I Don't Wanna Be in Love

Last night Ember and Jacoby had a nice dinner with a normal nonsense conversation and after they ate they watched a movie while entangled in each others bodies. He drifted asleep slowly but once he was out he was out. Ember got a text from Matt and found no hurt in texting him back. After a couple of messages back and forth Matt called her and they talked for a couple of hours. He ended up asking her out on a date like adventure for today, which she easily accepted.

She checks herself over in the full length mirror on the closet door, turning a few times for that extra feel of prettiness. She grabs up her brushed hair in a bunch and ties it up in an off the neck pony. She starts bobbing her head around to the beat of the music that’s blaring from the boom box on Coby’s nightstand as she ogles herself in the shiny mirror. The green numbers of the alarm clock reflects backwards but reads 2.38pm.

Her phone beeps with a text so she quickly grabs it and darts out of the bedroom door. She grabs her wallet and attaches it to the chain on her hip before snatching up her keys and jetting out the door.

She waves at Matt with her keys in her palm as she steps out into the afternoon rays of sunlight, instantly being blinded by that satisfying California sun.

“Hey,” He greets as she buckles herself in, replying with a cheery Hello. Before pulling out of the driveway Matt taps the volume button of the stereo with his index digit of couple of times, the windows settling from the prior beating of the bass in the speakers.

“So what are we doing?”

“You’ll see when we get there, hope you aren’t too fragile.”

“Too fragile? Oh that sounds great,” She muses sarcastically, absentmindedly drumming her fingers along her denim coated knees.

The twenty minute or so ride and they had plenty of small talk but nothing unbearable or awkward. The Taj Mahal of grins spreads across Matt’s lips as he pulls in into the parking lot of the baseball caging grounds. “Baseball?”

“Yeah, gotta problem with it?” He asks with a red flag of tiny concern shooting up in his head.

“Pfft no…as long as you gots lots of patience anyway…” She says as her fingers skim along the seatbelt as he starts pulling into a parking space.

“Well I figured I’d bring you here to have you get to know me a little better,” He starts as they walk towards the entrance way. “…Movies you gotta be all shush shush and well we’ve already had lunch…”

“It’s fine, I’m excited!” Ember throws her arms up to show just how excited she is. “This will be one for the books,” She exclaims but pauses as her eyes catch the batters in their cages, catching the speed of the balls and the not so much protection you don’t wear.

“Your face fell. Nothing to be scared of, people hardly get hurt…well it’s a given if you stand right in front of the fucking ball when it comes out but in batting position-“

“Not scared, excited! With a nice touch of nervous…”

Matt pulls out his wallet and pays for a cage and then steers Ember and himself over in the direction that was pointed out to them. He hands her a bat, milking the whole ‘ladies first’ cliché just to see her wriggle anxiously.

So after missing the first ball because she leapt to the left and the second because she leapt the right Matt takes it upon himself to grab the bat with her. His hands over covering hers massively,

He’s trying not to breath down her neck which screws up his breathing and makes it much more noticeable, or so he’s thinking. Her knuckles fold against the flesh of his fingers as she grips the bat a little tighter as she really leans into hitting the ball this time. Her perfume floats up into his nose in a distraction sort of plot. As her shoulders round up against his back and that’s a small trigger for Matt. He blinks a couple times as if he was trying to get dirt out of his eyes as he focuses on the ball.

A swing and not a miss; the thud of the ball smacking against the bat doesn’t get a chance to echo in Matt’s ears as Ember squeals loudly. Jumping out of the hold Matt had of her to do a little victory dance.

“Ok so I didn’t hit it all on my own but I didn’t run!” Her arms wrap themselves around his waist and she pulls him in tight and close.

“This excited over me helping you? Wait till you hit one on your own.”

“Wait, wait, wait I wanna see you hit some first!” She says in an owned tone after letting him go, clutching her hips in her hands.

With a thick playful scoff he retorts, “Oh yeah? Watch and learn from the master baby,” His lips curl up against his teeth after he said ‘baby’ but Ember didn’t show any sign of awkwardness so he thinks she either didn’t notice or doesn’t care. Grinning massively, Matt picks up the bat, taps it against the ground a few times and motions for Ember to take a few steps back.

Her hands that just held her hips travel up around her ribcage as she holds herself together, trying not to burst with laughing at the professional faces Matt’s making.

“Whoooo!” She yells and claps her hands together in a mock cheerleading form. The impact of ball against bat was way louder then when she hit it, giving Matt a gloating smirk.

“And that is how it is fucking done!”

“Impressive,” Ember says before giving Matt a congratulatory hug, “But you haven’t won yet.”

“Ya know people don’t really win these sorts of things?” His hands find the small of her back and he rests them there as they stand over to the side in a hug sort of shape. Yes a hug is a shape. “It’s just for fun and practice,”

“Well where’s the fun in that?”

“In being fun…”

“Let’s make a bet I’m more then likely to lose.” Matt raises an eyebrow and tries fighting back the urge to laugh at her.

“What’s up for the takin’?”

“Um…me think…okay I got nothing.”

“Pretty sorry bet,”

“The balls are getting awaaaaay…” Ember exclaims in a cute almost child like tone. Bellowing, way past laughing, Matt erupts with his face resting on her shoulder. She tries not laughing, “What’s so funny? They’re getting away!”

“You are too much,” Matt says through laughed out breaths. Ember’s legs buckle slightly at the pressure of Matt folding against her, unknown to him though.

“And you’re really heavy,”

“Ah, sorry,” He says pulling away from her but still laughing. Boys and they’re perverted jokes, just laugh and laugh.

“And food isn’t too far away; this place is almost as fucking great as the golf range.”

“Ooo that sounds fun,”

“Really? Next time.” Matt says nodding, shoving his hot dog in his mouth.

“Shweet,” Enthusiastically Ember says before taking a slurp from her straw then taking a bite of her dog.

“Next, next time. Next time you can set the whole thing up,” Matt says swallowing the remains of his dog and taking a long drink of his soda. “Like I said earlier, this was a way for you to get to know me better, we can talk all we want but experiences are what make a friendship. And I’d like to do something you’d like to do,”

“Are you being on your best behavior for me?” She has to ask before she can stop herself.

“Aren’t you?” Matt asks mischievously and Ember replies with a mockful ha-ha before finishing off her dog. “Honestly? Sort of, I’m behaving in the sense of not giving into certain impulses and I’m then certain you’re doing the same.” Matt whispers, his breath barely touching her nose before he takes a step ahead of her to walk to his car.