Chapter 25
I place the cookies in the fridge and immediately dive into work. There’s no time for me to think about anything else. I can tell Jen and Riley about Matt later. For now, I need to get these proposals done before I go to sleep.
When I wake up, the first thing I reach for is…
you guessed it…the cookies. And that’s why I didn’t want to keep the boxes of cookies to myself.
I would have no self-control and would eat them for breakfast. Then I’d be screwed because they give me sugar headaches.
Nobody likes a sugar headache, which is why after I swallow down the two chocolate chip cookies, I take ibuprofen.
Now that I’ve had a moment since being with Matt, I wish I had taken food pics to remember our night last night.
It wasn’t so bad being with him. But okay, I swear to take pics this weekend.
It makes me wonder if Matt would take a picture with me.
That sounds like a stupid thought.
Because he would do a lot of other things for me, and he’s proving that every day.
When I’m settling at my desk at the law firm, my phone notifies me of a text. I have to silence my phone, so I pull it out and quickly see the photo that Matt sent me.
Matt: (Image)
Matt: My breakfast because you left one
Amber: I don’t have a picture, but two of those cookies were my breakfast this morning
Matt: Are you saying we have something in common?
Amber: Stop trying to relate to me
Amber: I’m at work stop texting me
Matt: I’m about to be in class
Matt: You stop texting me
I smile at my phone just as Mr. Robinson rounds the corner. Luckily, his head is buried in papers.
“Miss Hughes, we have a few more cases that just opened. I need you to take a look at them and you know what to do.”
“Yes, Mr. Robinson. I’ll get it done as soon as I can.”
“Oh and no cell phones, Amber.”
“Yes. I’m putting that away now. Right to work.”
The day moves along fairly fast. I head to the sandwich joint for lunch, remembering when I saw Matthew in here a few weeks ago.
The suit I had on that day definitely intrigued him.
I wonder what he would do if I sent him a selfie of my outfit.
Maybe I could tease him just a little. I have yet to look at my phone to see if he’s texted me.
I’m avoiding it because the tension and the flirting has me in a chokehold.
I want so badly to talk to him, but I don’t at the same time.
And I think that’s my problem. I want my space but then not at all.
I’ve been told that I lead guys on. I don’t want to lead Matt on.
He can take a joke, but I won’t mess with his head in that way.
By the end of my work day, I finally check my phone. Matt didn’t text me, and I’m glad about it. I wonder if he’ll enjoy working at the Grind Stone without me there. Maybe he’ll text me during his next shift.
The next day when I’m walking into work, Matt texts me at the same time as yesterday.
Matt: Have a good day
Amber: You too
The next day it’s the same exact text message.
Matt: Have a good day
Amber: You too
The next day.
Matt: Have a good day
Amber: You too
It’s hilarious at this point, and I wonder how long it will continue. I scroll through our texts and giggle.
That night when I’m finally work-free, I’m in my pajamas watching a movie on my phone when Matt FaceTimes me. Frick, I’m so not dressed for this.
I answer on the third ring, realizing I have nowhere to run. I can’t change my clothes in two seconds.
“Hi,” I say as his face comes on my screen.
“Hi, are you sleeping?”
I snuggle the pillow and say, “No, but you interrupted my movie.”
“You look so tired. Do you need anything?”
I shake my head. “I should probably just sleep.”
“Okay. I need to study. Do you want to fall asleep with me on the phone?”
My face pinches. I see it in my reflection. “Fall asleep on the phone? No, Matthew. I decline your proposal.”
He laughs. “I can imagine a man asking you to marry them and that would be your reply.”
I roll my eyes. “I won’t be having a man to ask me such a big question any time soon.”
“You don’t want to get married?”
I roll over. “I want to, eventually. But I want to go to law school and get that career first.”
“You do?” Matt asks, shocked.
“Yeah. You sound surprised.”
“I guess I am. I thought what you’re doing now is your career.”
“It’s not the end game,” I say. “A girl’s got big dreams.”
“So, you’re going back to college? When?”
“I have to get in first. I’m deep in work right now, but I need to focus on getting accepted. It’s hard to get in.”
“Well, I don’t think I’m being drafted in the NHL yet, so if I want to get my master’s, I can still play for the college and pray for my chance then.”
