I Don't Wanna Be in Love

“So Matt is bringing his new girlfriend?”

“She’s not his girlfriend yet,” Valary sighs to her twin sister, unpacking the groceries right along next to her. “…But yes he is bringing her.”

“You don’t like her?” Michelle asks, already knowing the answer.

“It’s not that I don’t like her, I don’t know her yet. It’s just I’ve seen him get so excited, fall so in love and then have it all fall apart by the same types of girls.”

“And it has nothing to do with the fact that you’ve been in love with him for the last…I dunno’ seven years?”

“If he found a girl worth having, a good one, then I’d be okay, I could deal. I just want what’s best for him. That’s why I always give these new girls a chance, for him.”

“Was she nice?”

“She was, pretty quiet though at first.” The cloth bags are all emptied out so they fold them up and put them away underneath the island compartment. Val and Michelle then load away the meats, snacks and drinks into the built in silver fridge, having meaningless chit chat to fill any silence.

Meanwhile back at Matt’s place he is getting ready, Zacky had just left not too long ago, and after picking out some jeans and a band tee Matt took to the shower. His mind starts thinking out different happy scenarios that involve himself and Ember. Then he remembers the kisses they’ve shared, the intricate details of how she tasted, the way she felt and the way she smelled. And before stepping out of the shower he turns the water cold to try and rewind the up coming growing sensation below the belt.

Meanwhile Ember just got back to her hotel room after a long day at the station. She filled in all her work friends about what had happened and let’s just say they’re all pulling for Matt…and they don’t even know him. Maybe that’s because they don’t even know the woman they work with. Some people would think that what she’s done to Jacoby and could do to Matt is wrong, maybe even beyond that. Would they still pull for Matt then?

So Ember places her keys on the end table and starts stripping her clothes off item by item, trailing her way to the bathroom. Standing in her bra and underwear, she glances over the open suitcase that she left messy on her bed. She pulls out a pair of straight leg black jeans, a black wife tank top and a red wife tank top and then proceeds on to the shower.

After she showers and gets all clean, she wraps the extra soft hotel towel around her wet frame and works on brushing her teeth and then makeup, all the while thinking about Matt. She can’t suppress the smile that just bursts on her face when she thinks about him, and actually her cheeks twinge just a bit, she’s been thinking about him all day. And when she spoke of him at work she turned a medium shade of red and the smile grew as wide as Pinochicco’s nose grew long with a lie.

Fifteen minutes later she’s dressed with makeup applied, teeth minty, arms deodorized and hair fixed. The time on the little clock reads 7:54; Matt should arrive in six minutes. She still feels a little silly for letting him come pick her up at the hotel.

The six minutes pass by slowly; now that she is all done getting ready she sits on the bed looking from the clock to the window, listening for a car or footsteps, or both. Her hotel key is in her pocket and her phone is laying on the table plugged into its charger, she feels there is no use in taking it tonight.

8:01 and there is an abrupt knock at her door, she jerks up in an almost scary quick way and then pauses, walks slow as possible to the door before opening it.

“Hi Matt,”

“Hey,” He says back, pulling her into a hug before she even has a chance to lock the door. She giggles to herself after he lets her go and closes the door that is locked from the inside.

Matt leads the way to Brian’s yard with Ember’s hand in his own, their fingers interlaced. “Hey guys,” Matt calls as he enters the large yard that leads off to a path to the beach. Everyone is clustered in a small group with drinks in their hands and smiles on their faces. “Hey,” They call back, smiling at Matt and Ember’s arrival. She’s trying her best to stand behind him being the shy person she is. “Guy’s this is Ember, Ember that’s Brian, Michelle, Dawn and Zacky, and you’ve already met Val.” Matt gestures to his group of friends, they all nod warmly and encourage her to come and join them.

The grill is blazing with fire; Brian is taking a turn at the assorted meats with a poker. “You want anything to drink?” Matt asks, offering Ember a seat next to Dawn and Zack.

“Yeah,” She barely says in an audible voice, she clears her throat and says yes again, louder this time. “Anything but beer,” She adds with the same loudness, almost taking herself aback.

“Hey relax, we don’t bite!” Dawn says as soon as Matt leaves them for the cooler to see what’s in it. “Well…not right away…You have to be careful these days, never know who has STD’s.” She nods and laughs, lifting any heavy air that Ember was feeling. The three of them; Zack, Dawn and Ember, start laughing at Dawn’s silly humor and Embers tense frame loosens gradually within passing minutes. “So Matt tells us you’re a radio personality, that’s cool.” Dawn speaks, jumping right into conversation.

“Yeah it’s pretty cool. I mean I get to sit back and listen to music all day, what can be better then that?”

