Chapter 23 #2
He ends the call, and I left staring at my phone. I glance around the room, panicking. Holy shit. Matthew Pearson, all six-foot-two-inches of him, is coming to pick me up to take me out for a bite.
Matt: Send me your address
Amber: 974 Monte St
Matt: Be there in ten
Shit!
I glance in the mirror at my work clothes.
I need to change. Shit, I haven’t even showered.
I start racing around my room with my heart in my throat.
What am I going to wear? I dig through my dresser, grateful I did laundry yesterday.
I throw on jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.
I pull out my boots with the fur and look in the mirror.
I retouch my basic makeup when I get a notification.
Matt: Outside
My heart is hammering against my chest. I think my breath is shaking. I inhale and exhale, feeling the pause in my lungs. Yeah, I’m trembling.
“Little nervous Rex,” I mutter to myself as I search for my lip balm that tastes good just in case. I apply it and put it in my pocket. When I taste it, I glance in the mirror. What the hell’s gotten into me? I’m not kissing him tonight. Oh my God. I’m thinking about kissing him.
I look around the room. I can’t leave without my wallet. He’s not allowed to pay for my dinner because I don’t want to feel like I owe him dinner another night. Oh, and where’s my phone? On my desk.
Phone. Check.
Wallet. Check.
Lip balm. Check.
I just did the adult version of head, shoulders, knees, and toes.
I spray myself with perfume, grab my things, and hurry outside.
When I open his truck door, I’m hit with a wall of Matt’s cologne. He must’ve sprayed himself, but I’m not complaining because it’s a great smell.
“You okay?” he asks as I put on my seatbelt.
“Yeah, totally. You’re just picking me up to get dinner.” I shrug and flail my arms. “It’s not a big deal.” I sound like I’m whining, and I am in a dramatic way.
He drives off and says, “Should I not have invited myself?”
“It’s okay. I’m just nervous.”
Hell, did I just say that out loud?
He chuckles. “You? Nervous?”
“Yeah,” I scoff. “I just said that, didn’t I?”
He lifts a shoulder. “It’s dinner.”
I nod and then shake my head. “Yeah, I sound ridiculous.”
He looks over at me with a half smile. “Maybe just a little.”
“Okay, where are we going?” I ask, changing the subject.
“I was going to ask you that.”
I glare at him, and he loves it. He fucking loves it. That smile on his face is stupidly cute.
He continues, “If I didn’t tag along, where would you go?”
“Probably Chipotle.”
“Okay. We’ll go there.”
I inhale. “Okay.”
When we arrive at Chipotle’s parking lot, he turns off his truck and says, “Wait here.”
“What?” I ask, confused as he jumps out and jogs in front of the truck.
When he opens my door, I blush. I unbuckle the seatbelt and turn to him.
“Is this what you normally do?” I ask.
He stares into the distance. “Yeah.”
“Okay,” I exhale. “Then I’m no one special.”
His brows furrow as he watches me step out. “And that makes you feel better?”
“Yes. I feel relieved.”
He walks by my side, opens the Chipotle door for me as I reach for it, and says, “I need to step up my game.”
“No,” I say, waving my hand as I step inside. “Please don’t.”
“Welcome to Chipotle. What can I get started for you?” the worker calls out as we walk to the counter.
“Hi,” I say. “Can I get three crispy beef tacos?”
“Sure. What would you like on it?”
I point at all the toppings. The worker looks like a kid who’s still in high school. I see him almost every time I’m in here. As he’s adding the toppings, he says, “You have a hot date tonight?”
I pause as I turn to Matt. “Who? Him?”
Matt slowly blinks, waiting to hear what I’m going to say.
“No, we’re just friends,” I say. The kid looks over the counter at Matt, and the atmosphere is suffocating.
“Just friends,” Matt mutters. “I’ll take exactly what she’s having. It sounds good.”
“You got it, man.”
I slide to the checkout as Matt rolls up behind me. “I’ll take care of it.”
“No, it’s okay.”
“Amber, I got it.”
“My treat,” I challenge.
“No.”
I turn to him. “Dinner here was my idea.”
“I want to pay.”
“I have a full-time job. Two jobs.”
Matt laughs. “Excuse me, I work part-time.”
“You’re a college student. I have a salary. I can afford it.”
He shoves me to the side. “Now, I’m definitely paying.” He throws his card at the cashier. “Charge my card.”
I turn to her and say, “Don’t you dare charge that card.” I attempt to shove my card into the slot as Matt nudges me to the side. He blocks the opening with his hand as he smiles at me.
“Excuse me,” the cashier girl says. We look at her. “I can charge you separately.”
“No,” we both say.
“Okay. You need to figure it out without pushing each other.”
When I look up, Matt’s arms are under mine, and I’m trying with every ounce of me to push him away.
“Fine,” I say, standing straight. “I can talk. Matt, you’re not paying for my dinner.”
“Amber, you’re not paying for either of our dinners.”
The kid who made our tacos says to me, “Let your friend treat you to dinner.”
“See,” I say, turning to Matt.
The kid says, “No, let the guy be a gentleman and pay for you.”
Matt raises a brow at me and then turns to the cashier. “Charge my card.”
“Wait,” I say to the cashier. I step to Matt, close the distance between us, and look him in the eye. “Please,” I sound like I’m begging. “This is my treat. You can get it next time.”
“Dessert?” he asks, staring at me. I can smell the mint in his mouth. That’s a sign he’s thinking about kissing too, right? “After this?”
I look at his mouth. Is there a mint in there? “I have a lot of work to do,” I mutter.
“You can get it done after dessert.”
“Fine.” I turn to the cashier. “Give him his card back. I’m paying.”
“For both orders?” she asks.
“Yes.” I feel a sense of pride knowing that I’m buying the food, and he isn’t.
He grabs our food and then takes a table in the far corner. We sit across from each other. And when he looks at me, he says, “You’re so stubborn, you know that?”
I open the lid to my tacos and say, “I know.”
He smiles. “Are you like this with everyone?”
I shake my head, grabbing my first taco. “No.”
He watches me eat and then he takes a bite of his taco. Half of it fits in his mouth. If I were the male species, I would be very impressed by how much can fit in there.
“If you were on a date, would you let the guy pay?” he asks.
I cover my mouth while I chew and nod. Before I take another bite, I say, “Definitely.”
“If you were on a date, would you let the girl pay?” I ask after I swallow the food in my mouth.
He shrugs. “I just did.”
I scoff, blow out hot air, and roll my eyes all at once. “This isn’t a date.”
“It’s a friendly date. Two friends getting dinner.”
I lean in, forgetting about my favorite tacos. “Are you…” My eyes narrow. “Are you pulling a move?”
He licks his lips. “Trust me, if I was pulling a move, you’d know it.”
That lightens my mood, and I force myself not to smile.
“Touché,” I say, taking another bite.