late night talking ! â b m
summary â allieâs gift for challenging your stubbornness and a mere right swipe leads to the ultimate campus match, worthy of the heisman trophy
fem!reader x beau maxwell, dating app trope â classmates to lovers, no warnings ! three acts
allieâs white wine sloshes around her wineglass at her rapid rise from my sofa but she remains holding it skillfully in her manicured hand.
as the evening progressed into night and the windows turned into a dark mirror reflecting the room, allie and i had made a comfortable wine and pizza night in my living room, where suddenly the certain topic of dating had come up.
ever since her breakup with sean, sheâd become so free, allie had a new cheeky manner about her and i loved it for her. she was in that awkward in between of freshly being freed from commitment and stepping into fortuitous possibilities. however, that also meant her interest in grumbling about romance, and protesting it generally and her micro-analyzing habit of my lack of interest in dating-slash-hookups increased.
i groan in agitation, knowing she got me. the conversation had turned about every which way until we landed on dating apps. now allie was adamant i had to try one out and see where it would lead, saying it would be 'fun' and an 'exciting new experience'. i didnât feel that way at all, but my best friend had a way of challenging my stubbornness like no one else.
thatâs how we got to setting up a perfectly whimsy profile, according to allie, and swiping endlessly.
âoh heâs kinda cute!â
allie whines, âbabe, this is the hundredth guy youâve swiped left. itâs becoming brutal, give one of them a chance, would you?â
my hibiscus scented candle fills the space with a gentle glow, offering some warmth into our night. i glance at her sideways, âwell, i donât like them. isnât that the point?â
i set my wineglass down on my coffee table as she scooted closer to me, taking my manicured hand in both of hers, âthe point is that you should take some risks and put yourself out there, have some fun.â then she let go and took another slice of pepperoni pizza, âhow about this, next person that pops up, you have to swipe right. who knows, you could match, you could not? but at least try.â
if you ever wondered why you should never try to reason with allison hayes is because sheâll get her way either way, so itâs easier to just give in.
âfine.â i mumble as i reject charles. we wait a few seconds for the feed to refresh, then another account pops up suddenly.
college quarterback, history major
i stare at the strikingly handsome picture before me, a definite improvement from all others previously. recognition clings in my memory for a short second before i am interrupted by allie excitedly hopping on my sofa with a shriek.
âno way. dude, no way!â she yells, grabbing my phone, âbeau maxwell?â she muses.
i frown, âyou know him?â
her head snaps towards me so fast i worried she mightâve pulled something, âyou have literally been in the same room as him like a million times, y/n.â allie laughs disbelieving, glancing between my phone and i every few seconds, âthatâs deanâs best friend. iâm pretty sure you guys have the same history courses?â
my eyes squint in thoughtfulness, then i remember, yeah, he sat three rows below me. iâm pretty sure i saw him around campus and parties a few times, though seeing him around and on pictures where he is striking some funny poses, flashing his charming smile and showing off his to-drool-for physique doing what he loves, clearly differs.
while i thought, allie was scrolling through his pictures and prompts, giggling giddily, âthatâs awesome, prompts says, 'the dorkiest thing about me isâ and beau answers, 'that i love historical theater and can tell you all the drama about itâ, oh my, i love this!â
i chuckle and lean into her, taking my phone back into my hands and reading through his profile myself. i wouldnât have expected that from a football quarterback but he is in my historical class after all, so it shouldnât be as surprising. perhaps because he was best friends with dean di laurentis.
a picture of shirtless on top of a mountain on a sunny day, looking off into the scenery. another of him with a backwards cap smiling brightly into the camera while holding a beer like a trophy. him in his football gear. him posing at a party, shimmering of sweat though the smile on his face was so adorably bright. and if you squinted hard enough, you could see dean was cropped out of it.
allie startled me suddenly by clapping her hands once, âalright, swipe him. swipe right!â she edged excitedly.
hesitantly, though with no complaint, i did.
