Bruises- Shane Madej

6. Jealous?

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The next week, Maddie was just coming out of the canteen when Alvin stopped her. 

"Hi, Maddie! I just wanted to ask you something."

"Mhm, sure!"

"Well, I was just wondering if you would maybe like to go and grab dinner sometime? Just us two?" 

She felt herself blushing. "Yeah, sure, I'd love that!" 

He grinned. "Great! How about Saturday at 7?" 

"Mhm, that works!" she smiled.

"Okay! It's a date," he shook her hand and smiled, walking into the canteen.

As Maddie sat down at her  desk, Shane observed her flushed face. "Did you go outside?" he asked; it was a particularly cold day. 

"Hm?" Maddie asked, confused.

"Your face is pink," Shane pointed out. 

"Oh- um, no. That's not- yeah, no." 

"Why're you blushing," he smirked. 

Ryan came and sat down. "Not interrupting anything, am I?" he asked, eyeing Maddie's furious blush and Shane's smirk. 

"Maddie was just gonna tell us why she was blushing." 

She looked both ways to make sure that nobody was listening and leaned in. "I'm going on a date with Alvin on Saturday!" she grinned. 

Shane's smile dropped from his face faster  than prices on Black Friday. 

Ryan smiled. "That's great, Mads!" He gave Shane a side glance, knowing what this meant for his tall friend. He didn't look too happy. 

"Shane?" asked Maddie. 

"What?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, i just don't think you should uh- date somebody that uh- works for our same company."

Maddie was taken aback. "What?"

"Office relationships don't ever work out," he said with a stone hard face. 

"Gee, thanks for your support," Maddie said, frowning and turning back to her computer. 

Shane didn't make eye contact with her for the rest of the day. 

---

For the next couple of days, Maddie and Shane didn't talk much. Their work atmosphere could not have been more different than it was before. 

She missed having Shane as a friend. Missed talking to him and hearing his voice and seeing his face.

He was being dumb, she should be allowed to date whoever she wanted. Who was he to tell her she couldn't go out with Alvin?

Maddie was not going to cancel her date just to make Shane happy. She was convinced that she was in the right; Shane just needed to grow up and realize he wasn't in charge of her love life. 

She didn't know why he was acting like this. One day, she voiced these thoughts to Ryan in the break room. 

"Ugh! I just don't know why he's mad at me for not doing whatever he wants." 

Ryan shrugged and sipped his coffee.

"What?" 

"Nothing." 

"You're clearly thinking something. What?" 

Ryan sighed and looked around, making sure nobody was watching or listening. "I mean- c'mon, Maddie, its obvious." 

"What's obvious?" 

"C'mon, he's jealous." 

"Of me?" 

"No, dumbass; of Alvin. Can't you tell?" 

Maddie was dumbfounded. "You're saying he's mad that I'm dating Alvin and not him?" 

Ryan shrugged and nodded. "I mean- yeah. I thought you could tell." 

"That can't be true," she shook her head. "Shane doesn't like me like that." 

"You sure?" 

She thought back at all their interactions. The way that Shane's fingers lingered whenever they touched hands. The way that whenever they were laughing in a group, his eyes always found hers. 

"He's not jealous." Maddie stated. It couldn't be true. They were just friends. Just friends in the office. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Ryan gave her a skeptical look before sipping his coffee and returning to his desk. 

The next day, Maddie was going on her date with Alvin. 

She got dressed up and smiled as she looked in the mirror, happy with how her hairstyle had turned out. 

After they ordered their dinner, they made small talk, asking about each other's personal lives. 

"Well, I've got an older sister. She lives in Oregon with her boyfriend. And I've got a little sister, who edits for the Los Angeles Times," Maddie explained, sipping her wine. 

"Oh, that's fun! I have a younger sister. She lives back in Nevada, where I grew up." 

"Cool! What made you want to move here to LA?" 

"Well, I guess I just like the culture and the people here. There's also a good business for people like me who specialize in camera and sound work." 

She nodded. "Yeah, I get that. I grew up in Long Beach, but LA seemed like the place to be, so that's why I live here." 

They continued talking like that for the rest of the night. 

Before she knew it, Maddie was in Alvin's car and she was driving her home. She waved goodbye to him and walked into her apartment building, returning home. 

As she kicked off her heels, her roomate, Hanna, sat on the couch holding her cat, Bill. 

"How was the date?" 

Maddie smiled. "It was really good. Alvin's a really great guy." 

Hanna grinned. "Girl, I'm so happy for you. Maybe now you'll have something to do other than take care of your plants." 

She rolled her eyes. "I don't spend that much time caring for my plants. Besides, its more productive than spending all my time obsessing over Friends." 

Hanna gasped. "Excuse me, Friends is the best show in existence and I will take that statement to my grave." 

Maddie laughed and rolled her eyes as she walked into her room, taking off her dress and putting on some comfy pajamas. 

She walked out to the living room and found Hanna watching (big surprise) Friends. Maddie sat down next to her. Bill jumped on her lap and she started stroking his fur. 

As Maddie watched the show, she thought about Shane.

Was he really jealous of Alvin? 

No, he couldn't be. 

She had to talk to him. 

She missed him. 

Little did she know, he was thinking about her, too. 

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