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“I know, I know. You’refine,” Maddie cut her off, smirking and shaking her head. “But don’t you want to be better than fine?”
Saff was quiet for a few moments, the crunching slowly ceasing. Maddie waited for her next excuse or reason for saying no.
“Okay.”
Maddie tilted her head. “Okay?”
She heard the scrape of the chair on the floor, then light footsteps. “Yeah. Okay,” Saff said, her voice coming closer.
Maddie smiled, waiting to feel her sit down on the bed beside her. But after a few moments of waiting, she heard a shuffling near the bed.
“I'm sitting on the floor next to the cot,” Saff said from somewhere close beside her.
Maddie smirked. She should have expected that. It seemed more in Saff’s wheelhouse.
Sitting up fully and turning her body, Maddie ran her hand along the bed until it reached the edge, and her knuckles touched what she assumed to be Saff’s back or shoulders. She let her hand drift up until it hooked onto her shoulder, then swung her leg around, positioning her knees on either side of Saff’s body.
She could feel Saff’s tense upper body leaning forward, careful not to touch the bed or her legs. That also seemed very on-brand for her.
Maddie placed her other hand on Saff’s shoulder, then drifted it to the base of her neck. She heard Saff take another bite of her popcorn.
“Where does it hurt?” Maddie asked.
“Everywhere,” she murmured through her mouthful.
“Do you have any cuts or bruises?”
“Back of my head near the top. And right temple.”
Maddie adjusted her hand, trailing it up Saff’s neck and to the base of her hairline. “Okay, tell me if anything hurts.”
Saff continued eating as Maddie worked her fingers into the rock-hard muscles at the base of her neck and shoulders. And after a minute or two, she felt Saff’s shoulders slowly lean back, inch by inch, until they rested against her inner thighs.
Maddie's lips curled up into a small smile.
She removed one of her hands to scratch an itch on her chest, and when she did, she felt a thick vinyl logo on the front of the shirt she was wearing.
“What's on the front of the shirt?” she asked, setting her hand back on Saff’s neck.
Saff adjusted in front of her. Leaving her hands draped where they were, one of them slid forward onto Saff’s collarbone and chest as she turned.
Saff paused for a second, then Maddie felt her turn back around.
“Penn State logo and something about a soccer tournament,” Saff murmured.
Maddie tilted her head. “Is it yours?”
“Yeah,” Saff said, leaning back into place against her legs.
“You played soccer at Penn State?” Maddie asked. She'd never really been into sports, but she knew enough to understand that it was an accomplishment worth being proud of.
“Mhm.”
The light clink of dishware being set on the floor rang out beside her. Then she felt Saff’s shoulders and back expand slightly, releasing a deep exhale before she leaned further back against her thighs.
Maddie moved her hands over her shoulders, running them along the sides of her neck and the muscle beside her collarbone. “You must’ve been pretty good.”
Saff didn't answer. Instead, she asked, “Did you play any sports?”