then nothing. purely awaitance in deafening silence of anticipation as my heart beat rapidly inside my chest. after a few seconds, i almost shut off and threw my phone away from me, then suddenly:
you matched with beau maxwell ! say hi ;)
my heart almost leaped out of my chest as allie and i both jumped up from the couch with loud screams of both horror and laughter. she took my hands in hers, then rapidly let them go in fear of disrupting anything inside the app, lastly we covered our mouths with wide eyes and heavy breathing. my brain had to catch up with the rest of my body, and when it did, i glanced back at my phone and took a few steps backwards until the back of my thighs touched the sofa.
our argument was disrupted by another vibration of my phone. when we chaotically leaned closer and fumbled to hold the phone still, we saw a red dotted one by the message inbox.
beau maxwell: this feels like winning the heisman trophy
allie and i scream once more, not being able to contain our thrill. she almost tips over our almost empty wine glasses by jumping up from the couch and hopping around the dorm. surely, some neighbors might complain later, but as of now, itâs totally worth it and understandable.
i drop my phone on the sofa and hide my flushing face behind my palm, disbelieving of whatâs happening.
"hurry, answer!" allie hissed, her hands flapping wildly in the air as if the phone on the cushion might spontaneously combust.
i carefully pinched the edge of the screen, lifting it like a live grenade, my face burning hot. "al, what do i even answer to that?" i mumble as my slightly palm my face in nervosity.
"good question," allie shrugged, practically vibrating with excitement. "heâs paying you a huge compliment, babe. look, he surely remembers you from history class, or he knows you through dean. play it cool.â
my thumbs hover over the keyboard, suddenly feeling heavy and useless as my brain thought of what to say. if beau maxwell has this affect on me each time we talk, iâll have a whole other issue.
allie paces the small space between the coffee table and the dark window, then took a quick sip of her remaining beverage to calm down. the keyboard glowed beneath my thumbs, each letter suddenly feeling impossibly significant. it was ridiculous, iâd written essays longer than this without a second thought, yet simple words had my mind drawing a complete blank.
you: i guess i should feel honored then
i had never been against dating, i just never cared enough to chase it. most people around campus seemed determined to make romance and or hookups the center of their college experience. sports games turned into frat parties, frat parties turned into situationships, messy breakups and rumors reaching every corner of campus.
the football and hockey crowd had always existed somewhere adjacent to my life rather than inside it and iâd definitely seen beau plenty of times, he was hard to miss. but iâd never been interested in whatever came to paying attention to these men surrounding campus. one of my best friends dating a hockey team captain definitely didnât ease being surrounded by them.
my phone vibrated against the couch cushion, causing both allie and i to snap our heads toward it so quickly our foreheads nearly collided. then the phone buzzed again.
beau maxwell: i was hoping you would
beau maxwell: makes me feel slightly less embarrassing for sending that first message.
i found myself wondering if the version of beau everyone seemed to know, myself included, the loud, charismatic quarterback always surrounded by people, was the same guy who had admitted, without hesitation, that heâd felt awkward sending a cheesy opening line. with that thought, my thumb hovered over the keyboard again.
you: i donât think it was embarrassing
you: no. definitely cheesy though
beau maxwell: iâll gladly accept cheesy over embarrassing
allieâs eyes widened before she clapped her hands together with a delighted squeal, bouncing excitedly on the sofa cushions.
beau maxwell: i was hoping matching with me wouldnât scare you off
my eyebrows scrunched in confusion, though eagerness still ran through my body. allie was leaning so close to me, we were practically merging together. her hand reached up, holding out a pizza slice in front of my mouth to feed me.
allie hums as she chewed her own slice, âthis is the best thing ever.â
beau maxwell: you donât seem to like frat guys
you: what makes you say that?
beau maxwell: iâve seen you around, you donât really fraternize with anyone but your close group
beau maxwell: and yet youâre very social and appreciated by everyone
you: you noticed all of that?
beau maxwell: itâs hard not to pay attention to you
you: thatâs⌠incredibly adorable
you: iâm glad we matched, beau
beau maxwell: for the record
i let out a quiet sigh, switching my phone off before setting it beside me on the couch. leaning back into the soft cushions, i allowed the excitement to melt from my shoulders. beside me, allie curled closer without a word, her cascade of chocolate brown waves spilling over my shoulder and brushing gently against my neck. the silky strands tickled my skin, drawing a faint smile from me as she let out a soft, breathy giggle, settling comfortably into my side.