“I’m probably going to move. I’m applying to a ton of colleges. One has to say yes.”
“You’ll get your yes, Amber. And maybe when you do, I can play for that hockey team.”
I chuckle. “That’s quite the commitment…”
“I need a change. I could stay here and work at the Grind Stone, but it wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“If this is your way of saying that you’ll miss me one day…thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I guess since we’re on the topic, you are fun to prank and maybe I would miss messing with you. Out in the real world, there are a bunch of babies who can’t take a joke.”
“Oh, I know. Have you been on TikTok?”
That makes me fall silent, thinking about my comments from my spam account, but luckily, he continues.
“Or on any social media lately. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, I could totally see you being a troll on there.”
“A troll?” I scoff. “I, so, did not make a fake profile in high school just to troll you.”
He squints his eyes and shakes his head. “I knew that was you. I knew it!”
I laugh. “Please tell me that you also created a fake account to troll me.”
He shrugs. “Maybe.”
I sit up and laugh. The camera is at a horrible angle of my face now. He can see my double chin. “I’m glad to know that we are alike,” I confess.
“We’ve seen each other at our worst.”
“I guess we have,” I admit.
“And look at us…talking like we’re real friends.”
“That’s what we are now, right? Making big progress in our lives. Look at us go.”
He smiles. “We’re on a roll. Self-development is the best type of growth.”
“Have I helped you self-develop, Matt?” I ask sarcastically, but now he looks like he’s stewing over the answer.
He laughs. “Yeah. I could've thrown down with Grey last week, but I didn’t. I also would’ve left Michelle on the side of the road after the party but I thought to myself, what would Amber do? So, I waited until I was at the dorms to boot her out.”
“Wait, when was that?” I ask with a smile on my face.
His face drops, revealing that this is going one of two ways. I’m about to hear something I won’t like, or he’s going to lie to me. I wait for him to speak.
“You know the night of the party when Harvey called?”
“Yeah,” I say as my heart races.
“I had to calm down Michelle. I mean…when I got there, she wasn’t out of control, but she was drunk and upset with me, so I had to take her home.”
“Okay,” I say as my heart stops pumping. I think about the possibility of Matt and Michelle hooking up that night. I don’t think I would be upset if it happened. I guess I would understand.
“I apologized for leading her on. I told her that she deserves better.”
“Wait, you told her she deserves better?” I chuckle. “Why does every guy say that?” I’m sitting straight up in my bed now as I wait for his answer.
“What? That the girl deserves better?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I mutter. “Like what does that even mean?”
“For starters, I only liked what she looked like. It didn’t matter what she was really like, so yeah, she deserves better than some guy who just wanted to hook up.”
“Wow, you are a fuck boy.”
“I’m…I’m not proud of that.”
“So, did you have makeup sex with her that night?”
“No. I apologized and told her to get out of my truck. I told her that we were done and to stop coming around.”
“Did you open the door for her?” I tease.
His brows raise. “You’re impossible.”
“I’m not actually. It’s a valid question.”
“Yeah, you are. You’re mocking me. No, I didn’t open the door for her.”
I’m trying to put the puzzle pieces together. “Matt, that’s kind of fucked up. Why would you treat her like that?”
“You know, it’s not just me in the situation.
Michelle didn’t try to get to know me. She doesn’t know anything about me, which is why she was fine with hooking up.
Did she apologize for that? No, she can’t even apologize about uploading our video to a fucking porn site.
I said I was sorry for being an asshole, but she didn’t once apologize for using me.
So, back to your original question–self-growth.
The old Matthew Pearson wouldn’t apologize for anything.
If I fucking do something, I own up to it without being sorry. ”
“Okay,” I mumble. “It sounds like you won’t be doing that again.”
He shakes his head.
So, I ask the hot question of the hour, “Are you sleeping with anyone now?”
His chair rolls until the back hits the bed. “No.”
“You say it like you’re offended.”
“I just…why would I be talking to you and sleeping with someone else?”
I shrug. “I don’t know why guys do anything that they do. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were sleeping with someone. It’s not like we’re a thing.”
“We’re about to be a thing.”
I scoff. “We are not.”
“This weekend. A few days from now, you’re going to be holding my hand and being a witness to my mom’s elopement. A fake girlfriend. Your signature on her marriage certificate. We’re about to be a thing.”
