Maddy was nearly skipping around the house the following day. She could not wait for her date. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she was this excited. About anything, really.

She had already gone through her entire closet three times. Her bed looked like a clothes tornado hit it.

Eventually, she opted for a summery ivory dress with a white lace overlay on the skirt. She wasn't even sure when she bought it. It had thin spaghetti straps and a plunging neckline. She'd probably never worn it because of that. Well, she'd wear it today, she decided. She liked the way he looked at her in his shirt. It made her want to look a little sexy for him.

She set it aside for later. She didn't want to mess it up before her date. She could be a little klutzy.

For the time being, she slipped on a pair of light blue jeans and a loose-fitted pink tank top. She made another impulsive decision today. She had made an appointment at a salon she'd never been to. She didn't dare see her usual stylist. He'd talk her into doing it her mom's way. She was tired of being bossed around. Her hair felt like a good place to start.

She grabbed her purse and headed downstairs. Just as she reached the bottom, the doorbell rang. She ran over to answer it. It was a delivery guy with a bunch of red roses. There must have been at least four dozen deep red roses.

She knew where they came from in an instant. After all these years, he still didn't think she preferred pink to red. It just goes to show he never listened to her.

"Madison Garrison?" The man smiled. "Someone was thinking of you today!"

"I don't mean to be rude, sir, but are those from a Logan Montgomery?" She asked.

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell you that." He ran a hand through his curly brown hair.

"I won't tell anyone you did. If they're from him, I don't want them. That's why I'm asking." She explained.

"Oh." He said with understanding on his face. "Yeah, they are."

He probably delivered many flowers to people who didn't want them since people used them to apologize. It would be kind of silly if you asked her. An apology should be genuine; if it were, it wouldn't need to come with a gift.

"Maybe you can have them? I bet there's someone you could give them to." She suggested.

"My girl's been struggling at work lately. This would make her day." He mumbled.

"That's perfect, then!" She chirped happily.

"I don't know if I could do that, though." His soft brown eyes widened, fear seeping in.

"I don't see why not. They're mine. So, I'll accept them, and then I would like to gift them to you..." She looked at him with a searching gaze.

"Jay." He offered. "I really shouldn't."

"If I offer them to you, and you don't want them, they go to waste. They shouldn't have been plucked for no reason."

He laughed then. "You are one funny, rich girl. Okay, I'll take them then."

"Okay, you hand them to me first, so we go through the official motions." She suggested.

"Okay, here." He handed them to her.

"I would like to gift these flowers to you, Jay." She handed them back.

"I hope I don't get into trouble." He looked super nervous about it even still.

"If you do, tell them to call me. I said it was okay!" She insisted. She felt kind of like Slater saying that.

"Now hurry and get them to her!" Maddy encouraged him.

Finally, after one more worried look, he stumbled away with the roses.

She felt great about her decision and headed out herself. It was a bright sunny day and very warm. It seemed like it would get hotter as the day went on. There wasn't a cloud in the sky.

"Madison!" Logan's voice stopped her, and she sighed.

"What?" She turned to look as he ran over to her from his yard.

"Why did that guy leave with the roses I bought you?" He demanded.

"I gave them to him."

"What!? Why?" He slowed down and came to a stop as he crossed the threshold from his yard into her driveway.

"His girlfriend is having a hard time at work." She explained. "It'll cheer her up a lot."

"I don't care about some random guy's girlfriend! I got those for you!"

"Well, I didn't want them." She said simply.

"I've never known you to be rude." He said with a sigh. He looked tired and weary, his eyes were puffy, and his skin was pale.

"I wasn't trying to be rude. I was being honest. We broke up. I don't want gifts or roses from you." She said in what she hoped was a friendlier tone.

Logan's presence only seemed to irritate her now. It was hard to keep the irritation from her voice. She didn't feel any regret or any sadness. Her dad kept offering her snacks and checking in with her like she should be heartbroken. She wasn't. Not even a little bit; looking at Logan's face, she did feel guilty about that. 