“Making it,” Zacky interjects, laughing at his own amusement and taking a swig of his beer.

“…Unless you are musically challenged!” Dawn exclaims, tapping her boyfriend on the knee, her comment mostly speaking about herself. Ember can’t hold back the bubbling up chuckles that are warming her insides from this socially stimulating conversation. Matt resurfaces, walking towards the three person assemblage with a drink for Ember and a drink of his own.

“You’re abusing him in front of company? Shame, shame.” Matt jokes, sitting in the lawn chair besides Ember after handing her the glass bottle of the Smirnoff cooler he retrieved from the house. She tells him thank you before taking a sip of the already opened bottle.

The night progresses, they eat food, drink more then they can handle and still be allowed to drive and all together have a great time. Ember blends in pretty well with Matt’s friends, or so she feels. Her and Dawn really hit off, and after a while her and Michelle really got to talking too. Val seemed to shy a way a bit only to later catch Ember by the bathroom,

“Hey can I have a word with you for a second,” Val asks, lightly extending her hand to Ember’s arm to catch her before she walks out to rejoin Matt and the gang. Ember hadn’t felt like Val was avoiding her or any uneasy vibes, she just hadn’t really noticed with being wrapped up with the rest of the group; four people can keep her interest for a lengthy amount of time.

“Yeah, what is it?”

“I don’t want to come off bitchy or anything…I know Matt has really taken to you and you seem like a really nice girl, you do, I just want to put it out there that he’s been hurt before and I don’t want to see it happen again and…” Val stumbles with her words, her lips contorting to the right side as she searches for the words that minutes ago she just had on a tight leash.

“Hey, I get what you’re saying. You all seem so close and the last you want is someone new coming in and disrupting it and putting any friend in jeopardy. You aren’t coming off like a bitch at all; I think it’s really cool of you saying this. And I’ve taken to Matt too…I think that might be kind of obvious…” Ember replies; laughing lightly at the apparent news flash of her being attracted to Matt. “…I think it’s great that he has people looking out for him, I’d be the same way if I had close friends too,”

“Thanks, like I said I didn’t want to come off unpleasant but I needed to say that.” Val says nodding her head, a friendly smile finding placement on her face. “Thanks for understanding…”

“Of course, if you need to address anything like that go right ahead, you have every right to,” They start walking out towards the living area together that leads out to yard. And Val’s skepticism about Ember isn’t completely gone but that helped nudging it out of the way a bit. They return to the party with refreshed drinks and chatter of their own, and Matt catches a glimpse of them while talking with Brian and Zack, and can’t help but feeling easy and uneasy about it at the same time…

“Alright, party’s over,” Matt murmurs, slinging his arm around Embers upper frame as they walk out towards the front to his car.

“You---are---drunk!” She articulates through hiccups, prodding his side with her thin index finger. He grumbles lightly and playfully.

“Am not,” He protests while digging his hand in his pocket to find his keys.

“How far is your place?” She asks, breaking away from his hold to stand in front of him and stop him from walking on further.

“About five blocks, why?”

“We can walk it,” She decides, taking his hand and pulling him forwards.

“What?”

“Yes, we’ll walk it. There is no way you or I is driving, we’re way too intoxicated, so let’s go, get those feet moving.”

“You’re mad!” Matt shouts breaking out with hollers as he inelegantly follows Ember’s footsteps to the sidewalk.

They have a colorful walk ahead of them as they head to Matt’s house and end up standing outside his door for a good five minutes before he finds the right key that fits the lock.

“Ya’ know I told you this was your plan! You probably drank so much so you wouldn’t have to drive!” Ember exclaims as she crosses the threshold after him, shutting and locking his door.

“Maybe it was,” He retaliates, brushing his body lightly against hers after she turns around from shutting the door. His fingers brush her cheek affectionately, his knuckles dance across her jawbone delicately as he closes the gap between her face and his. He bends down a tiny bit to reach her face and presses his lips against hers; after all that is what he wanted to do the whole while being with her tonight. “…Are you complaining?” He breathes after he pulls away, glimpsing the lightest shade of pink that her cheeks have turned.

“Not at all,” She whispers with a smile, almost losing herself in his gaze. “I’ll take the couch,” She whispers abruptly, ruining the moment.

“No you don’t have to, you can have my bed.”

“Matt I’m not kicking you out of your bed.”

“I know you aren’t,” And a devious little smirk replaces her smile as her thoughts catch on and go directly to the gutter. “Share my bed with me, I won’t try anything, I promise. Just sleep with me tonight.” He speaks softly, almost pleading those last words. He presses his lips to hers again and she practically melts into him.

“Okay,” She murmurs, taking his hand into hers to journey up to this bedroom.