Page 65 of Pucking Matt
Matt's lips are so close to my skin, his breath sending tingles up my arm. I pull back slightly, changing the subject. “So, why weren't you at work yesterday?” I ask.
He sighs, leaning back in his seat. “My mom.”
“Oh,” I breathe out. “I thought maybe you'd quit.”
A smirk plays on his lips. “Quit?”
I shrug. “Got sick of me?”
He continues, “No way. Things were just starting to get interesting.”
I feel a blush creeping up my cheeks as I glance at him.
Silence falls over the car, but it's not uncomfortable. I'm hyper-aware of every little thing – his breathing, the warmth of his arm near mine, my heart pounding in my chest, the kisses left on my arm.
“You seem okay after what Michelle did…I mean, I know it brought up bad memories, but you didn’t push her back. Are you okay?” Matt asks, his eyes searching mine.
Maybe he's right to be concerned. I suppose most people would hit back after what just happened, but I've had plenty of practice picking myself up after being knocked down.
“People like Michelle need professional help.”
Matt laughs, the sound warming me from the inside out. I barely meant it as a joke, but I’m glad he could find humor in it.
I glance at him with sarcasm seeping out of my voice. “She’s smoking hot, so I get why you’d sleep with her.”
He raises an eyebrow at me. “Not once you get to know her.”
I can't help but snicker at that.
“She, uh…” Matt starts, looking uncomfortable. “She recorded us hooking up and posted it online when I started dating someone else. It was a complete nightmare. She refused to take it down, and—"
“Whoa,” I interrupt, my eyes wide. “Matthew Pearson!”
“I know,” he groans, looking utterly dejected.
I shake my head, torn between amusement and disbelief. “I mean, I thought maybe you were a player, maybe a fuck boy, but this is next level. You let her record you? And she used it as revenge? What did your girlfriend do? Because I know exactly what I would've done.”
Matt chuckles, probably picturing me attacking her down a flight of stairs. “The video was actually made before I started dating Maddie. Michelle posted it after we got together.”
“Ah, so it was revenge,” I say, shaking my head. “She has a track record. That girl is a jealous one. She definitely needs some help.”
He nods, his expression turning somber. “Maddie thought I cheated on her. I hadn't, but she wouldn’t hear me out. She left me for Grey. Remember him?”
“Yeah, I remember Grey,” I say softly.
“She went straight to him. They're actually still together,” Matt says, his gaze dropping to his knees. I can see the hurt there, and I wonder which part pains him most – losing Maddie, Grey's betrayal, or the humiliation of the video.
He takes a deep breath. “I was a miserable dickhead for a while after that. Then one day, I stumbled into the Grind Stone on the right day at the right time. I was having a shit day, exhausted after hockey practice and I just wanted a sandwich. And there was a familiar face behind the counter.”
His eyes meet mine, a glimmer of mischief returning. “She was so annoyed that I pretended not to recognize her. But I was just fucking around, trying to avoid more drama. This girl was a handful back in high school. Then she wrote the word asshole on my bag, and I just knew.”
He grins at me. “She gave me hell, but I kept coming back. That perfect, angry face was exactly the distraction I needed from all the shit going on.”
I roll my eyes, trying to ignore the flutter in my stomach. “So, seeing me – that was your perfect distraction?”
“A good one,” he says, his voice low. “A really good one.”
His words hang in the air between us.
