Chapter Twenty-Two
El
It was time to tell the girls what was going on.
Matt and I had managed to see each other twice this week without seeming suspicious to our families. Then again, we had lied and told them other people would be there. In reality, it had just been the two of us, grabbing dinner one night and going to see a movie another.
Laying on my bed with my feet kicking in the air like a middle schooler that had a crush, I thought about what to text in the chat, but I kept getting distracted.
It was always so abnormally foreign being in my childhood bedroom.
Every time I had stayed here during college over the last four years, it felt less and less like home, even though the walls hadn’t changed in God knew how long, and my comforter was still the same blush pink that it had been since high school.
It was a snapshot frozen in time. And sometimes, I didn’t want the reminder.
I’d redone my room on the eve of my fifteenth birthday, desperately attempting to scrub every inch of it from the trauma and emotional massacre that had plagued this place prior.
It was odd to come here every now and then and play house with my family. There were things that were unresolved, and everyone ignored them.
My parent’s marriage was the happiest and healthiest it had been in years, so I guess that was something to be grateful for.
Sometimes, I could come visit home and be completely fine. Other times, the memories haunted me when I stepped foot here. This trip had been okay thus far, but it was probably because my brain was preoccupied with endless thoughts of a certain hockey player.
Me: Alright, guys. It happened.
Kota: Omfg. No fucking way
Are u messing with us?????
Me: No!
Kota: First off, I’m so happy that you guys are finally leaning into your feelings
Second, I’m also so happy I won the bet
Bridget emphasized Kota’s first message, and I rolled my eyes at both of them.
B: You didn’t win the bet. First semester is over
Kota: Well, second semester hasn’t started!
Me: Which means you both lose ?
Kota: This is bullshit.
B: It wasn’t that deep to begin with. You’re just being dramatic
Kota: Say it to my face.
B: I will lmao. You’re sitting right next to me
These two.
I watched them fake argue in the chat for five more minutes, all while they were probably giggling beside each other on their couch.
I kept having thoughts about visiting them in Chicago, and maybe going to a Blackhawks game together to watch Lane and Crew play, but I knew Matt would want to tag along, so I’d wait until his season was over.
Kota: So, can we have all the details???!!!??!
B: Kota, not everyone wants to tell you about their sex life
Kota: Lame
El: It was good. That’s all you need to know.
Bridget liked the message. Kota disliked it.
That only made me laugh more.
The clock read five p.m., which was my cue to start getting ready for dinner with Hadley and Dina.
Dina’s hometown was in Wisconsin. Usually, she headed straight there from UIUC for winter break, but since our hometown was on the way, she decided to break up her trip this year so that the three of us would get to spend time together.
Our last girl’s night was over the summer, and we were long past due for one.
I didn’t curl my hair often, but I decided to tonight, laying out a white cashmere sweater and blue jeans to help me brace the cold, Illinois winter later.
A thin layer of dust covered my vanity, and I groaned, making a face. No way was I getting ready on a dusty vanity.
I wiped it down, wondering to myself when the last time I used this vanity was, the last time I sat in this spot. It definitely hadn’t been since the summer.
Keeping my makeup minimal, I was ready in fifteen minutes, and as if he had a sixth sense, Matt called me just as I was buttoning up my blue jeans.
He let out a whistle. “Well, hello there, beautiful.”
I blushed. “Hi, Mattie.”
“You curled your hair. You never curl your hair.”
“I know. I just felt like it tonight, I guess,” I shrugged.
He was shirtless, per usual whenever he was alone in his room. Laying on his stomach, he held the phone significantly close to his face, giving a divine close up.
I could see a few of his freckles that I’d come to admire so much. I wished I could reach through the phone and trace them. Based on the way all his senses were seemingly focused on me, I could tell he wanted to do the same— to put a hand through the phone and touch me.
“Will you please just let me give you a ride tonight?” he begged. He’d been asking all day.
“Matt,” I smiled, “it’s alright. You don’t need to give up your whole night just to be our Uber.”
“I’ll gladly be your Uber. And I’ll also gladly accept tips. Not in cash though.”
“Not in cash? In what then? Food?” I joked, playing dumb.
“I’ll happily eat if that’s what you’re suggesting.”
Immediately, warmth flooded to my core, and I gulped. Goddamn. This was not a good time to be getting horny.
Against my will, my tone turned breathy, and it was like he could sense my arousal through the phone. “Matt...”
“Yes, Princess?”