âwow.â i sighed, shaking my head.
our gazes met, and she gave a small nod, her smile never faltering.
iâm sat by the counter in maloneâs with allie, both of us sipping colorful, though non-alcoholic, drinks as we wait for hannahâs last few minutes of waitressing until shift end so we could have a girlsâ night. then my phone buzzed in that particular manner that got my heart excited, knowing it was a certain quarterback i had been consistently texting with for a month now.
my lips curved into the faintest smile, as effortless as the warmth slowly settling beneath my ribs. beside me, allie caught it instantly and nudged my shoulder with her own, eyebrows lifting knowingly as she stole a quick glance at my phone, a smug smile already spreading across her face.
âfriday, huh?â she hummed, nudging me again, âsomeone couldnât wait to let you know.â
i shrug, âor,â i muttered, fighting the smile tugging at my lips, âheâs just letting me know because weâve been talking.â
allie gave me a look that practically screamed you cannot be serious. âbabe,â she scoffed, âhe probably texted you before he texted his own mother.â she took another sip of her drink, still grinning.
the warm buzz of conversation drifted through the air, mingling with the clink of glasses and the faint hum of an old song playing overhead. at times, we could spot hannah hurriedly transporting filled trays between the lively tables.
you: exciting, i thought itâd be longer
you: the opposite, actually
beau: we should probably talk in person eventually
my heart gave one quiet, unexpected stutter, the feeling so fleeting i almost convinced myself iâd imagined it.
beau: unless you plan on dating me exclusively through text messages
you: thatâs a bold assumption
i could almost imagine him smirking at his phone, and the thought of him being so brazen kind of excited me.
beau: would you like me to rephrase, angel?
the warmth of the inside disappeared the moment we stepped outside the bar, replaced by the quiet hum of the campus at night. allie and hannah continued their conversation ahead of me, their voices blending into the background while i checked my phone one last time.
beau: cause i have every intention of properly courting you once iâm back ;)
a soft laugh escaped beneath my breath as i placed my phone back into my handbag, carefully hiding the smile it had left behind.
the afternoon had settled into that rare kind of summer warmth that felt almost weightless as sunlight spilled lazily through the tree leaves of the boysâ backyard, painting golden patches across the lawn and warming everything it touched.
the old picnic bench creaked softly with every shift of our bodies, though inaudible as the house behind me drowned it out with the shouting voices, and the occasional burst of carefree laughter of both hockey and some football players.
friday arrived with a softness i hadnât realized iâd been anticipating.
the thought of finally orbiting the same space as beau after a couple of weeks apart settled somewhere deep within me, quiet but impossible to ignore. there was a strange kind of comfort in knowing that this time would be different.
before, we had only been two people becoming aware of each other, carefully learning the outlines of who we were. now though, we knew. we recognized each other in a way that went beyond a name on a screen or a voice through the phone. somewhere along the way, between the hours spent talking and the little pieces of ourselves we had shared, we had become connected.
âit was a hilarious pun, mr. atwood didnât appreciate it though.â dean chuckled, recounting yesterdayâs occurrence in our political science course. someone, i assumed tucker, started turning on the amber hued lights for the backyard as the evening approached, creating a comfortable atmosphere, opposite to the chaos happening inside the house.
previously, dean and i were acquainted, seeing as we attended the same class and even sat beside one another. however, since finding out i was the one his best friend was kind of, unofficially, romantically involved with, he made an effort to build a friendship. i appreciated it plenty for i was deeply falling into a pit of infatuation for beau and having his best friend approve of me and even initiating amicability between us, was a huge relief.
