Page 43 of Chasing After You
With the socialization portion of the morning officially underway, Matti gets clobbered by people. First, by the rest of my family members who weren’t standing close enough to greet him when he arrived, and then by the thirty or so other guests participating in this morning’s orientation class with us.
Selfies abound, causing me to draw further and further back and out of the limelight.
“Not your scene, huh?” Oliver observes.
“Nope.” I take a seat on some of the bales of straw strewn about precisely for this purpose. “But I’m happy to go take a picture of you with Matti if you like.”
Oliver laughs, lowering himself down beside me. “I think I’ll pass. Gonna try and wait for a group shot that doesn’t look like it’s totally staged. That way it’ll be way more believable when I go home and tell everyone I vacationed with Matti Benning from the Wilds.”
“You do realize we’re not actually here together, right?”
Oliver cocks his head to the side, one brow rising. “Aren’t we though?”
I roll my eyes in lieu of a real response. Then, I chang
e the topic. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to throw a lasso. Think they’ll teach us that here?”
“I hope so. That would be cool.” His eyes light up. “You know what else would be cool? Learning how to crack a bullwhip.”
“I don’t know. That sounds like the sort of thing that would come with a lot of trial and error involving whips to the back of the head. I’m not sure I’d be into that.”
Oliver peers around the room until his eyes land on the coffee and pastry spread. “Into another cup of joe?”
“Always.” Crap. I forgot to thank Matti for the mugagain.
He gets up, brushing the straw from his pristine pants. “How do you take it?”
“Two sugars and a dollop of whatever non-dairy cream they’re serving.”
He starts for the coffee, and I add, “Depending on the size of the cup, you may have to adjust. Two and a half sugars. A little more cream. You get it.” I flick my wrist, trying to make light of my high-maintenance coffee needs.
He nods, grinning. “Or one and a half sugars. Little less cream.”
“What?” I grimace, aghast at the suggestion.
“Never bring her a cup of coffee too small for two sugars,” Matti chimes in, walking over, apparently having managed to escape his fandom for the moment. Judging by the two cups of coffee in his hands, he made a detour by the breakfast bar on his way back.
“Good to know,” Oliver says, no longer confused, only amused. So amused, I’m quite sure he’s laughing at me.
Meanwhile, Matti comes to a stop in front of me, takes a sip of coffee, and makes a face. Then hands it over. “Here. It’s perfect.”
“Thanks.” I can feel my face turn hot and realize with a surge of humiliation the man still has the power to make me blush like a teenager talking to her first big crush.
CHAPTER TEN
MATTI
I watch as Oliver wanders into the crowd of people gathered inside the barn, making his way toward the coffee station I just came back from.
Then it’s just me and Nessa.
“It really is perfect,” she says, smiling. Her cheeks have a reddish hue to them they didn’t before, but I tell myself it’s from the hot beverage and nothing more. “As is the mug you sent over last night. I’ve been meaning to thank you for it, but you keep distracting me with,” she pauses, like she’s not sure how she meant to finish that statement when she started it. Then her gaze goes back to the steaming cup still hovering near her mouth, she licks her lips and smiles, “your awesomeness. Let’s go with that.”
“Right.” I laugh. But I’m less amused than I am perfectly content just being here with her, watching her sip her coffee, knowing no matter what has happened, and how complicated things have gotten, the simple things that used to matter are still simple. And they’re still alive.
Like knowing how to prepare her coffee just the way she likes.
Ness didn’t develop a taste for it until well into her twenties. Like many things, her caffeine addiction was a habit she picked up while I was on the road. A discovery she made without me, a new side of her that came to life when I wasn’t around, and something I got to learn about her when I came home.