My eyes widen at that thought. I can’t be a freaking witness. I just did the paperwork for her divorce. I put the awkwardness I feel into mocking him. “When you put it that way.”
“I’m not sleeping with anybody. I’m not interested in anybody. I’m not talking to any other girls right now. I’m not actually a fuck boy. I just like people to think that I am.”
“But you are,” I argue. “Michelle?”
“We were hooking up. I wasn’t hooking up with anyone else at the time. Yeah, I started talking to Maddie and then there was someone before Michelle. I don’t date. I normally only hook up. But self-growth.”
I flick up my eyebrows.
“What about you?” he asks. “When’s the last time you had a boyfriend? Was it that poor guy who came into the Grind Stone?”
I laugh. “I don’t have boyfriends. I told you before that I’ve never had a boyfriend. I’ve dated. I’m not a virgin, but…” I shrug.
“Nobody can handle you?” He nods, pursing his lips.
I chuckle. “Sure. Nobody can handle me. And I’m busy.”
“Not too busy for me.”
“Ugh,” I groan. “That’s because you won’t leave me alone, Matthew. Agh.”
He smiles. “I do appreciate you making time for this weekend. It’s saving my ass.”
“Why can’t you tell your mom that you and your ex broke up?”
He stalls for a second and then says, “Because she’s always said one thing to me during my childhood. She would tell me to take my girlfriends seriously. She told me that if I commit to one, I make sure she’s the one. And as you know, Michelle fucked that up for me.”
“How were you so sure that your ex was the one?” I question.
“I didn’t. I just finally met a girl I wanted to bang and get to know. Plus, her family are a bunch of hockey players. I figured I’d fit right in, and I did. I met her parents, and they approved. Her brother approved. Do you know Ryan Wilder?”
I shake my head and shrug.
“Hockey stuff,” he explains. “But I fucked that up.”
“Are you sad about it? Do you miss her?”
He’s already shaking his head. “No. I see her now and don’t feel anything.”
“Oh, that’s not what I was expecting you to say after saying you thought she might be the one.”
He shrugs. “It was two months. I guess in the moment, I thought I loved her. But I don’t know. It was weird how it ended. We liked each other. I begged for her back, but yeah, I got over it fairly quickly when I kept coming into the Grind Stone.”
“Matt…” I trail off.
“Matt,” someone shouts from behind him. His bedroom door opens as he swings around to look at them. “Wanna go grab a beer?”
“Nah, man. I’m good,” Matt says.
“Fuck, you sure?”
My view changes, so he must hold up the phone.
“Shit, sorry.”
“Have a good night. Call me if you need a DD!”
“Will do.”
“Sorry,” Matt says into the screen. “What were you going to say?”
I smile because he’s living a cute life right now. College, college friends, friends going out to get a beer, he’s an athlete, dating girls, roommates…he has it made right now. He’s living the classic American dream of early adulthood.
“Um, so, I was wondering if a distraction (me) is actually a good idea. Self-development is about facing your problems, not about being distracted by things.”
He takes a long moment to think. “I don’t have to say that anymore if it bothers you.”
“It’s not that it bothers me, Matt. Sometimes I’m flattered really. I’m worried you’re not facing your problems. I don’t want to be someone’s distraction from reality. It makes me feel bad. Like really bad.”
“That’s fair. Well, you have my full attention now. Everything else is a distraction.”
“I don’t think you actually like me. I think you like that I compete with you and give you shit for everything.”
“I’m sorry,” he says, his face twisting. “Is that not you?”
I shrug. “It is.”
He shakes his head. “So, I do like you.”
I smirk.
He scowls. “Will you please stop fucking with me?”
I hide my smile now. “I’m not messing with you.”
“It feels like you are.”
“I’m not,” I argue.
“Okay. I am going to let you sleep now.”
I lay back on the bed and say, “Okay.”
“For the elopement, you need to wear white.”
“Really?” I ask. “Why?”
He shrugs. “Mom’s request. So, I’ll pick you up Saturday at 8.”
I nod. “I’ll see you then. Have a good night.”
“Good night.”
I quickly press the end button and return to my movie. Now this is a real distraction from reality. About five minutes pass by, and I don’t think I have anything white to wear. I swipe the movie to the side and shop online for something white.