You're Not What I Was Expecting To Find

Two weeks later and Charlotte was just waking up from a deep sleep, her head still resting on Matt’s chest from last night when they had fallen asleep. She yawned and stretched a little before slipping quietly out from under Matt’s arm. She made her way into the bathroom, splashing water on her face and brushing her teeth before making her way downstairs. She found the ingredients easily and starting putting together the batter for pancakes.

Slowly, over the past couple of weeks Charlotte had been moving her stuff into Matt’s house. That day, after the girls dropped her off at Matt’s house after shopping, they had both decided that it would be best to move Charlotte in gradually. The lease of her apartment was running out soon anyway so she went over there every few days, always taking something extra with her to bring to Matt’s. They had already moved most her big furniture into Matt’s basement.

In the kitchen that morning Charlotte was smiling. She had never been happier and she knew it was all because of Matt. He made her feel like the most beautiful thing in the world. She smiled as she spooned batter onto a hot frying pan. Even when they just stayed in and watched movies, which happened often, they had fun. They were constantly discovering new things about each other.

The only thing Matt wanted to hear more of was Charlotte’s past. Every time he would ask her a question, or try to bring it up, she would just change the subject. Matt was starting to realize that she would tell him when she was ready, but he wanted her to trust him. Charlotte knew that.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Matt, I do,” Charlotte told him, after once again avoiding the subject of her past. They were in his living room and the TV was on but no one was watching it. “I just don’t think it needs to be brought up. I don’t want to live in the past. I want to live in the present. Here, with you.”

“But I care about you. I want to know everything about you. I can’t do that if you won’t tell me about your life before we met. I want you to trust me,” Matt had reasoned.

“I do trust you. And I will tell you. Eventually. Just right now I want to focus on the present and the future. Is that okay for a while?”

“Alright,” he had agreed.

By the time Charlotte had stacked the last few pancakes onto a plate, Matt’s nose had led him to the kitchen with the smell of coffee. He smiled and kissed Charlotte’s hair as he walked over to pour himself a cup of caffeine. They both sat down at the table and dug in.

“I love waking up to breakfast already made,” Matt told Charlotte when they were both halfway through their meal. “I love waking up to you.”

“I’m glad I decided to move in with you. I was so scared it wasn’t going to work out,” Charlotte told him.

“Well you’re stuck here now,” he joked. Charlotte laughed and poked at her food.

Suppressing the urge to take just one more bite, she took the plate over to the sink and turned on the faucet to fill it with hot water. Adding soap, she began washing the dishes she had used. Matt brought his over and reluctantly handing Charlotte his dish you wash.

“We do have a dishwasher, you know. It does that kind of thing for you,” Matt said.

“I know, but it doesn’t matter.”

“Alright, if you want raisin fingers you just go ahead,” Matt insisted.

“I will,” Charlotte smiled. She watched as Matt walked out of the room towards the living room. Sighing, she turned back to the task at hand. Glancing at the clock she realized she had some time before she had to leave for her job interview. She had finally quit Charlie’s but was now on the hunt for a new job. As she had begun her move into Matt’s she had realized that she wanted a job closer to where she would be living

She was drying off the dished when she realized she hadn’t even told Matt about this potential job she was being interviewed for. She walked into the living room to see him lounging on the couch, flipping channels.

“So, do you have any plans for today?” he asked, feeling her presence.

“Yeah, actually I do,” Charlotte started, now quite sure how to tell Matt about her interview.

“Oh, are you going to work?” Matt asked, not taking his eyes off the TV.

“You could say that. I actually have an interview for a new job,” she told him. This time he turned his head to look at her.

“Um… don’t you have a job?” he questioned, referring to her waitressing job.

“At Charlie’s? No, I quit. I wanted something closer so I could walk or take the bus,” she explained. Matt stood up, walking over to Charlotte.

“Take the bus? You know if you asked I could drive you,” he told her.

“I know that. But I don’t want to rely on you.” She turned away to walk upstairs, intent of finding something to wear to her interview. She heard Matt’s footsteps following her.

“Believe it or not, I used to be independent before I met yours friends.”

“They’re your friends now, too,” he pointed out, watching as she looked through their closet.

“But that’s not the point. I know you were independent. It’s one of the things I liked most about you.”

“Yeah, Matt, I used to be independent. And it’s really not a big deal taking the bus. I already have a bus pass,” she reasoned, pulling out her only suit jacket and laying it on the bed. She reached into her drawers to find a shirt. She heard Matt scoff behind her.

“No girlfriend of mine will be taking the bus. I’ll drive you,” He said cheerfully. Back turned towards him, Charlotte rolled her eyes.

“I hate when you have that attitude. Just because you’re a man doesn’t mean you can control where I’m going and what I’m doing. Obviously, when I can afford it I’ll buy a car. But for now, I can deal.” As she talked, Charlotte continued laying out her outfit on the bed. She wanted to get changed so she started picking the clothes up and taking them into the bathroom. As she began changing, she could hear Matt’s footsteps pacing across the bedroom. She emerged a few minutes later to watch him continue to pace, only glancing in her direction as the door opened.

“I’m not trying to offend you, Charlotte. But you need to understand that, as your boyfriend, its part of my job to take care of you,” Matt explained.

“And I do understand. For me, being taken care of means rubbing my feet after a shift because you know they must be sore, telling me if my outfit makes me look fat, cooking dinner every once in a while- not being my only transportation.” Done with the conversation,
Charlotte slipped on her shoes, grabbed her bag and started walking downstairs. Once she reached the front door, she turned around to see Matt had followed closely behind her. She sighed, “I’ll be back in a few hours, try not to worry.” She leaned up, kissing his cheek before stepping outside and shutting the door behind her.

Matt stared at the door for a few seconds before he looked down, rubbing his face. He opened his eyes to find Bella at his feet, head tilted curiously. “I think,” Matt started, “We just had our first fight.”