Matchmaker - Chapter 7
Saturday
I looked out the window at the city speeding by.
All my friends had personal drivers, security, the whole shebang.
I had the money to live their lifestyles.
But I preferred to take a taxi or drive myself.
I preferred to do a lot of things differently than my friends.
And the thought of someone following me around all day, watching me unravel more each day… I couldn’t stand it.
“Matt?”
I shook my head. I’d spaced out while listening to my real estate agent, Bill, go over some details on the phone. “Yes?”
“Are you sure you want to sell?” Bill asked. “I was under the impression that you were fixing it up for yourself. I didn’t realize you’d be looking again any time soon.”
I kept my eyes glued out the window as the taxi sped up. “I outgrew it.” I found myself scanning the people walking along the sidewalk. Looking for…I didn’t really know what I was looking for anymore.
“It’s three bedrooms, isn’t it? That’s a lot of room for growing.”
“Yeah, but I use one for an office. And one for…storage. I want a home gym.”
“It has a basement.”
“Are you going to help me sell it or not, Bill?” My voice came out sharper than I meant for it to.
I’d spent my whole Saturday working at the empty offices of MAC International.
The last thing I wanted to be doing was driving to go meet my friends for drinks.
I just wanted to go home. Or to a hotel. Maybe a hotel would be better.
“Of course I’ll help you sell it. But if you hold on to it for a few more months, the market will be better. The spring market…”
“Is saturated. We’ll be one of the premiere listings of the winter.”
“Okay,” Bill said. “I’ll get the paperwork started. Do you have a number in mind?”
The taxi pulled to a stop outside the bar. “Whatever you think is good.”
“You don’t have a specific number? I know you put a lot of work into the place.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
There was an awkward silence as I stepped out of the car.
I knew my request was unusual. People flipped houses for a profit.
Not for…whatever the hell I was doing. “I just did it for fun,” I added.
“I don’t care about the return.” I stopped outside the bar.
The wind had picked up and I wished I’d worn a warmer jacket.
“So let me get this straight,” Bill said. “You spent all your weekends and free time the past several years renovating a house for…fun?”
“Yeah.” It was a lie and I was pretty sure we both knew it.
But I wasn’t about to tell him that I needed to stay busy just to keep from drowning.
That I meant to stay there forever. That I stupidly renovated it into a family home without even realizing it until it was too late.
That being there made me feel even more alone.
“Well, I’ll need to come see it to get a proper listing price. I haven’t even seen the bathroom renovations yet. Can I stop by tomorrow?”
“As long as it’s before noon. I’m going to be preoccupied the rest of the day.
” I wasn’t sure how long Penny would want to hang out.
But I hoped to have her attention for as long as possible.
I didn’t want to spend another Sunday at the office.
Or watching football at James’ place as the seventh wheel.
People thought being the third wheel was rough. The seventh? So much fucking worse.
“Sounds good. I’ll be there by 10.”
“Great. See you tomorrow.” I hung up and stared at the doors of the bar. I cracked my neck, took a deep breath, and forced a fake smile on my face before walking in.
Despite the fact that it was called My Favorite Bar, I knew for a fact it wouldn’t be my favorite. It was too bright. Too cheery. I liked to drink in peace.
Mason and James were already sitting at a high-top in the back corner.
I made my way past a table of drunk bridesmaids.
One of them backed up, almost falling into me.
I grabbed her arms to help steady her before her drink could spill down the front of my shirt.
For a few seconds she just stared up at me with dilated pupils.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I am now.” She blinked up at me, batting her eyelashes.
Not happening. She was clearly plastered. And I had enough on my mind with the fist fight I was about to walk into with James. Sex was not a priority tonight. The woman didn’t move to stand on her own, so I politely tilted her upright and stepped away from her before she could say anything else.
“Hey,” I said and slid onto the barstool next to Mason.
Mason looked over at the girl I’d rejected and then back at me. “You feeling okay, man?”
“I’m fine.”
He nodded. “You look tired.”
“You look like shit too.”
He laughed. “Touché. I’m trying to land a new client who has these ridiculous requests. He’s impossible and I’ve been spending way too much time in the office.”
“I was at the office all day today too.” I could feel James staring at me, but I didn’t turn to him.
“A problem with one of your clients?” Mason asked.
“No. Just…catching up on some stuff.”
