me, but I gave her my broadest smile, and she merely shook her head. “What will it be?”

“We’ll have two BFPs,” I said. “Both with extra maple, extra crushed Oreos and one with bacon.”

I handed Peggy our menus and smiled when I caught the look on Madi’s face. “You remembered my order,” she said.

“Duh, it’s practically the same as mine except you ruin yours it with bacon.”

“It’s not ruined,” she replied.

“Sweet and savory should never be mixed. It’s sacrilege.” I sounded so adamant that it drew a small laugh from her lips.

“I forgot how weird you were about mixing certain foods.”

“I forgot you were a barbarian who would mix together just about anything.”

She suddenly smiled, and my lungs felt like they could breathe again. I hated seeing Madi upset. Her expression only grew brighter when her pancakes arrived. I started salivating too as I looked down at my plate. Four huge pancakes were stacked on top of one another. Between each layer, I could see a thick drizzling of maple syrup oozing out of the folds and sprinkled over the top were large chunks of Oreos. Even the crispy bacon that was draped on top of Madi’s stack was doused in maple syrup and cookie chunks. It looked incredible.

Neither of us hesitated before we started to dig in. My first mouthful was pure bliss, and I closed my eyes as I savored each sweet bite. It was a struggle not to ditch my knife and fork and devour the stack with my hands.

Madi was making it difficult to fully focus on my pancakes though. She kept making little moans of pleasure as she ate, which made my stomach tense every time. To distract myself, I asked her the first thing that popped into my head.

“So, did you watch the show on Sunday night?” I asked.

Madi shook her head and kept her gaze focused on her food. “What’s to watch? I already experienced it.”

“True,” I replied. I didn’t want to talk about the fact that I had watched it. I’d spent most of the time studying my conversations with Madi and trying to analyze her reactions. The girl always appeared irritated with me on the surface, but sometimes I dared to hope that maybe she felt something different underneath.

“I just wish I’d been able to get out of it last night.”

The food in my mouth turned bland at her words, and I struggled to swallow it down. “You still want out?”

She frowned as she looked at me. “We talked about this last night...”

“I know. I just thought that things might have changed after today.”

Her frown grew more pronounced, and her eyes grew wet with the promise of tears. Damn it. I was meant to be fixing the problem, not making it worse.

“Okay, I know you’re not a huge fan of being in the contest.”

“That’s an understatement,” she grumbled.

“But the main reason you wanted to leave so early was because of Jake, and he’s not an issue anymore.” I said it as gently as I could, but that didn’t stop the hurt from flashing across Madi’s eyes.

“Maybe you could just view the contest as a fun distraction?” I asked.

She pursed her lips as she considered my suggestion. “It’s just so embarrassing,” she said. “You should have seen my parents the other night…”

“You should have seen mine,” I responded. “My mom spent an hour lecturing me on the wrongs of pushing pretty girls in pools.”

Madi laughed and my heart warmed at her reaction. I wished I could make her laugh like that more often.

“So, will you stick it out with me?”

“I’ll think about it,” she finally agreed. “But you’ll probably give me the boot come Monday anyways.”

“Nah,” I replied. “I think you’re safe.”

We stayed at Peggy’s the whole morning talking. It was fun and easy in a way I couldn’t have dreamed up. This was the Madison I’d missed the last two years, and now that I had her back I couldn’t stand the thought of letting her go again. I’d been stupid enough to allow it to happen once; I refused to have it happen again. I just wasn’t sure if she felt the same way.

When we finally decided to leave Peggy’s, I didn’t take Madi home. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her yet. Not when we were finally starting to get along again.

When I drove past the turnoff to our street, she gave me a questioning look.

“I have another pit stop for us,” I said.

“Where?” she asked. “If it involves more food, you can count me out. I’m still full from breakfast.”

“It’s not food,” I replied. “But that’s the only hint you’re getting.”

Her face grew more confused as I drove beyond the edge of the suburbs and entered the forest that bordered our town. It was a sunny day, and beneath the trees dappled light played across the dash of my truck. I always felt like I could breathe more easily when I was in nature, and a part of me was hoping that Madi would feel the same.

I pulled over by the start of one of the walking trails, and Madi’s confusion turned to horror. “We better not be hiking, Kingston. I’m wearing wedges!” she exclaimed as I opened her door for her.

I chuckled. “Nah, we’re not going far. There’s just a place I want to show you.”

“You promise?” she asked.

“Yes, I promise,” I replied. “Now, get those cute wedges down here so we can get going.”

