Chapter Text
“One dance, and then we’ll call it a night,” James said to her as he grabbed her hand and before she could say anything else, he was whisking her away and into the crowd. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Tom smirking after them, but she couldn’t be sure.
“I’m afraid I don’t know the moves,” Maddie admitted once they made it across the room, the trepidation building in her chest as she watched couples twirl past them with practiced ease. And, oh god, she really wasn’t prepared for this. She couldn’t find a beat to save her life and her friends always told her that she was born with two left feet, with the way she stumbled around more than danced. She would be the odd one out here, surely.
“Nonsense,” James remarked and then spun her so she was fully facing the crowd this time, her back resting flush against his chest. “Don’t pay attention to them. Just follow my lead, yeah?” He instructed in a soft tone behind her before spinning her back around to smile at her.
Maddie’s lips twitched upward on their own accord, she wasn’t quite used to this side of him. This whole day- it was a stark difference to the way he acted at the airport but then again, the same could be said about her if she was being honest.
“Ready to have a go?” James asked her with a raised brow, almost like he was challenging her now. Maddie let out a breath and nodded.
And she couldn’t believe it, the way their night turned out. They needed shelter for the night and everything just seemed to fall into place; this pub was like a godsend for them, a fitting bookend to the day they had. James was the perfect dance partner. She was actually having fun for the first time since she landed in Ireland.
Oh. The sudden revelation made her falter for a moment, and Maddie felt her heart stop because of course, her feet would decide to trip over air right this second, but James was quick to steady her with an arm around her waist. The action brought their bodies closer and Maddie’s hands flew to his shoulders, maybe as some sort of manual buffer between them, she didn’t know.
After she got her bearings, James sent her a teasing look and she could only smile sheepishly back all the while feeling a flush rise to her cheeks. Oh god.
“Are we stopping?” James asked.
“No? Why?” Maddie responded with a confused shake of her head. Did he want to stop?
“Because we’ve stopped,” James said, and he chuckled slightly.
It took a moment for his words to register and Maddie’s eyes widened when she realized he was telling the truth.
“Oh,” She laughed out, and looked around them. The crowd around them were paying no heed to them, they were still lost in their little world and moving lively to the music. And though there were no prying eyes pointed at them, the position they were in did seem silly. “We don’t- we can keep going if you want.”
“Fine with me,” James said with a nod. He took a step back and when her hands fell, he grasped them again and led her into a twirl, making her grin again.
Maddie lost count of how many songs they’d danced to, time began to warp for whatever reason. All she knew was that he kept close all throughout. She didn’t think there was ever a moment where his eyes or hands weren’t on her.
Which was a bad thing, she was beginning to realize. Maddie felt a twinge in her chest. God, this was crazy. What was she doing honestly? Dancing with another man two days before her wedding? But…it wasn’t her wedding to begin with was it.
Biting back her frown, she squeezed James’ hand to get his attention. He must’ve noticed the change in her demeanor right away because he nodded and led them away from the dance floor.
“Everything okay?” He asked and Maddie was quick to nod.
“Yeah, it’s just- it’s getting kind of late actually. Maybe we should turn in for the night and go to our rooms?”
“Right,” James said, agreeing with her. “Big things ahead tomorrow.”
“Just the rehearsal,” Maddie muttered. Not the actual wedding, she didn’t know why she wanted to make that distinction.
They began gathering their things from their table when Tom came around again.
“Leaving us so soon, eh?” He remarked with a smirk, looking between the two of them. Maddie’s eyes widened at the insinuation.
“She has to make her wedding rehearsal in the morning.” James clarified for his friend. “Give us a wake up call in the morning, would you? Say, seven?”
“Of course,” Tom responded, nodding and taking away their leftover drinks.
James grabbed their room keys from the table and led the way up the side stairs, a little ways from the bustling crowd. Maddie followed close behind and took note of the rustic decor that lined the walls and found herself smiling. Everything about this place seemed quite charming, things just felt cozy here. She could see why James always visited this place when he was in town.
“Here we are,” James said, taking one of the room keys and unlocking the door in front of him. He swung it open and then turned on the lights revealing the small and quaint room. It was…nice. There was a full-sized bed to the left side of the room, next to a wooden dresser and desk and the right side could really only fit a table and a couple of chairs. “I know it’s not much. Definitely not what you’re used to.” And Maddie knew he was thinking about Paul’s and the Kennedy’s estate, and the lavish rooms that encompassed the home.
“No, it’s fine. It’s honestly perfect for us,” She rushed to say and then once the words were out of her mouth, did she realize her poor word choice. “Oh, I didn’t mean us as in “us”, of course. I-” She stammered out.
“I know what you meant,” James said, chuckling. Maddie sighed and entered the room before she could dig a deeper hole for herself. She needed something to drink. Her throat was dry for no reason. She went straight to the adjoining bathroom and got herself a glass of water. James watched her go and lingered in the doorway for a moment before entering the room himself.
After taking a few sips from the glass, Maddie heard the door close behind her. Glancing back, she walked back in the main room and found James sitting at the table with a deck of cards in his hands.
“You don’t fancy playing a hand, do you?” He asked cheekily, holding the deck up.
Maddie stared at him in disbelief for a moment before cracking a smile herself. The man in front of her could be so charming sometimes- she didn’t know what she did to deserve to see this side of him. She set her glass down on the table before sitting down across from him.
“It’s kind of late, don’t you think?” She commented, providing a way out for him on the off-chance he was only offering to be polite, like the time with Paul at the airport. It didn’t take much convincing for him to leave her there and while his decision did sting, she understood it at the time. It was no skin off her back.
She wasn’t his fiancée afterall, just his…friend.
“It’s only ten. Some people would say the night’s still young,” James said, shuffling the cards.
“People like you?” Maddie asked.
“Possibly.” He finished shuffling with a shrug and she wanted to laugh at his attempt at being nonchalant with her.
“I should probably tell you, I don’t know how to play poker,” She admitted.
James nodded. “Another kind of game then.” He really didn’t give up easily, did he?
“What, gin?” She asked, curiously. She was more familiar with that game and could only hope that James knew how to play it too.
To her delight, he only grinned in response and started dealing out the cards.