he had even started calling be buddy, because apparently i reminded him a lot of that one elf from the christmas movie. i didnât care to stop him.
the group had divided all over the house and garden: logan and tucker had stayed in the house, where their close friends were playing games, to keep the chaos manageable. garrett and hannah had disappeared a while ago, leaving dean, allie, and i sat by the picnic table in the backyard, laughing endlessly.
at first i had pretended i hadnât caught glimpses of deanâs hands occasionally sliding too close to allieâs waist, or the way he would try to subtly catch a whiff of her perfume. although, remaining blind to the way heâd caress her untameable waves, was only possible if youâd been a fool.
as one would expect, allie had folded and told me they were sleeping together, casually only of course. however, only a loon would believe that with the way dean naturally gravitated towards her. similarly, i have known allie hayes for too long to not be able to see how thrilled she was around him. they fit in a chaotic way that just made sense.
witnessing that pulled at my heartstrings, joyful for the pair but longing for that same kind of affection, as well.
a finger poked my side gently, âyou okay?â
i blinked rapidly, unaware of my daydreaming, âhuh? of course, yeah.â i sighed out a startled laugh.
allieâs unconvinced smile and nod told a whole other story than her frowning eyebrows. the blond head of dean settled on her shoulder from behind, sharing an identical kind of frowning that almost pulled a laugh out of me.
their chemistry was unconcealable.
he then leaned back and took a long chug of his beer, âhave you talked to him today?â dean spoke while brushing his palm across his mouth.
he didnât need to mention who he was referring to.
i nod as i reach down for my mocktail iâd placed on the lawn before us, âhe called this morning.â ice clinked gently in the glass as i rolled it absently between my hands, âwe talked for a bit, then he went kinda m.i.a throughout the day.â i shrug.
i wanted to remain optimistic and have faith in my belief that beau maxwell was nothing like any man iâd ever been involved with, considering that heâd proved it to me countless times. but fear gnawed at every inch of my body at the thought of him choosing cowardice and ghosting me.
it would be more humiliating than anything else, now that our groups were officially intertwined, with my newfound friendship with dean, and the spatial proximity between us that we dismissed previously couldnât be ignored anymore.
if it was hard to overlook beau maxwell before, itâd be unattainable now.
allie suddenly stood up, pulling me out from my incoming melancholy and startling me. her eyes sparkled with a brightness iâd seen often throughout our years of friendship when she was truly enchanted by something. her manicured hands slapped at deanâs shoulders, who sucked his teeth with no malice as he stood as well.
âbuddy,â dean murmured while slightly bending forward to place his heavy hand on the top of my head, shooting a wink, âi wouldnât worry if i was you.â
then both of them retreated.
leaving me utterly pensive and bewildered.
breaking my own overthinking, i sighed and stood up from my seat at the crumbling bench and took my now half empty glass with me. my feet had to suddenly halt to a stop to avoid collision with a body before me, forcing me to to gaze upwards.
an arrangement of multicolored foliage caught my attention, hiding the figure holding it with its sheer proportion. delicate layers of fuchsia, coral, evergreen and ivory colored petals complemented one another in harmony. the fuchsia-colored hibiscus flowers caught my attention first, then the ivory-coral orchids. filled with cascading wisteria plants and evergreen calla lilies, i was enamored by the overall composition of the bouquet.
gradually, the bouquet lowered downward, then revealed the figure behind it.
there beau stood in an adorably bashful manner. a delicate giggle fell from my mouth and in return, he grinned brightly, the kind that made you forget whatever had weighed on you a heartbeat before.
beauâs smile softened, his head tilting slightly as he studied me, âiâm sorry iâm late.â he teased with a gentle rugged tone, âi had to run an errand.â he concluded.
a delicate flutter moved through my chest, my heart betraying me as it softened at the sheer sweetness of his words and the excitement of finally being in one anotherâs presence.