He nodded. It looked like he wanted to ask me another question, but instead, he took a sip of his drink.
I’d first learned to master my fake smile around my family. Mason had been really concerned about me after Brooklyn died. And I hadn’t wanted to talk about it. So I pretended I was fine. And I was pretty sure that he pretended that he thought I was fine. But it worked for us.
I lifted up the scotch they’d ordered me and tried to ignore how awkward it was that James hadn’t said a word since I’d arrived.
“Did you finish all those papers you had to grade?” I finally asked him, hoping to break the awkward silence.
“Yup,” James said, his eyes trained on me. But he surprisingly didn’t look mad at all. If anything, he looked…happy?
Why did he look so happy? I was pretty sure it was because he was about to try to break my nose.
“How was the game last night?” James asked.
“Good. We won again. Undefeated so far.” I stared at him, waiting for him to punch me in the face or something, but he just smiled. Weird. “It might be fun if you guys came to a game one of these days.”
“The Untouchables back at it again?” Rob said and slung his arm around my neck before hugging James and doing a weird handshake with Mason.
No one called us the Untouchables anymore. Not after we all realized that we weren’t untouchable back in high school. That real life could break through a good last name and an exorbitant amount of money. I’d learned the lesson the hardest.
“Sorry I’m late,” Rob said. “I swear RJ is actually aiming to kill me. Whenever I change his diaper it’s like a freaking golden shower.”
We all laughed, but I was pretty sure Mason and I looked more horrified than anything. We were the only ones without kids. Rob’s hair still looked wet and I had so many questions.
“I have so many questions,” Mason said, reading my mind.
“Right,” I said. “The most important being…did you shower after your kid’s golden shower or…”
“Of course I took a shower. RJ hit me right in the face.” He shook his head but he was smiling. “Straight shot into my left nostril.”
I laughed. “Why do you seem proud of that?”
“I think it means he’s going to be great at whatever sport he chooses. Don’t you think most kids just spray everything all over? My boy zeroes in on a target and hits it. He’s a total baller.”
James laughed. “Smart kid.”
Rob nodded. “I bet Liam just pisses all willy nilly without true purpose.”
“Well, I’ll tell you one thing. My son has never pissed in my face. I consider that a win.”
I had to agree with James on this one.
“Whatever,” Rob said. “Just wait until RJ makes varsity and Liam gets cut. Now enough about piss and back to Matt’s game. We really should all go to one. It would be fun.”
“I’m pretty busy on the weekends,” James said. Even though we were all sitting here together with nothing else to do on a Saturday night. But even as he said it, he still didn’t look pissed at me.
What was his game here? I’d snuck around behind his back with his wife. He should have been threatening to kill me by now. I shrugged. “Most of the games are on Fridays.” I didn’t really care if they came to my games though. And I also didn’t expect them to.
“Maybe we can come to the next one,” Rob said. “Geez, I haven’t stepped foot in Empire High since graduation. I bet the girls would like a tour. Do you think you can arrange for us to walk around the school?” he asked me.
“Yeah, probably.” As long as Jefferson stops putting dings in the principal’s car.
“Well, let us know. Even if James and Mason can’t make it, I’m sure I can convince Daphne to come with me. It would be fun. And it would be nice to have a familiar face in the crowd, huh?”
James didn’t mention the fact that Penny had already been to one of my games. And I wasn’t going to mention it either. I cleared my throat. “My parents come to some of the games. And Tanner always comes.”
“Tanner?” Rob shook his head. “Psh. That guy.”
I laughed. “I really don’t understand what you have against him.”
Rob stared at me like I was insane. “He’s just so…Tannery.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I know you guys don’t believe me, but I swear I’ve seen him rocking a man bun walking around the city in a neon green tux. And these weird little goblin shoes.”
“Goblin shoes?”
“The ones with the curvy tops.”
“Elf shoes?” James offered.
“Whatever you want to call them. Weird little goblin elf shoes. The guy is clearly bonkers,” Rob said.
“I’ve only ever seen him in normal colored tuxedos,” I said. “And normal shoes. And I don’t think his hair is long enough for a man bun.” The sides of Tanner’s head were shaved, and even though his hair was long on the top, I’d never even seen him touch it, let alone pull it into a bun.
“It was him. I swear it was. He’s up to something sketchy, I’m telling you.”
“Of course he’s up to something sketchy,” Mason said. “He owns Club Onyx.”