The nickname solidified my fate. “Okay. Come pick me up.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
His eyes widened with a wicked grin, and he was already out of bed. “I’ll be there in twenty.”
Matt showed up in his parent’s new Subaru Outback, the white car looking like a snowflake in this bleak December night.
I rubbed my hands together as I hopped inside, feeling the heat blasting on me. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he said, snagging my hand to brand it with a searing kiss.
I had no idea where we were headed, but it turned out to be a short drive when Matt drove the few miles to a nearby park we used to hang out at when we were young.
Pulling into the entry, we were blocked in by trees, surrounded by nothing but forest and darkness.
The click of Matt undoing his seatbelt prompted me to do the same, and I hadn’t even finished before his mouth slammed against mine.
I released a moan. I’d missed this far too much over the past few days.
Reading my mind, Matt sighed into my mouth. “God, I missed you.”
I gripped onto his bare bicep, because of course he was the only person on this planet who could be comfortable in a t-shirt in ten-degree weather.
“Get in the back,” he instructed.
Doing as I was told, I climbed into the backseat. He didn’t bother trying to follow. Instead, he got out of the car completely and opened the back door to join.
His hands dug into my sides, squeezing tightly until I could feel how soaked my underwear already was.
The moan I let out must’ve sounded like a plea, because Matt ripped my jeans off with so much force that it probably should’ve torn them apart.
Our space was limited, so I had no idea what his intentions were until suddenly, his head was between my thighs.
I wrapped my legs around his neck, caging him against me as his tongue darted across my clit, causing me to jolt.
“Matt,” I moaned, “fuck.”
In response, he groaned into me, sending a vibration through my core. Instinctively, my hips moved against him, creating a pleasing friction as I rode along his mouth.
“Is this what you wanted, Princess?” Matt murmured between my legs.
“Yes, Matt,” I sighed.
I basked in the warmth and wetness, the feeling of his lips sucking me, his tongue exploring every sensitive part of me.
When he pushed two fingers inside me, my body hitched, the sensation becoming so surreal that I was thrashing around desperately, close to breaking in half in this car.
My satisfied moans soaked the air, and with each one, Matt responded with one of his own. We fed off each other’s arousal, and the fogged windows proved it.
There was a single streetlamp lit nearby, casting a glow on his chiseled face as he ate me up. He was always stunning, but this view in particular took stunning up a notch.
After so many years of friendship, I never would’ve expected to like Matt’s mouth on me so much. I never wanted him to stop. I couldn’t believe I’d been missing out on this for so long.
The seats beneath us were ablaze, and the atmosphere grew thicker, stickier every minute. It was turning humid from the endless amount of lust pouring into the air.
Matt pulled away just enough to speak against my clit, his smoldering brown eyes peering into me. “Come for me, El.” Legs giving a light shake at the words, he encouraged me further. “Be a good girl and come on my tongue.”
His words sent me over the edge, and I came undone right where he’d asked.
Matt tasted me like I was his version of dessert before sitting up with a smile.
That smile would be in my dreams tonight. I just knew it.
The darkness wasn’t helping me as I tried to mask my post-orgasmic glow on our way to Hadley’s. I could only hope I didn’t look as obvious as I felt.
If it wasn’t ten degrees out, I would’ve run out of the car to hug the girls as they emerged from Hadley’s front door.
The first thing Hadley said when she got into the car was, “Why do you look like that?”
So much for not looking obvious.
Thank God the Chicago-area sun went down at four p.m. in the wintertime so she couldn’t see the way my cheeks flushed a deep crimson.
“Like what?” I refuted.
“Like you just had sex.”
Matt choked on laughter beside me as he pulled out of the driveway.
Keeping my tone firm, I said, “I did not just have sex.”
Technically, it wasn’t a lie.
Dina let out a small giggle. “Well, hello, everybody.”
“Hey, D,” I grinned lightly to myself.
Hadley didn’t buy it. With a loud, “Hmm,” she sat back in her seat, but it didn’t last. Next thing I knew, her face was in the space between the driver’s and passenger’s seats, glare settled on Matt. “What are you guys not telling me?”
All Matt did was fail to hide a smile, staring off into the snowy abyss.
“Matthew Wayne,” Hadley pushed.
“It’s unsettling that you know my middle name,” Matt finally responded.
She sighed. “I have known you for nearly a decade.”
“Hadley, put your seatbelt on!” I chastised.
Reluctantly, she complied. “Fine.”