Page 52 of Pucking Matt
Riley: Maybe you guys need to bone it out
Amber: Definitely not doing that
Amber: Did you finish your homework?
Riley: I’m too invested in you and Matt
Amber: There is no me and Matt
Riley: Yet
Being a paralegal for a popular divorce lawyer is ultra-fun, but not when I get the insider scoop of people’s personal lives. Uh, hem…Matt’s mom. I haven’t needed to meet with her, other than a few emails and phone calls, thank God. Mr. Robinson seems to have a handle on the communication with this one. Ifeel embarrassed that I know what’s going on with Matt’s mom, and I often wonder if he’s handling it okay. Of course, I would never say anything, but my mind wanders to him when I’m at the office now.
The office life doesn’t change much. It keeps me busy for my own good. I love always having something to do, meeting deadlines, moving on to the next thing, and the workflow never-ending. I thrive in this environment. But I have to admit, the Grind Stone is now my favorite job. Shh, don’t tell anyone that I look forward to it. Now that I’m friends with Matthew, I simply can’t wait to see how this pans out. I plan to use Riley’s advice: continue to play pranks on him…even as a friend.
When I walk through the front door of the Grind Stone, to my surprise, Matt is already there in an apron and a hat. The hat is a new edition. His hair is sticking out of the sides of it, and he smiles at me as I walk around the counter.
When I clock in, he puts a hat on my head and says, “These just came in.”
He adjusts it on my head as I observe his concentrated face. If being his friend means he’sthisfriendly, I think I might have to take it back.
“Is this what being your friend is like?” I ask, standing tall but still too short for him. My neck feels cranked as I look up at him.
He pushes the bill of my hat to the side and laughs. I take off the hat and fix my hair. I put it back on and pull out the strands around my face.
“I haven’t seen or heard from Jen in a while. Have you seen her lately?”
He walks to the counter and says, “Yeah, she’s coming to the party this weekend. Are you?”
I shrug, wondering how he knows this. Is he talking to her? “I wasn’t invited.”
“Well, that’s what I’m doing right now. I’m inviting you.”
I smile at the customer who appears ready to order. I ignore Matt to greet the customer and get to work. We get six customers in a row, some with multiple sandwich orders, and work side by side until all the orders are done. Luckily, no one else came in during that time. Eventually, more customers flow in, so we don’t have a moment to chat. But I can’t ignore the amount of times we glance at each other. It’s brief eye contact to make sure each other are doing okay. I have to stop looking his way, so I stare up at the menu board, wondering if we should dust it. Yeah, I’ll have to do that later.
I adjust my hat. “To answer your question from earlier, I probably won’t come. It’s not really my scene.”
“But you came when Harv invited you,” he counters.
I look down and grin. “That was because I was on a mission to get back at you.”
He licks his lips, leaning on the counter. “Customer.”
I greet the customers as they walk through the door. Once their order is paid for and made, Matt turns to me.
“So, you admit that I was right?” he asks.
“Another customer.”
He claps. “Welcome to the Grind Stone.”
I take their order and then help Matt with the multiple sandwiches.
“What’s your scene then?” he asks, and I smile because another customer walks in. “We’re busy today, aren’t we? You’re not off the hook…” He turns and smiles. “Welcome to the Grind Stone.”
Chapter 14
Amber is smiling at me like she’s enjoying this way too much. She thinks she’s getting away without answering, scot-free, but I’m not letting it slide. Nobody turns down a party invite from Matthew Pearson. I listen as the customer orders their sandwich and then I start making it.