"You can't just break up with me." He said in a low voice. "You know that."

"Yes, I can, and I have." She said firmly, feeling less of that guilt as soon as he spoke.

"We have been together our entire lives. We don't break up after one fight. We talk! We work it out!" His voice was full of frustration.

"I'm sorry, Logan." She said in a calm tone of her own. "But I don't want to talk, and I don't want to work it out."

"That's not! No!" He stammered out. "You can't do this!"

"I have an appointment. I have to go." She pushed past him and kept walking.

"Do you have any idea how expensive those roses were!?" He exclaimed, but she ignored him and kept walking to her car.

"Madison, get back here!" He yelled.

She got inside and shut the door firmly. She could feel him looking her way but avoided looking back at him. She quickly drove away.

******

A few hours later, she stood in front of her full-length mirror. She felt amazing. The stylist suggested she cut her hair just below her shoulders and leave it wavy. It felt and looked so bouncy and flirty. She even looked a little more mature. She hoped Slater would like it as much as she did.

Her new hairstyle looked great with her dress. It touched her shoulders, which were almost bare, and drew the eye in. The plunging neckline and tiny straps made it impossible to wear a bra. Luckily it fit well and hugged her small, rounded breasts perfectly. Still, she felt a little exposed. She decided she'd wear a cropped jacket with it as a bit of a cover-up.

She liked the feel and fit of her dress. The way it flowed empathized with her curves. It fell just past her mid-thighs. She opted for her brown ankle boots to go with it. They had a small chunky heels. She wasn't sure where they were going and wanted to be able to walk. She kept her makeup light, just mascara, bronzer, and pink lip gloss.

She took a breath and studied herself for a moment. She felt pretty. She was as ready as she was going to be. She needed to get away from the mirror. Otherwise, she'd change and have to redo the darn look.

She couldn't help being a little nervous. This felt like the first actual date she'd ever had. Logan didn't count since they just became an automatic couple. She couldn't even recall what their first date was. She never had this buzzed-up nervous feeling with him. Or anyone.

She spent some time getting her clothes hung back up. The simple task did help ease her nerves.

Her phone has been ringing and chirping with calls and texts all day. Everyone had heard about the breakup. She'd like to think it meant they cared how she was doing, but she knew it didn't. All anyone wanted was the scoop so they could gossip about it. No one was going to understand her reasons. She avoided them all. Every call. Every text.

Still, she had to keep her phone on. Cause there was one text, she couldn't miss.

Finally, a little after five in the evening, she got the notification. She beamed whenever she saw his name on her phone as crazy about you. She did a little happy dance as she read her message.

I am heading home now. Beach in a half hour?

Perfect! She replied.

I can't wait.

PS. You're right; remodeling sucks.

I told you so! She grinned as she typed back.

"Madison, have you seen my-

Her mom froze when she walked into her room. She just froze dead in her tracks. Her mouth was slightly agape.

"What did you do to your hair!?" She finally gasped. "The hairstyle! The beautiful cascading princess style we chose! It'll never work now!"

"I'm not getting married, remember?" Maddy fluffed her shorter hair. "I like it. It feels more mature!"

"But it was so long." She sounded all sad like she had lost a friend.

"It's just hair!" Maddy couldn't help but laugh a little; she was being so dramatic over her hair!

"You and Logan will figure this thing out. Then you'll regret rash decisions like this." Chelsea said in a sharp tone.

"No, we won't. It is over." Maddy took a deep breath and let it out. "Just because I make a decision doesn't mean it's rash, foolish or whatever else."

"I wish that were true." She muttered.

"I have somewhere to be if you don't mind." Maddy grabbed her purse and jean jacket from the chair.

"Where? That dress is shallow cut." Chelsea followed her.

"I'm wearing a jacket with it." Maddy sighed as she slipped on the cropped denim coat.

"That's much better," Chelsea said approvingly.

She sighed in annoyance as she headed out the doorway and into the hallway. Her mother was close on her heels.

