21. I Think You Look Perfect #2
You can feel the stories in this place, humming like the jukebox in the corner. Eddie’s Fireplace Inn is indeed emblematic of the fireplace in the title. A place for people to gather, stay warm, trade stories, and enjoy the comfort and safety of the fire’s embrace.
“Hope this is okay,” Matt says as he pulls out a chair for me.
“Definitely. Reminds me a bit of home,” I say. And it does.
“LA home or Michigan home?” Matt asks, a twinkle in his eye.
“Michigan, obviously,” I reply as he settles into his seat across from me.
He grins. “Well, I’m glad to provide you with a piece of home away from home.”
I scan the restaurant, taking in the people scattered around sharing drinks, conversations, and food. None of them know who either of us are. “Did you bring me here for dinner so we wouldn’t see any people we know?”
Matt’s brows rise. “I know plenty of people here,” he says.
“You know what I mean. I don’t blame you.”
“I didn’t bring you here to hide you, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it’s a bit more private out here in King Salmon than back in Naknek,” Matt concedes.
I pick at the corner of my nail. “You know, Matt, I like you. A lot.”
“I like you too. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?”
I smile, though it’s cut with a tinge of sadness. “You know how you say I’m brave? I think you’re brave too. To support and help me, when people wish I wasn’t getting in the way.”
Matt watches me and waits for me to say more.
“You and I both see a lot of beauty in the world, despite its cruelty,” I tell him, surprising myself with the poetry.
“I agree,” he says. “That’s another thing I admire about you.”
“We’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you,” I reply.
Matt scratches the back of his head. “Yeah, I hate that.”
I grin. “You need to let me give you flowers, Matt. I already got mine.”
We’re interrupted by the server. I follow Matt’s lead and order a beer to match his. When we’re alone again, I continue. “You didn’t have to stick your neck out for me.”
He crosses his arms over his chest and leans back in his chair. He repositions his feet under the table close to mine. “I wanted to.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re pretty, obviously.”
I scoff. “Hey!”
Matt smiles, cocking his head to the side and sizing me up. Warmth snakes down my chest to my belly. When he looks at me like that, I think he could eat me up and swallow me whole.
I wouldn’t mind that at all.
“Because you’ve made me acknowledge something we’re all too scared to,” Matt says. “And you do it in a way that makes me want to act. Not shrivel up and die.”
“You’re complimenting me again.”
Matt leans forward, grabbing my hands on the table. “It’s too easy, Lillian.”
Fuck. If I keep waiting for the right way to say what I mean, Matt’s going to keep trying to take the spotlight off him. I have to say what I mean now. “I just don’t want you to lose anything because you’re choosing to . . . explore this with me.”
His smile falters.
“You know, your brother isn’t my biggest fan. And your dad just might think of me as his mortal enemy,” I go on.
Matt looks away, but his grip on my hands doesn’t falter. “They’re not bad people.”
“Oh, I don’t think that they are,” I say, pulling on his hands. “Please don’t think I?—”
“Life around here doesn’t change much,” Matt says. “It’s not like a big city. Or even Michigan. It’s wild out here. And the only way to tame wildness is to be prepared for it. But it’s sad, right? Because we live in a place that’s so free, and yet, we’re all so rigid.”
“I understand it though,” I say. “At least I try to.”
His eyes scrunch at the corners. “I’m honestly sick of it.”
An unexpected laugh bubbles out of me. “Oh God, I’m sorry, I?—”
He laughs. “You think my pain is a joke?”
“I just didn’t expect that . . . you love it here.”
“I do. But Alaska is nothing if I don’t feel free. And you, Lillian, make me feel free.”
When we land in Naknek, it’s still light out, but I wish we could be bathed in darkness.
We’re silent as we return to his truck, the question of what’s next heavy on my mind. Will he take me home? Kiss me and say goodnight? Or is the night not close to being over?
I haven’t gone home with a man on a first date in years, mostly because I’ve never desired anyone that quickly.
Matt is a totally different story. One I’d like to read.
“Alright,” he says as he shuts his door, though I’m not sure what he’s saying alright too. “I’ll take you home now, then.”
I can’t tell if that was a statement or a question. My gaze flits to his. We stare at each other for a few moments, and then it’s game on. I’m not sure who moves first, me or him, but we have a month’s worth of tension to break, and we’ve been too polite this entire time.
Not anymore.
Our mouths collide and our hands find any purchase they can.
Want undulates through me; want I know I should temper so as not to rush this any more than we already have. Yes, we have limited time, but that doesn’t mean we need to be gluttonous.
Still, though, I’m not going to say no to Matt’s chest pressed to mine.
Matt’s hand strays to my lower back, while I comb my fingers through his hair, delving my tongue into his mouth.
The man moans. Moans. I feel it starting in his chest, traveling through his throat, and against my lips.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
He rips his mouth from mine, though I want more. “We should stop.”
“Why?” I reply, then kiss him again.
Matt’s lips hum against my mouth. It takes effort to pry himself away from me. “Because if we keep doing this, I’ll be forced to take you home with me.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“No, not at all, I just . . . ” His hands sit on my lower back, feeling like they’re itching to move lower. “I don’t want to rush or—or?—”
“Do you want me to stop?”
“No!” he says. “I mean?—”
I laugh. The combination of his eagerness and shyness is adorable. “Do you want to take me home tonight?”
Matt’s Adam’s apple bobs. His nervousness melts away, leaving his delicious brown eyes boring into mine. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”
I scrape my hands through his beard, up through his hair, and give him one more momentous kiss.
The night is far from over.