Elite - Chapter 35 #2
He took a deep breath. “I love the way you look at me. I love the way you look when you look at me…like your whole face lights up.” He put his hand on my face, covering my eyes.
“Oops.” He removed his hand. “I think I probably look like that when I look at you too. And I love your skin.” He ran the tip of his nose across my cheek.
“It’s even softer than your hair. And you always smell like fresh air.
Even when it’s hard to breathe in the city.
I love that you don’t care about money like everyone else in my life does.
I love that you haven’t asked me once what I want to be when I grow up.
For the record, I want to take over my dad’s company but he’s going to give it to Mason.
Which isn’t really fair because I think I’d be really good at it.
But I won’t even get a chance. A few months ago I even did a SWOT analysis for why he should be doing more digital advertising than traditional print advertising.
I made a stupid slide show and everything.
And he told me he didn’t have time to even see it.
Digital advertising is the future and he doesn’t believe in me enough to even hear me out. ”
God, Matt. He was rambling, but I didn’t want him to stop. I wanted to know every confession he had. Drunk Matt was honest and talkative. Not angry.
“I love that you don’t care about what other people think of you.
Not even me. Especially not me when you’re mad.
I kinda even love when you’re mad. Because you stare at me with all this heat in your eyes and it makes me hard.
It’s so hard to control myself around you because you’re so beautiful.
I love talking to you. And I love that you’re wearing sneakers with your dress.
It’s cute but somehow fucking hot too. You look amazing. ”
I looked down at my Keds. He was the only one that noticed them all night.
He was drunk. I knew that. But he still noticed things about me that no one else did.
He saw me. He knew me. And he wasn’t embarrassed of me.
He was just worried about his friend. Ex-friend.
He’d made a few mistakes, but I certainly had too.
“Does that answer your question?” he asked. “I don’t remember what you asked. Did you even ask a question?” He laughed and put his chin on top of my head again. “Your hair smells so good.”
“You’ve mentioned that.”
He leaned forward, putting more of his weight on me. “I didn’t like it when you kissed James. Can you please not do that again?”
“I promise I won’t do it again.”
“And you won’t sleep with him, right? Because I’ve been waiting really impatiently to be your first. Do you know how often I have to take cold showers because of you?”
I laughed. “No, I don’t.”
“A lot. But I jerk off thinking about you more than that.”
I swallowed hard. Drunk Matt was definitely honest. “A lot, huh?”
“Mhm.” He moved his lips to my ear. “I need to tell you a secret. I don’t think I mentioned this yet, but I’m a little drunk tonight.”
“Oh you’ve mentioned it.”
“Well that’s not the secret. The secret is that it’s okay if you want to take advantage of me. I won’t press charges.”
I laughed. “Maybe a different night. When you’ll remember.”
“Okay. I’ll just dream of you again then. I dream of you a lot too. It’s better than sheep.” He laughed.
Did he mean counting sheep? He wasn’t making any sense.
He leaned forward, putting more of his weight on me.
Oh my God, he’s so heavy. “Matt, I can’t hold you.”
“Just for a second.”
“You’re too heavy.”
He giggled. “Oh no.” He moved back and looked down at his perfect torso. “Is that why you don’t want me? You think I’m fat?”
“What?” I couldn’t help but laugh. “No. You’re perfect.”
“Then why are you torturing me?”
“I’m not trying to.”
“Then why’d you dance with Felix right in front of me?”
That was a good point for a drunk person to make. “I’m sorry.”
“I made one mistake, Brooklyn. I should have told James right away, but I was being stupid. Isabella got under my skin. But that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to be happy. That doesn’t mean you aren’t my forever. You are my forever. I know you are.”
Of course he was allowed to be happy. And of course he was allowed to make mistakes. I’d certainly made a ton of them.
“I want to make a deal.” He stuck out his hand for me. “No more secrets between us. Ask me anything,” he said. “And I’ll answer it.” He grabbed my hand and shook it before I could decide.
“Okay, Matt.”
“You didn’t ask a question.”
I’d already asked him all the questions I needed to.
And I believed him. Rachel was clearly a mess, not that I was one to talk.
Her relationship with James had to be toxic because James was toxic.
And who knows. Maybe James was right. Maybe Rachel had thrown herself at Matt because all she cared about was money.
And she was scared James was going to renounce his inheritance.
“Ask me anything,” Matt said again.
“Why do you call Isabella Wizzy? What does it mean?”
He started laughing. “Wizzy?” He laughed even harder. “Oh you’re going to like this. And she’d probably kill me for telling anyone. Actually, I think Mr. Pruitt’s telling the truth. I don’t think she can actually kill us.”
“I hope so.”
“Yeah, me too.” He went to go put all his weight on me again, but I pressed my hand against his chest to stop him. He was going to knock me over.
“So what does Wizzy mean?”
He giggled. “Isabella peed in our pool during Mason’s 12 th birthday party.” He put his hand over his mouth to help stifle the laughter. It didn’t help and now I was laughing too.
“But how would you even know that she did? It’s not like she pooped in the pool.”
“We have that urine-indicator dye. It turned bright purple all around her. You should have seen her face. She tried to swim away and the purple followed her.”
“Is that seriously a thing?”
“Yes!” He giggled. “Wizzy didn’t know it existed either.” He looked at me so seriously. “But now she does.”
Wizzy because she whizzed in the pool. That was amazing. And maybe that information would somehow be useful whenever Isabella decided to torture me next. I looked over my shoulder at Kennedy and Isabella dancing.
“Hey.” Matt turned my face back toward him. “Are we okay? I swear I don’t have any other secrets.”
I swallowed hard. Maybe he didn’t. But I did. I stared into his eyes. He was drunk. He might not remember this. But I needed to tell him anyway. “When we weren’t talking…I kind of started hanging out with someone else.”
“Felix is dumb. Don’t date him.” He stuck out his tongue.
I laughed. “Not Felix.”
“James is dumb too. He’s the worst. He’s not my friend anymore.”
“Yeah.” Matt was breaking my heart. He looked so sad when he said James wasn’t his friend. “But it wasn’t him either.”
Matt made a farting noise with his mouth.
“Put that away, I’m trying to talk to you.” I tapped on his tongue, which just made him lick my hand. “Matt!”
“Brooklyn!” he said in a high-pitched voice that probably matched my own.
I couldn’t help it. I burst out laughing. Which just made him laugh too. Which somehow ended up with him pressing his lips to mine. For just a second we stood like that. Remembering what it felt like to be us. But then he proceeded to make the farting noise again against my mouth.
“Hey.” Mason wrapped his arms around Matt’s shoulders, pulling him away from me. “I think I should get you home before you start doing something embarrassing like making farting noises against your girlfriend’s mouth.” He winked at me.
“But I was just talking to Brooklyn. I need another minute.”
“Trust me,” Mason said. “You’ve probably done enough talking. Let’s get you home.”
Matt nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, Brooklyn. Don’t sleep with someone dumb tonight. I love you.”
I laughed. “I love you too.” The words fell out of me. I meant them. I did. I just wasn’t sure why my chest ached when I said them.
Matt smiled at me over his shoulder as Mason walked him toward the ballroom doors. “You are not my dirty little secret!” he sang as Mason opened the door. Mason elbowed him in the ribs to make him stop which just made both of them laugh.
I wanted to go after them. I wanted to go to sleep in Matt’s arms and tell him everything I’d done wrong. All the mistakes I’d made. I wanted a fresh start.
But Kennedy bumped into me, almost toppling us both over. I grabbed her to steady her on her feet. Mason would take care of Matt. And I needed to get Kennedy home. But where the hell was Miller?