"What? I said I like the dress that way. A necklace is needed to complete the look, though. Your décolletage looks too bare." Chelsea offered. "Maybe if your hair was still long, you could get by without one, but..."

"I like it the way I'm wearing it." Maddy snapped, even more annoyed, as she headed down the stairs.

David walked into the house just as the women reached the first floor.

"Wow, look at that. Your hair looks great, Maddy!" David said with a big smile. "You look more grown up."

She could feel her mom tense up and glare at him.

"Gosh, really? Thanks, dad!" Maddy smiled at him and then shot her mom a smug look.

"Of course!" He looked at Chelsea tiredly, and she looked away.

"I'm heading out. Have a good night." She added, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Okay, Hon. Have fun, but not too much fun." He laughed at his joke.

"Where did you say you were going?" Chelsea asked as Madison reached the door.

"Out." She said simply. "Don't wait up."

******

Maddy was feeling nervous again when she got to the beach. The boat launch parking lot was perfect. It was hidden away from the road. There were a few trucks there since it was still light out. They'd be gone soon, though.

She parked on an end corner near a large dumpster. It shadowed her car even more. When she saw Slater's blue car pull up, she got those jitters again.

He parked and got out. Her eyes were instantly drawn to him. She was totally fascinated by him, just like when she first saw him.

He was wearing a white cotton tee shirt; it was thin and showed off all his colorful arm tattoos and muscles. He paired it with a pair of faded blue jeans messily tucked into a pair of black boots. He was effortlessly hot.

No way did he spend hours picking out what to wear.

She breathed to calm her nerves as she got out of her car. She stepped towards him as she ducked out of the shadows. The night air was hot and a little muggy.

"Hi, Slater."

"Hey -

He stopped suddenly as she came into his view. His mouth opened, and his eyes widened. Suddenly she felt a little worried, what if he didn't like her hair?

"Gorgeous." He breathed out.

"You like it?" She subconsciously touched the tips of it.

"Like it? Still trying to pick my jaw up off the floor." He stepped closer, and his voice was all low.

She blushed at his words and giggled.

"I'm not taking my eyes off you tonight." He looked at her like no one ever had. Her stomach was erupting with butterflies again.

"You look hot yourself!" She finally managed to say something.

"Yeah?" He said in a husky voice.

"I think we're all alone out here." She mentioned in a quiet voice as she walked backward, leading them to the shadowed area she'd just come from.

"I think you're right." He said before swiftly wrapping an arm around her waist.

He pulled her in and leaned down to claim her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she reciprocated the long-awaited kiss.

"All I have been thinking about for the last day and a half." He mumbled.

"Me too." She whispered in a breathy voice as she met his hazel gaze.

"I could stand here and kiss you all night, Maddy." He said in that low voice she was coming to love.

"That sounds perfect." She said in a dreamy voice.

"Except you are standing here looking like that." He looked her up and down. "It would be a crime not to take you out."

The butterflies were having a full-on dance party at that point. Maybe later, she'd just give them names. They obviously weren't going anywhere.

"So where are we going then?" She asked.

"Well... uh, I was thinking we could just drive till we're out of town and see where we end up." He said slowly; he looked kind of nervous all of a sudden. "But maybe, I should've planned something. You're probably used to a certain type of date."

"Slater, my usual dates consist of boring nights at the county club." She assured him. "If not, then going to a party or dinner feels like work."

"What?" He looked surprised. "Well, that sucks."

"More than you know!" She agreed.

"I'll do much better than that." A little smirk curls over his lips.

"I know you will." She said in a flirty tone. "I'd be happy kissing in the parking lot all night, too, you know."

"Don't tempt me, sweetheart." He flashed a little grin at her.

"Your idea to go wherever we end up was perfect." She told him with a dreamy look coming over her face.

"Oh yeah?" He tilted his head and studied her.

"Isn't that how this got started? Just seeing where the night takes us?" She asked, and his eyes lit up at her words.

"Yes, it is, my pretty tulip girl." He took her hand in his. "So, should we see where our second night takes us?"

"Let's." She smiled softly as she let him lead her to his car.