Page 34 of Pucking Matt
Before Harvey can respond, I see the group of girls approaching us, the pink-haired one in the lead.
“Okay, the hour's up,” she announces, holding out her hand expectantly.
I glance at Harvey, then at Matt, who's staring at us from across the room with a mixture of confusion and dawning realization. Quickly, I pull out the cash and hand it to the girls, watching as they walk away, laughing.
Matt approaches them, his face a storm cloud of emotions. I can't hear what he's saying, but I see the girls brushing him off, flashing the money they just made. His eyes lock with mine across the room, and I can practically feel the heat of his glare.
“I knew it,” Harvey mutters beside me, shaking his head.
As I stand there, caught between Harvey's disappointment and Matt's anger, I feel like I’ve won. As stupid as this all has been, I think I might have won. The secret wasn’t to do anything crazy, it was to do a bunch of inconvenient things all in a row. It really shows how annoying I can be without having to tackle himdown a flight of stairs. I straighten my shoulders, meeting Matt's glare with one of my own.
This isn't over, not by a long shot. But as I watch the hurt on Harvey's face and the confusion on Jen's, I can't help but wonder if winning this war is worth the collateral damage.
Matt approaches me. “Did you just pay that group of girls to be all over me?”
I can't help but laugh, the alcohol making everything seem funnier than it probably is. “Yes, yes, I sure did,” I admit, grinning up at him.
He scoffs, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “They were groping me.”
I shrug, feeling a bit amused he cares so much. “As they were paid to. It was meant to be funny. It's not even a big deal. Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what, Amber?” Matt takes a step closer, his eyes blazing with a mix of anger and something else I can't quite place. Harvey moves to step between us, but I find myself taking a step forward too, drawn in by the intensity of Matt's gaze.
We're standing toe to toe now, staring each other down. I can feel the anger swirling inside me, hot and familiar. But there's something else there too, something I'm trying desperately to ignore. It's like we're two trains on the same track, barreling towards each other at full speed. We should be bracing for impact, but instead, there's this inexplicable spark of…
He smiles.
So, I smile.
And then, we both break into laughter at the same time. It's as if all the tension, all the anger, all the petty pranks and one-upmanship suddenly seem ridiculous in the face of this moment.
It's like we're two kids on a playground, who've been pushing each other and pulling pigtails, only to realize that maybe, just maybe, we've been doing it because we don't know how elseto get each other's attention. The laughter bubbles up from somewhere deep inside, washing away the anger and leaving behind a strange, giddy feeling.
For a moment, we're not enemies or rivals. We're just two people, caught in the same ridiculous situation, seeing the humor in it all. It's like we've been running a three-legged race, thinking we're competing against each other, only to realize we've been tied together this whole time.
The world around us seems to fade away, the pounding music and chattering voices becoming a distant hum. In this bubble of shared laughter, it's just us – Matt and Amber, two sides of the same coin, finally seeing the absurdity of our war.
It's a fleeting moment, fragile as a soap bubble and just as iridescent. I know it can't last, that reality will come crashing back in any second. But for now, I let myself enjoy it, this strange moment of shared laughter.
As our laughter starts to die down, I catch Matt's eye again. There's a softness there that I've never seen before, a warmth that makes my stomach do a little flip. I quickly blame it on the alcohol.
“You're something else,” Matt says, shaking his head but still smiling.
I grin back, feeling lightheaded from the laughter and the drinks and this weird, electric moment. “So are you.”
As we stand there, still chuckling softly, I don’t know where we go from here. For now, I'll just enjoy this moment of truce, however brief it might be.
“You know you made me pay two hundred dollars worth of disgusting sushi.”
I watch him, enjoying the way his eyes light up with amusement.
“I did,” I say.
“And I've got to admit, the truck thing was pretty good. Didn't see that coming.”
Then he looks at Harvey and everything in his face changes. I feel my own smile fade, watching as Matt’s eyes intense like a switch being flipped. “And if you think for one second I'm going to let you get away with pitting my friend in the middle of this, you're wrong,” he says, his voice low and serious.
“He's not in the middle. Not anymore. Right, Harvey?”