âhey, angel.â beau murmured. then he closed the distance between our bodies with a single step, glancing down at me with his bashful grin. his fingers of his free hand lightly caught the belt loop of my skirt, a playful little tug bringing me just a little closer while his tongue briefly traced his lips.
i laughed fondly, breaking the hypnotic trance that is beau maxwell, âhi, beau.â i whisper back with a natural ease, though, this sort of felt like an outer-bodily-experience, for my words seemed to disappear somewhere between my thoughts and my mouth. a small, quiet solace bloomed in the warmth of recognition between us.
beauâs head tilted slightly as he studied me, âare you disappointed?â he teased with a gentle rugged tone. his fingers fiddled with my skirt, eliciting excited jolts of goosebumps through my body. his cologne, cedar and old-spice i believed, engulfed me and was adding to his hypnotic charm even more.
âdonât worry, beau. youâre a pretty nice sight.â i respond jokingly, though truthful.
beau looked undoubtably more handsome directly than iâd imagined. those passing glimpses i had gotten from him around campus and our daily calls didnât do him any justice. my pulse hammered so violently against my ribs that i was certain he could hear the chaos he was causing in me.
he raises an eyebrow while trying, and failing, to conceal his evergrowing smirk, âpretty, you say?â
âdonât make me repeat it.â
âiâm just making sure i heard you correctly.â his voice carried that familiar teasing edge i had gotten accustomed to through late-night conversations and endless messages, except now here he was, standing before me, oh so dangerously handsome.
for a moment, neither of us moved. the lukewarm breezy breathed softly around us, while the first crickets started their steady, rhythmic hum in the shadows of the evening.
a slow grin spread across his face, the kind that looked like he was trying very hard not to seem as pleased as he actually was. but by now, i knew beau maxwell pretty well.
âoh, angel.â he shook his brown waves, âyou know how to make a man weak. iâll be thinking about that all night,â he added, the smug grin on his face growing as he let out a quiet, amused groan.
i couldnât help but laugh, fully infatuated by his antics. the teasing eventually faded into a comfortable quiet, the kind that no longer felt unfamiliar. beaus fingers unraveled from my skirt and slid along my hip until he reached my palm. the touch lingered, tender and uncertain, offering me the freedom to retreat if i wished. our fingers intertwined without thought, as if they had already known the shape of one another.
which was ridiculous, because they hadnât. not until now.
i looked at our intertwined fingers as if taking in the weight of the moment, then gazed to his occupied hand. a soft, involuntary hum vibrated in my throat as the scent of the fresh petals washed over me. my eyelids fluttered shut for a brief, dizzying second, my whole body sinking into a profound, heavy weightlessness. when i opened them, my vision blurred slightly at the edges, entirely locked onto him, while a genuine, unprompted ache of sweetness expanded behind my ribs, making my hands cradle the bouquet against my chest like something sacred.
beau looked back at me with quiet devotion, a small smile gathering at the edges of his expression. he didn't say a word, but his gaze dropped to the base of my throat, locking onto the rapid, telltale flutter of my pulse. under the weight of his observation, my fingers trembled against the magenta-pink paper wrapping.
his empty hands found my hips, fingers digging softly through the fabric of my clothes as he gathered me against him. the sudden, solid warmth of his chest pressed against mine, erasing the remaining air between us. automatically, my free hand flattened against his chest, feeling the solid thump of his heart beneath the fabric.
before i could catch my breath, his right hand slid upward, palm tracing the curve of my neck until his fingers cupped my jaw. the world narrowed down to the steady beat of his heart under my palms as he tilted my face just enough to press his lips lingeringly, against my forehead.
"say something," beau murmured, his thumb slightly tracing my lips, âbecause if you keep looking at me like that, iâm not going to let you step away."
my heart did a violent flip, palm now resting on the back of his neck, slightly caressing his skin. "what if i donât want you to?" i whispered, my voice laced with a sudden, breathless heat.
beau didn't blink, his grip at my waist anchoring me flush against him. amber twilight washed over us, melting the sharp edges of the shadows until the only real thing left in existence was the solid, radiating heat passing between our chests.
âgood,â beau rasps, âbecause i plan on keeping you for a long time."
