Chapter One #2
Hadley twirled her straw around in her pina colada. “If it’s Evan, ignore. If it’s Matt, feel free to share with us.”
I was tempted to slide my phone away, but curiosity got the best of me. Peeking over, the pink heart and hockey stick emojis were dead giveaways.
“Matt,” I said.
Folding her hands together on the polished wooden tabletop, Hadley’s spine straightened like she was a robot. The dirty blonde, messy bun that sat perfectly atop her head bobbled as her chin dipped towards me. “Please share with the class.”
I glared at her. “Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?”
“You have,” she answered. “Many times.”
Dina sneered. “I have too.”
With both our eyes staring into Hadley’s soul, she squirmed, sighing. “I know, I know, I’m annoying. I’m just Matt’s biggest fan.”
We’d had this same conversation probably a thousand and one times over the years, and every time, it ended the same way— with me sidestepping it all.
I knew she loved Matt; he was hard not to love. But when it came to dating him, I had my long list of reasons why that was a bad idea.
I didn’t have to use the bathroom, but I stood anyway, a desperate attempt to avoid the conversation at hand. “Going to pee,” I lied.
Luckily, I snuck my phone away with me as the girls got talking.
Mattie: So, are u dating him?
Me: I thought you didn’t care?
Mattie: I’m just a curious and caring friend, is all
Right. I smiled, lightly shaking my head.
I made a mental note to answer Matt later, and by the time we Ubered home, I had made it a whole three steps into my apartment before I got another call. But now, it was a FaceTime.
“Yes, Mattie?”
Matt’s impeccably chiseled face appeared on the screen, big brown eyes staring at me so intensely, it was as if he were standing in front of me.
The corners of his mouth tipped upwards in the slightest, surrounded by brown stubble.
“I see you’re home,” his eyes flickered.
Kicking off my sneakers and making my way to the couch, I wrapped myself up like a burrito with the nearest blanket, only leaving an arm out to hold the phone.
“Were you stalking me again?”
A sigh echoed, but Matt’s grin never faded. “I’m not sure if ‘stalk’ is the correct term. I’d more so say I was just checking to make sure you got home safe.”
Matt was the only guy I’d ever shared my location with on FindMyFriends.
Not even my ex-boyfriends ever made the cut for that.
To me, there was something insanely personal about giving someone access to that information, and out of all the men in the world besides my own father, the thought of any of them knowing my location at all times was unsettling. Besides Matt, of course.
“Well, I’m home,” I grinned, settling into the couch.
“I’m glad,” he paused, his mouth opening and smacking shut like he stopped himself from saying something.
I sighed, knowing what was still lingering on his mind. “No, Mattie. I’m not dating him. He’s just a friend.”
“Cool,” he smiled again. “I also wanted to ask— are you coming up this weekend?”
Holding back an eyeroll, I replied, “Yes, Matt. For the millionth time, I will be there.”
Voice quieting, it almost sounded like he was speaking to himself when he said, “Okay good.”
The NCAA tournament was this weekend, and after a heartbreaking loss last year to Western Michigan during the second round of the tourney, the boys had been striving for a Frozen Four this year.
I promised Matt that I’d go. But even after assuring him at least fifteen times over the past month that I’d be there, he continued to ask.
I’d been to every single tournament game that Matt had ever played, and he’d be far wrong if he thought for a second that I’d miss one now.
I was always excited to see Matt, sure, but I was also excited to see my newest girlfriends, Kota and Bridget. Thanks to Crew, Matt’s ex-roommate and the most notorious playboy on Cedar U’s hockey team, Kota and I met under strange circumstances, when her and Crew were in the midst of prank wars.
To put it quite frankly— I slid into her DMs.
Before I’d done so, I’d heard nothing but horrible things about her.
“She’s a bitch.”
“She’s evil.”
“She has it out for me.”
Granted, all those comments had come from Crew. And if I knew anything about that man after nearly three years, it was that he was overdramatic and a part-time cry-baby.
Aside from all of that or his sly advances that got him nothing but death threats from Matt, Crew was a pretty decent guy.
Regardless, everything I’d heard had me curious about the infamous Dakota Darling, and after a quick stalk of her Instagram profile, I realized that she seemed like someone I’d be friends with. So, I wasted no time getting our friendship started.
Kota and I had been texting almost every day for months, accompanied by an occasional FaceTime.
I didn’t know as much about Bridget outside of the texts she sent in our three-way group chat or the adorable photos of her and Lane, Cedar U’s hockey captain, that she’d been posting online.
Even with the little I knew about her, I could conclude— good for Lane.
Because I could tell she had a genuine heart and an almost angelic aura.
Not to mention she was stunning, and I was jealous of her beautifully natural strawberry-blonde hair.
Positioning the phone on a nearby ledge, Matt’s entire upper half came into frame, cut off at the waistband of his black sweats.
With no shirt on to hide each and every dip along his abdomen, Matt didn’t bother checking on me as he chucked a pile of clothes into the washer, biceps on full display as he did so.
“Are you driving up with our parents or separately?” he wondered.
“Probably with them. It’s easier that way.”
Pausing his laundry to raise a brow at me, his mouth twitched. “And by that, you mean you’re gonna sit in the back and watch Dance Moms the whole way?”
I beamed. “You know me so well, Mattie.”
He gave a magnetizing chuckle, and I’d never admit aloud that I had to hold myself back from falling victim to the pull. “Jade’s coming too.”
“Oh, good! She’ll watch Dance Moms with me.”
“You two are ridiculous.” But his ridicule was wiped out by the teasing smile that I caught as he turned away to grab his laundry detergent.
After washing my face and brushing my teeth while Matt stayed on the phone with me, I retreated to my room, letting him stare at my ceiling while I threw my jammies on.
We both climbed into our beds at the same time, mirroring each other with the comforter up to our necks, except his was navy blue and mine was cream colored with pink flowers on it.
Everything was so normal with Matt, so natural. After sixteen years, we had pieces of each other encrypted into who we were, tiny fragments like mannerisms, speaking habits, personality traits. Other than Lo, my own flesh and blood, Matt was the closest thing I had to my other half.
We chatted about how my finals went, how Matt was feeling about this weekend, and what our plans should be after the tournament.
And ultimately, when the wave of exhaustion finally began pulling me under, my eyes came to a close, but the soothing melody of my favorite person’s voice gently sounded from the phone.
Quiet and soft, Matt murmured, “Goodnight, El.”
“Goodnight, Matt,” I whispered back.