“Alright, alright,” she said as she eased herself down from my truck. Even with wedges on Madi was short, and she barely came up to my chin in height. I bet she’d fit perfectly under my arm, though I wasn’t game enough to try.

“This way,” I said, leading her down the dirt track and away from the road. The path was narrow and edged by low-lying foliage on either side. It was mostly flat though and not too difficult to walk. Even so, I kept glancing back to Madi to check she was okay. Instead of focusing on where she was walking, she was looking around at the beauty of the forest that surrounded her, tilting her head to stare up at the enormous trees that towered over us.

We didn’t walk far down the track before I steered us off the path and into the trees. We had to climb over a large fallen log, and I held out my hand to help Madi over it. She hesitated though.

“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” she asked, peering up at me.

“Wow, you have like zero faith in me, Matthews.”

“Not zero,” she replied. “Like 12% … on a good day.”

“And on a bad day?”

“You don’t want to know,” she replied, a small smile curving her lips.

“You’re probably right,” I agreed. “Now come on, up and over with you.”

She shook her head at me, but took hold of my hand and allowed me to help her over the log. As she stepped onto the other side, she almost stumbled on the uneven path and gripped my hand tighter. Madi definitely wasn’t wearing the right shoes for our little trek, and she surprised me by keeping her hand firmly intertwined with mine as we continued through the thick undergrowth. I half expected her to pull away from me, but she kept hold of me while her eyes focused down on every step she took. I knew she was only holding my hand for support, but I wasn’t complaining. I loved the way her hand fit in mine.

My pace grew a little quicker when I saw light through the trees in the distance. When we reached the edge of the forest, I led Madi out onto a rocky ledge. My heart was racing with the same excitement and awe I always felt as I looked out at the view. Beyond the ridge we stood on, a thick carpet of greenery stretched out below us as far as the eye could see. In the distance, the leafy scene met a bright and endless blue sky. We were up so high it was like being on a plane, and it felt as though the horizon went on forever.

“Whoa,” Madi murmured. She let go of my hand and moved closer to the edge of the rock to take in the view before us. She was silent for several minutes, but I didn’t feel the need to fill the time with talk. Sometimes, silence was the best way to appreciate such a beautiful view.

I walked forward and sat at the edge of the rock, dangling my feet over the edge. Any tightness in my chest always loosened when I was here, and I hoped that Madi was experiencing the same sensation.

“This place is gorgeous,” Madi finally said, lowering herself to sit beside me.

“Yeah,” I agreed, my gaze still fixed on the horizon. “I always come here when I need to get away from things. It’s my thinking rock.” I hazarded a glance at Madi and saw she was nodding, as though what I’d just said had made total sense. I let out a small breath. I had half worried she’d think I was a crazy person for having a thinking rock.

“What do you think about?” she asked.

“Anything, everything,” I replied. “Sometimes nothing at all.”

“And what about now?”

A flutter of nerves ran beneath my skin at her question. “I’m thinking that I’m glad I brought you here and shared this with you.”

She smiled. “I’m glad you did too,” she replied. “Things don’t seem quite so bad up here.”

“No,” I agreed.

We returned to our previous silence, though the world around us was far from still. Birds chirped in the trees and a soft breeze ruffled my clothes. I could hear Madi slowly breathing in and out, and the sound was just as calming as the forest around us.

“I should probably get home,” Madi eventually said. I wasn’t sure how long we’d been sitting on the rock, admiring the view, but there was reluctance in her voice, like she didn’t want to leave. I’d finally done something right.

I nodded and stood up, holding my hands out to help Madi up from the ground. Once she was standing, she lingered in front of me, and despite her words, I knew she was struggling to leave this place as much as I was.

“Well, thanks for babysitting me today,” she said, tucking a loose hair that was being pulled by the wind behind her ear. “I’m sorry I wasn’t great company for your day of ditching.”

I hated seeing her self-doubt and wanted to pull her in and hug away her insecurities. I felt unsure how receptive she’d be though. Things were finally starting to go right; I couldn’t mess them up now. So, instead, I stuck my hands in my pockets to stop myself reaching out for her.

“Don’t be silly, you were great company,” I said, earning myself a smile. “Now, let’s get you back to the truck, my beautiful fluffy pancake.”

I turned and walked back toward the trees before she could react. I didn’t wait to catch the glare I knew was coming my way, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t feel it against the back of my neck.

“I thought you said the ‘f’ doesn’t stand for fluffy,” she shouted as she came after me.

I laughed. Today was turning out just great.