52. BONUS CHAPTER—37B KORR
Chapter fifty-two
Every dish is washed. Every piece of laundry has been folded and put away. And yet, I still can’t manage to sit for more than a minute.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Instinctively, my hand shoots to the gun in my back holster as I take long, deliberate steps toward the front door.
As it swings open, I’m shocked to find Matt standing uncomfortably on my porch.
“Uhm, hey…” He glances past me into the house. “Can I come in? It’s kinda cold out here.”
I stare at him expectantly. “Since when do you knock?”
“Good point,” he laughs, squeezing past me before I can answer.
Closing the door, I turn to find him standing in the entryway, rubbing his hands together like he’s waiting to be scolded like a child.
“What did you do?”
“What? What do you mean?” he asks, far too guilty-sounding to be believable.
“You’re standing in my house like you’re either expecting a lecture or for the police to show up at any second...This is the last time I’m going to ask…What did you do, Reyes?”
He looks down at himself. “I didn’t do anything…not really…”
“Which means…?”
“Can we sit first?” he laughs.
Fuck. That’s twice he’s asked for permission…this can’t be good.
Moving toward the fridge, I pull out two beers. “Drink?”
Matt nods, though he doesn’t touch it once I’ve set it in front of him.
For a few seconds, there's only silence.
“Aren’t you supposed to be on a date?”
Matt winces. “Well…I was on it.”
“Was?” I question, eyebrow raised. I’ve heard all about Matt and his playboy ways since Annalise moved in. If I didn’t know how charismatic he is first hand, I probably wouldn’t believe half of it.
“Ended early,” he says, staring into his still untouched drink.
“Why?”
His chuckle is loud…too loud to be anything good. “Apparently, girls don't appreciate it when they're trying to pick a movie to throw in and you're too distracted thinking about another girl to even realize they're talking to you.”
My mouth twitches as I try not to smile, “Did you manage to notice before or after she asked you the same question three times?”
Matt looks up. “Second time.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah…and then it got worse.”
“Worse…how?”
“I was trying to explain the situation and when I said Annalise…”
“Please don’t tell me…”
“That she thought I was calling her Annalise and she lost her shit? Yup! That’s exactly what happened. One second I’m sitting on her couch with a bowl of popcorn in my lap, and the next I’m being chased out of her apartment, her shoe almost connecting with my head because she threw it at me!”
“Oh, Gods!”
“Please tell me for the love of all that is good that you’ve made the same mistake before.”
“I wish I could…but I’ve never come close to making either of those mistakes.”
Matt looks at me like I’ve just killed his puppy. “Never?”
“Never.”
“You've never been distracted thinking about another woman while you're supposed to be on a date?”
“Nope.”
Matt looks genuinely shocked. “That's actually kind of impressive.”
“I didn’t really date.”
“No?” he asks, and there’s no missing the challenge in his voice. “You don’t secretly have an ex-fiancé that’s going to come looking for you, do you?”
I laugh before I can stop myself. “Not even a little bit. My dad made me help him train dragons when I was younger—his way of keeping me out of trouble and not getting a girl knocked up young like he had. Then I joined the military with some friends as soon as we were of age, and progressing became my sole focus.”
“Oh fuck. Are you about to tell me you’re a virgin?”
“What?” I choke. “Not even close.”
“Thank the Gods. This night would have gotten really weird if I had to give you the birds and the bees talk and show you how to put a condom on a bottle,” he says, pretending to put one on his beer bottle.
“You’d be more accurate if you flipped the bottle over,” I joke, before remembering this is Reyes I’m talking to…Annalise’s best friend, not mine.
We both try to laugh it off, but an uncomfortable silence still falls between us.
When the awkwardness has stretched too long, I finally clear my throat.
“Soo…I have a new desk to build.”
“A desk?” he asks, so desperate for a change in subject you’d think I’d just handed him the key to his own kingdom.
“Yeah. Annalise’s is old and falling apart. You wanna help?”
Matt immediately sets his glass down. “Absolutely.”
We barely glance at each other before we’re up, drinks forgotten as we setoff—two men ready to do a task one could do in the blink of an eye.
The desk takes considerably longer than it should...Mostly because the instructions are terrible. Partially because Reyes insists he understands them. And maybe a tiny bit because I refuse to admit he might actually be right about step seven after being wrong about every step that’s come before it.
“That piece goes there,” Matt says.
“It doesn't.”
“It does.”
“It literally doesn't.”
Matt holds up the instruction sheet. “See?”
I stare at the paper, then at the piece, and back at the instructions. “That diagram is wrong.”
Matt grins, “So, in other words…I'm right.”
“Don't.”
“I just want that acknowledged.”
“You're not getting acknowledgment.”
“Fine.”
Twenty minutes later, we finally secure the cushions to the feet so it doesn’t scratch the floor.
“Beautiful,” Matt says, beaming at the desk I could have done in far less time had I not invited him to help.
“It’s crooked.”
Matt looks again. “It is not!”
It absolutely is, but I’d rather fix it after he leaves than continue this torture.
My phone buzzes, instantly drawing both of our attention.
I pull it from my pocket so fast Matt actually laughs.
A message from Dean Stevens to all the staff reminding us about our meeting tomorrow to update her on our efforts to find the monster killing recruits.
Matt looks at my face. “Oh, you're really screwed.”
“What? Why?”
“Nothing,” he says, wearing a smug grin.
“Well…I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.”
“Yeah…we should probably eat something. You know, a reward for conquering that without killing each other,” he says, gesturing toward the desk we just spent far too long assembling.
Matt and I start throwing out options. Pizza. Burgers. Noodles. Tacos. Ramen.
One of us rejects each one, the made-up reasons as ridiculous as how hard we’re trying to pretend we don’t already have a place in mind.
Once we’ve exhausted every food type in town, we both pause and stare at each other.
Then, at nearly the same time, we say, “Staggering Ox?”
Matt clears his throat. “I mean, their food is good.”
“It's for the food, obviously.”
“Absolutely, that's all we're interested in.”
Neither of us moves.
I glance toward the door.
Matt does the same.
Annalise is there tonight. Girls' night. Which is exactly why neither of us should be considering going anywhere near the place.
“I don't see the problem,” Matt says half-heartedly. “We’re grown men who just need sustenance after doing hard manual labor.”
“Exactly. Not checking up on her, just really want some overpriced burgers and fries.”
“Right.”
He points at me. “Sooo…I’ll go get us dinner then?”
“Or I could run down? Parking might be easier with my motorcycle than your truck on such a busy night.”
“It could…but then it’s going to draw much more attention if you walk in there than if I do.”
“You’re hardly possible to miss.”
“Thank you,” he beams, knowing damn well I didn’t mean it as a compliment. “But it’ll draw far less attention when a recruit walks into the bar that’s filled with recruits than if the brooding Captain Korr walks in.”
I fucking hate that he’s right.
“Fine,” I grumble, as his stupid face smiles back at me.
Matt reaches the door, then looks back. “Need anything else?”
“No.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, Reyes. We’re in my house; what else could I need?”
He pauses.
“Maybe an update that she’s ok?”
“Of course she’s ok, Reyes. We both know she can take care of herself.”