17. Matt
Chapter 17
Matt
F riday night couldn’t come fast enough. It was a warm night, perfect for putting the top down on the Porsche. Just being in this car makes me feel like a kid again, and having Kylie next to me? Well, it’s everything great about being back home.
I run my hands through my hair and stare at myself in the mirror. I adjust the collar on my button-down and smooth the front of the shirt over my chest. I undo my belt, reposition it, then tighten it once more. Play with my hair one more time and?—
“Dad, stop fidgeting.”
I look in the mirror to see him standing in the doorway behind me. “I’m not. I’m just?—”
“Fidgeting. And wasting time. You were supposed to drop me off at Grandma and Pop’s ten minutes ago.”
I try to hide my smile and raise a brow at his calling me out instead. “I’m almost ready. Go get your bag and I’ll be out in a minute.”
He drops his arms to his sides with exasperation and turns from the doorway. “She already likes you. I don’t know why this is such a big deal.”
I hear his feet pad down the hallway and look at myself again in the mirror. Why is this a big deal? Maybe it’s really not. It’s just me and Ky. Like it used to be. But there's a lot of time in between . I take a breath and let it out slowly.
“She’s fun. She’s easy to be around. Stop overthinking.”
My phone goes off with a text and I can only imagine it’s my mother wondering where I am.
Danny: Heard there's an opening in the calendar.
Me: No parties for you.
Danny: And no weddings for you. At least not yet.
Me: The wine event is over so now we’re back to gossip?
Danny: No gossip. Just facts.
Danny: Heard you have a big date tonight.
Me: Of course you heard.
Danny: Make sure you pick her up in that fancy car of yours.
Me: Stop talking to my mother.
Danny:
I walk into the kitchen and find Liam waiting with his backpack on, twirling the Porsche keys. “Pick her up in style, Dad.” He tosses me the keys and I catch them.
“This town talks way too much. Let’s go.”
Ma was at the door waiting for Liam when I pulled in so I waved and didn’t get out. Liam went running to her and I watched for a moment as his face lit up when she hugged him hello, once again cementing the idea that moving here was the best idea for him.
I backed out of my parents’ driveway, drove for a mile, and pulled into Kylie’s driveway, but before I could jump out, she was already strutting toward the car, with her long, lean legs in a short flyaway skirt that waved in the breeze. A fitted long sleeve shirt tucked in that accentuated her curves. Curves that I got a quick taste of but curves that I need to be better reunited with.
I round the car quickly, meeting her at the passenger door. “You’re stunning.”
“Stunning? Wow. That’s quite a compliment, Mr. Byrne.”
I suppress a groan and reach for her hand, pulling her close to me, laying my other hand on her hip. I give her a lingering kiss on one cheek, then the other.
“My, so romantic. This isn’t the nineteen-year-old kid I remember. You’ve got moves now.”
“I’ve got lots of moves.” I waggle my brows and she slaps at my chest.
“You better feed me first. I’m starving.” I raise a brow and smirk when she corrects herself. “For food , Matthew.” I snicker and step back to open her door and allow her to sit. When I shut it, she says, “Then your cock.”
I drop my head and laugh. “Oh, Kylie, your mouth is going to get you in trouble.”
I get in the car and we drive, then ten minutes later we’re parking on main street. A few people walking by nod their heads to us and say hello, but otherwise no one is giving us a second glance. Not that I thought it would be a big deal, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little concerned about how others may perceive seeing us out together so soon after she broke up with Patrick.
We enter The Catch, an amazing seafood restaurant on the water, and are seated out on the deck where we get to watch the sunset.
“This is beautiful. You timed this perfectly.”
“Just luck, honestly. Though I do sit out on my deck each night around this time, so maybe it was instinctual.”
We place our orders and get a bottle of wine. The dusk turns into night and the low lights come on, reflecting off the water. The evening gets better and better as it goes, and I’m falling in deep with the one woman who I could never forget. The conversation has been easy, and now we’re finishing up our drinks after an amazing meal.
“So how’s it been being back? Are you getting used to Starlight Bay again?”
I nod. “I am. It feels the same but different at the same time, ya know? It’s like I was kind of dreading what I knew this town to be, but I didn’t get the feelings I expected.”
“I understand that. You were a kid when you left. A lot has changed, you’ve changed. I hope you’ve been met with good expectations though.”
I smile at her. “ Grape expectations.” She laughs at my bad joke. “I never imagined this is what I’d be doing with the rest of my life, but it looks like it’s going to stick.” I take a drink and sit back, tapping the table with my finger. “I thought about coming back to visit many times. But every time I’d try to plan a weekend, my ex-wife would have an excuse for us not to. She’d say she had to work, or she had planned a dinner with her friends. Then, of course, when we divorced, my time was even less as I had to be both mom and dad. So I just kept putting it off.” I grow quiet. “I should have made the time. When Ma called to say Uncle Paul died, it was a shock. He was young. I thought I had time to see him again, see everyone again.”
“How do you feel about making Starlight Bay your home again?”
I look out over the water. The sun that hung low for half our dinner is now asleep, the moon is full in the sky, the breeze is warm, and I’ve got the best girl sitting across from me. I’ve felt this feeling a thousand times, and to be honest, it's one of the main reasons that kept me from coming back. I knew I should, I knew it’d be great to reconnect with a lot of people from Starlight Bay, but I also knew if I ever saw Kylie again, I’d have to have her. I’d have to have this moment, right now. And if I couldn’t, then being in Starlight Bay was only going to be torture.
“I feel good now.” I nod, more to reassure myself. “Strange how sometimes the worst event can turn into the best one. It’s a sin to think we have all the time in the world only to find out it can be stolen quickly. I’m glad my time hasn’t run out.”
She watches me with knowing eyes, smiles, and says, “I’m glad too. I realized I was wasting time waiting for a change that was never going to come. I need someone who understands my obsession with football, or who can overlook my apathy at doing things that are expected.”
“Like renewing your car registration.”
“Like that, yes.” We laugh together. “I know I’m forgetful about stuff I don’t care about and overzealous about stuff I do.” She shrugs. “No one really got that. Except you.”
“I’m glad everyone else was more of a loser than I am. Keeps your choices slim.”
We left the restaurant and drove around town a bit, reminiscing about the car we were in and places we used to hang out. The night, though late, was still warm and the moon that was always so full, was right there front and center again, lighting our way. With the top down on the car, the breeze flipped the hem of her skirt again and again. That short, teasing skirt had been testing every ounce of my self-control since she walked out of her house. Long, bare, golden legs on display, yet acting like she didn’t know what she was doing to me. Without thinking, I reach out and find the warm skin of her thigh, smooth and soft under my palm, and rest my hand there, letting it say everything I haven’t yet worked up the courage to.
She doesn’t flinch, doesn’t brush it away.
Instead, she lays her hand on top of mine. A silent finally . The night seems to shift and the time between us being together as kids and our memories over the years, disappears.
Kylie is mine, always was.
She widens her legs subtly, and says, “There is something about this car, isn't there?”
“Are you more attracted to it than me?”
She laughs. “It’s not just the car. The one driving it isn’t so bad either.”
I squeeze her leg before trailing my fingers to the inside of her thigh, close to her pussy. Her head falls back on the headrest and rolls to watch me. I smirk as my eyes flit from her face to her leg and back to the road again. I move my hand closer to her core, lifting her dress until I’m able to stroke her over her panties with my middle finger. She lets out a soft moan and my cock immediately presses against my zipper.
I continue to play and say, “You had your way surprising me at the winery the other night. But I need more than just a chair, Ky. Can I take you back to my place?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”