It was louder than usual inside the restaurant. Normally, she and her friends would go there on a Wednesday, when they all needed a break from their hectic school week. Today was Saturday, apparently the day when Elijah was used to going here with his friends, and they packed the restaurant to the brim with diners.
Wooden stools lined up the bar on the left, every one of them taken as they enjoyed their drinks waiting for their table to be ready, or fueling up before their night on the town. Two bartenders moved along in an easy rhythm behind the long bar, handling the rush with serious expressions as they made drinks.
"Did you want anything to drink?" Elijah asked, placing his palm on the small of her back while they made their way through the crowds.
"I can order a soda at the table."
Elijah let out a breathy laugh by her side. "No, I meant an actual drink. Just because I've stayed away from it all this time doesn't mean I'm not okay with you having a drink around me."
So, he didn't remember.
"You made me promise when I was seven to never drink," Madeline told him. "You were sixteen and getting hammered on your front porch in the middle of the night. I came out crying and yelling at you about it, thinking that if you drank, that means you'd turn into your dad. You looked genuinely terrified of the idea of that actually happening, so you dumped the rest of the bottle on the ground, promised me you would never let that happen, then made me promise not to drink."
Elijah looked over at her; green eyes narrowed as he took it all in. He pressed lips together, then gave her a brief shake of head. "I have no recollection of that happening."
"That's because you were hammered," Madeline reminded him. "But you seemed pretty serious about it, and I don't break my promises to you, so here we are. I'll admit, I got plenty of shit for it in high school, and some of my freshman year of college. After that, I just became known as the useful, ever-sober designated driver."
Elijah removed his hand from the small of her back and placed it in hers. "Have a drink with me tonight, M&M. You've been in my life for a week now, and I think it's about time we celebrate that. Plus, I always knew the next time I had a drink would be to celebrate my dad's death."
"Double celebration?" Madeline asked with a smile.
He returned that smile with ease. "Double celebration."
When someone shouted Elijah's name from the second dining area, he turned away to look through the crowds. "Come on, M&M."
"Here's to hoping your friends are easier than mine," Madeline hoped aloud as led her between tables. "If Eva comments on your ass one more time, I'm going to call her out on it."
Elijah laughed. "Well, if any of my friend's comment on your ass, I'm going to do a hell of a lot more than call them out."
They approached the table, and every one of the four guys smiled, and fully concentrated on their arrival.
"Dude, you weren't kidding," one man said. He appeared a little older than Elijah, with a slightly longer beard that dangled, several tattoos coming out from beneath the sleeves of his blue t-shirt, and sparkling blue eyes that wouldn't leave her. "You are gorgeous."
"Off-limits," Elijah said, his tone sharper than normal. "If anyone hits on Maddie, I can't be held responsible for what I'll do to them."
The man raised his hands in front of his chest in a defensive motion. "Yeah, I remember. Still, you could have prepared us for this."
Madeline looked up at him, her amusement far outweighed by the awkward atmosphere. "Did you tell your friends I was pretty?"
"Went into a little more detail than that," his friend spoke with a laugh. "I think his exact words were-"
"I'm about two seconds from ending your fucking life, Jack," Elijah warned him, then pulled out one of the empty chairs before shifting her black coat off her body.
When he stood behind the chair, Madeline got the hint and sat down, feeling him inch it back toward the table once she settled. As desperate as Maddie was to know what exactly Elijah said about her, if she didn't steer the conversation away from the topic, this evening would be over before it ever began. "So, you're Jack."
He gave her a big smile, showing her he was missing a single tooth on the bottom right-hand side. "You can just call me your future husband."
Elijah let out a groan beside her as he took the last chair.
"How is that going to work when I share a bed with Elijah?" Madeline asked, a devilish grin taking over her face.
"Sweetheart, I don't mind sharing."
Then Elijah stood, his eyes fixated on Jack. "You and me outside right now."
"I'm just screwing around, Elijah," Jack assured him, his laughter growing louder. "Untwist your panties and sit the hell down. I promise I'll be good."
Elijah looked down at her, his fists tightly bound by his side, and Madeline placed her hand on his wrist to tug him back down. Once he did, she forced his fingers to separate, and made room for her own.
"You'll have to forgive Jack," another friend spoke with a light smile on his face. "He doesn't get out much, and has no idea how to read a room. I'm Seth, by the way."
When Seth extended his hand, Madeline released hers from Elijah's to shake it. Seth had a warm, inviting smile that had a sort of shyness about it. She could tell he was younger than the others, maybe mid-twenties, and had a subtle boyish charm about him. With his blonde curls and pale brown eyes, he was actually quite handsome. Not Elijah's level of handsome, but still nice to look at. "Madeline," she finally answered, then took her hand back.
"Elijah always calls you 'Maddie'. Which do you prefer?" the last friend asked.
Honestly, she'd never been asked that question. Her family never used her full name, and neither did her friends in high school. Her friends here used both. "Whichever. I like Madeline, but I'll answer to pretty much anything."
"Well, I'm Jayden," the last man introduced, extending his own hand toward her. "You can call me Jayden, or just Jay."
Jayden's smile was absolute perfection, instantly making her feel completely welcome. His smile shined even brighter against his dark skin tone. Everything from his dark brown eyes to the way he shook her hand seemed to have a gentleness to it.
"Well, Just Jay, it's very nice to meet you," she told him, taking back her hand to place it back into Elijah's beneath the table.
The server came over, clearly flustered by the busy evening, and gave them all a forced smile. "What can I get you two to drink?"
Jack and Seth already had beers in front of them, while Jay had a tumbler glass filled with a dark liquid. Elijah gave her a small smile, and when she nodded, he gave the server their order. "Two glasses of champagne, if you have it."
"We do, but we only serve it by the bottle, Sir."
"Then a bottle of champagne."
When the server left, Jay looked over at Elijah. "I have never seen you drink. Not once."
Elijah just smiled as he gave her hand a light squeeze beneath the table. "I haven't since I was sixteen," he admitted freely, "but my dad's death marked a new beginning that deserves a celebration."
"Well, I'm happy for you," Jay said. "For both of you. And for us, really. When you told us your dad died, and you told us you were going back, I figured once you saw her again, you knew goodbye wouldn't be an option this time around.
"Guys don't say this enough, but I love you, man. You're a damn good friend once you open up, and I'm happy we get to keep you in our lives. That, and I fully welcome Just M into our circle. Just share him once in a while."
Madeline looked over at Elijah and smiled at him, giving his hand a light squeeze beneath the table. "I'll do my best, but no promises."