Chapter Six #2
She relaxed a little at hearing Bette was fine but then tensed at the thought of her and Reese in a small area. Last time she was in Reese’s personal space, it didn’t go so well. “Her name is Mabel. She’s Kenny’s aide during the day.”
Reese frowned. “Kenny?”
“Yeah, that’s Kerrie’s twin brother. He has special needs.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that. We’ve been so busy I haven’t gotten to spend a lot of time talking about stuff that isn’t work-related. So, do you live with Kerrie?” she asked, the tilt of her head causing her auburn hair to sway.
Matty laughed. “Sort of, but not really. I rent the basement apartment from her. She, Bette, and Kenny live upstairs. Kerrie’s been so good to me that I’ll watch Kenny to give them all a break. Plus, I like spending time with him. He’s a cool dude.”
“That’s really nice of you.”
“I guess,” she said with a shrug.
An awkward silence settled heavily between them. The last time they were face-to-face, Reese had been cold as ice. Now, she was doing Matty a favor.
“Well, um, let me grab my purse and clock out. Do you mind going to lock the back door? We’ll go out the front.”
“I can do that.”
Locking up didn’t take very long. The Church only had two exits upstairs, and the basement door was always locked.
She followed Reese out to her small SUV.
“Please excuse the laundry baskets in the back. I need to find time to go to the laundromat.”
“Not a problem at all.”
The passenger door unlocked, and Matty winced at the beige interior. “Uh, I hope I’m not too dirty.”
She turned to try to gauge how dirty her butt was, as she had spent a good amount of time on the floor working on the lawn equipment. She twisted back and forth, then gave up. Her cheeks flamed as she turned around. “Is my ass real dirty?”
If she didn’t know any better, she could have sworn she heard Reese swear under her breath.
When she turned back around, she noticed Reese’s eyes linger on her bottom half as her tongue darted out to wet her pink lips.
Matty smirked when Reese seemed to snap out of her appraising review of her body.
“Uh, yeah, you’re dirty. I mean, your ass.
I mean, your ass is dirty. Jesus, I mean, let me grab a towel from one of the laundry baskets in the back. ”
Matty couldn’t help but chuckle at how frazzled the other woman was.
Reese refused to meet her eyes as she quickly found a towel and covered the seat for her.
Matty was careful not to move the towel as she got in, placing her backpack on the floorboard between her legs.
When both doors shut, it felt impossibly loud in the quiet car.
Their first meeting was fresh on Matty’s mind, and she was willing to bet it was the same with Reese.
“Um, where do you live?” Reese asked as she turned on the car. Soft music filled the cab.
“On the other side of town. It’s behind Walgreens.”
“Walgreens, Walgreens,” she muttered low and then nodded. “Right, I know where that is.”
Matty raised an eyebrow as Reese pulled the car onto the road. “Are you new to Roark?”
“No, well, I mean, I haven’t lived here in like a decade, but things have changed a lot. Are you originally from here?”
“Yeah, I was raised here, then moved to Nashville for a while, but I didn’t like the city that much. Where were you at?”
“Lexington, Kentucky. It’s not the biggest city, but it's a lot bigger than here.”
“How many libraries does it have?”
“Libraries?” she asked, turning to Matty as they waited for a light to turn green.
“Yeah, you know, those buildings with books and DVDs you can borrow and take home for free?”
“Are you always such a smart ass?” There wasn’t any heat in her voice like their first encounter.
“It occurs to me we’ve spoken about my ass twice now in ten minutes.”
“Oh,” Reese gasped with a heavy blush forming on her cheeks, then she narrowed her eyes, turning briefly to look at Matty before looking back to the road. “You like flustering me.”
“You make it easy.”
She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, why did you ask about libraries?”
Matty shrugged. “I like libraries. I read a lot. Plus, I think the amount of libraries in a city says something about how large it is.”
“Huh, I guess that is right. It has three, I think.”
“That’s a big city then.”
“I suppose so. I wish I read more. I used to read a lot, but not recently. What do you read?”
Matty drummed her fingers on her leg as she watched the scenery go by. “Mostly anything sapphic: mystery, thrillers, romance.”
Reese laughed. “Romance? You don’t look like the type to read romance.”
“Hey now, there is nothing wrong with romance. The pining, the yearning, the moment someone finally makes a move. It’s romantic.”
“I guess. I’m not sure I’ve ever read one. I just assumed they were clichés and were an excuse to read porn.”
“Oh, yeah, there are spicy parts. Nothing like a good bang in a book, but they’re so much more than that. Unless you’re reading erotica. Turn up here on the left.”
Reese did as she was told. “I guess I haven’t given romance books enough thought.”
Matty nodded. "You should look into them. Maybe audiobooks? Those are fun. Turn here. It’s this one.”
The gravel driveway crunched under the tires of the vehicle. Mabel’s car came into sight.
Once the car was in park, she grabbed the strap of her backpack and got out. She turned to Reese. “Thanks for the ride. Have a good night, Reese.”
“You too, Matty.”
Shutting the door, she nodded curtly at Reese, who was watching her, then turned to go inside.