Twenty-One Night Stand ✓

29 / better late than never

This was it, Maddie thought. Make or break. She sat in the new Starbucks in the posh end of town with a caramel frappuccino in front of her, tapping her foot and stirring her drink with a straw. A typical Saturday morning, the place was buzzing: planted right in the middle of a sprawling retail park, there was no shortage of customers.

It wasn't often that Maddie found herself that end of town, a thirty minute drive from home, but she had one final burden to shrug off her shoulders before she could focus her mind on planning for travel. As she waited, her heart occasionally sped up with the flicker of nervous adrenaline. Ryan would arrive any time now: he was already ten minutes alone.

From her spot in the corner, Maddie spied a few people she recognised from sixth form, people she had studied alongside for seven years but now she had to dig in her mind for their names. Shrinking into her seat, she hid behind her drink and averted her eyes, hoping nobody would come up and talk to her.

Still no Ryan. Approximately two hours ago, after Jung-min had announced that he and Maddie would be having dinner with Ryan and his parents, she had texted her cousin and asked to see him. She couldn't bear to sit through another horrifically awkward family meal: it was time to settle their differences, and Maddie was surprised he had agreed. Then again, now he had what he wanted.

She pondered that as she sat waiting, her hands slowly freezing from her iced drink, and the nervous thudding in her heart increased tenfold when a poker faced Ryan walked through the door with the sun behind him. He scanned the cafe with a casual glance before his eyes landed on Maddie. Without a flicker of a reaction, he walked over and pulled out the chair opposite.

"Hi," he said, smoothing down his shirt. Maddie smiled and she noticed the corners of his mouth twitch.

"Hi," she said, loosening her shoulders. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to come."

"It was Mum," he explained. "This is the first time she's let me out alone. And that's only because I showed her your text." He clasped his hands on the table, not quite meeting Maddie's eye. His voice was as stiff as ever, his eyes still cold, yet there was a conversational friendliness to his words.

They both knew what was coming but neither wanted to preface the topic, waiting for the other to make the first move. Maddie took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

"Do you want a drink?" She cringed and scolded herself for the cop out, gritting her teeth and swearing that she would just start talking.

"No, thanks." He folded his arms and leant back in his chair. "I hate coffee."

Maddie glanced over at the counter. "They have other drinks," she said, slightly hopelessly. "You could have tea, or hot cho-"

"Maddie," he said, an edge of authority in his voice that made her cower. He softened his jaw. "You're stalling."

"I don't remember the last time we were in each other's company for this long before you insulted me," she said, and she added a smile to let him know she spoke in good nature. He pressed his lips into a thin line and raised his eyebrows.

"What did you want to say?" he asked, choosing not to comment on what she had said.

With another deep breath, and a sip of her drink, she prepared for him to shoot her down. "I never knew about you and Peter," she said, diving straight into the belly of the conversation. "I never wanted to hurt you: I really had no idea."

Ryan just nodded. "I know," he said, his expression unchanged. "He came over yesterday. He ... well, he explained. A lot." With a quiet sigh, Ryan dropped his eyes to the table and fiddled with Maddie's receipt. "It's been hard. You have no idea how hard."