Shiny Celebrity Skin

I spent a good chunk of my time plotting against Shannon. I didn't want Matt to find out for two reasons: one, he would try and talk me out of it, and two, he would probably be irrationally upset about it. Well, maybe it wouldn't be irrational. Maybe I was the one being irrational. But I couldn't help it; I was a little bit overprotective. And I could say that he was on his own until I was blue in the face, but that didn't make me any less prepared to jump in and save him.

"You get it, don't you?" I asked in frustration as Josh looked over a detailed diagram that I'd drawn of the restaurant floor plan. I was trying to devise a way to leave her unable to attend the date, yet not actually leave her too injured to work.

Josh squinted his eyes as he surveyed my illustration. "Not really, to be honest. If I were you, I would just let Matt take her out and see her true colours. He's a smart guy, and he considers Markie to be a close friend. If he knew what Shannon said, he would think twice about spending more time with her. Why can't you let him figure it out for himself?"

I scowled, pulling the paper from his fingers and placing it back on the dining room table. "I don't want anybody to get hurt. Markie is going to be crushed when she finds out he has a date. And Matt is going to be let down when he finds out what Shannon is really like. There's no way for everyone to walk away from this unscathed."

"Right, but where do you fit in? Markie must know that Matt is an eligible bachelor. She's got to be aware of the fact that a lot of girls want him."

"But the only reason that she hasn't done anything yet is because of me. I wouldn't let her make a move, and if it's all going to go down the shitter because of Shannon," I spoke her name with acid in my tone. "Then it's my fault."

"Well if this is going to become your personal vendetta, I can't let you fail, can I?"

I smiled widely at him as he leaned over the diagram once more. "Thanks, Josh. I know this seems stupid and trivial to you, but I really want Matt to see how Markie would be good for him. And even if he doesn't, I can't let him wind up marrying Shannon. She's good at fooling people, and I won't allow him to be brainwashed into cutting me out of his life. I care about him too much for that."

Josh scoffed. "Matt would never cut you out. I'm with you, aren't I? If he were ever to effectively remove you from his life, he would have to cut me out, too. And you know as well as I do just how much he loves the band. That would be absolutely impossible for him."

I arched a skeptical eyebrow. "You think the only reason he wouldn't ditch me is because of the band? I was in his life way before you were, buddy. Don't forget that."

"No, you weren't. You were just better friends with him. I was acquaintances with him for a really long time, Becky. We were both choir and band geeks."

I wrapped both of my arms around the one that he had propped against the table top beside me. Leaning my head adoringly against his bicep, I sighed. "Yeah, I guess. But we both owe Matt a lot. So I can't help but want the best for him. And Shannon definitely isn't best for him."

"I know that you're really bothered by all of this, but he's still going to do what he wants."

"I know. But if I can help to nudge him in the right direction, that would make me feel a lot better."

"Alright, so it appears to me that if a customer were to leave the bathroom and came around this corner here," he traced the path he was indicating on the diagram. "When Shannon just happened to be taking the long way around to the kitchen, there would be a collision. It probably wouldn't leave anyone injured, but she might spill something and have to clean it up."

"If it happens enough times, she might get fired," I added. "Do you think she would still go out on a date if she didn't have a job?"

"Possibly. Don't most girls just expect the guys to pay? If that's the case, she might want to go out more often so Matt will pay for her meals."

I frowned. "Damn. You have a point. She seems like the type that doesn't believe in Dutch dating."

"Oh, and I suppose you follow it religiously?"

"Do I ever ask you to pay for anything? We fight over the bill every single time we go out. You just usually try and find a way to trick me into letting you pay. Can we get back to our plotting now?"

It was only about an hour later that I had to go to work. I was dreading it more than anything. It was sure to be a slow shift, and Shannon was definitely going to want to talk to me. As good as I was at coming up with plans, I often had a hard time following through with them. But this was for Matt, and I felt the overwhelming need to help him.

Josh dropped me off, pausing to give me a reassuring kiss on the cheek. "Don't do anything you'll regret. I have to work in the studio again today, so Matt and Markie are going to pick you up. I'll come hang out later. Be good."

"I will. Love you."

I pulled my hair back from my face and tied it securely with an elastic. I took a deep breath before getting out of the car and heading inside the building. Leilani waved to me as she hurried back toward her office. I smiled in return, then put away my things and waited for a customer to come.

"So I called your apartment yesterday," Shannon said as she joined me a moment later.

"I heard. Thanks for the offer, but I need the shifts. I'm okay hanging out with Markie and Matt after work and on my days off." I made a point to say both names, as if they were never apart.

She didn't seem to have noticed. "I just thought I'd offer. Did you hear that Matt's taking me to dinner on Tuesday? I just mentioned that I had that day off, so I could work for you, and he asked me to do something with him. I thought you said something before about him hooking up with that other girl, but I guess you were wrong."

There was an acrid, bitter taste in my mouth. "Yeah, it sure seems that way, doesn't it?"

"Beck!"

I looked up intently at the familiar nickname. Matt was grinning that famous Webb grin, and I felt its infectious nature working its magic on me. The smile was wiped from my lips as I saw that Shannon was grinning, too.

"Hey Matt," she greeted him sweetly. I swore that I saw her bat her eyelashes.

"Where's Markie?" I asked, looking past him toward the door.

"She's still at the apartment. She wanted to have some time to herself or something. So I came here and left her alone for awhile."

"And you had nowhere else to spend an afternoon?"

He feigned a look of rejection. "You don't want me around, Beck? I thought we had something special!"

"We want you around!" Shannon gushed.

I ignored her. "We do have something special. Unfortunately, Leilani will kick my ass if I let you distract me too much. So I love you, but you've got to go."

"You can't take a break with me?"

"Sorry, I just got here. You haven't hung out with Steve lately; maybe you should ask him to do something."

Matt frowned. "Can I talk to you for a second, Beck? I've really wanted to have a minute alone with you since the other night."

I hesitated. Matt was my best friend; I didn't understand why it was so hard to just open up and talk to him. Now I understood what it was like for him to warn me about Josh all those years ago. It definitely made me gain some respect for how gutsy he was.

"Yeah, sure," I agreed after a moment.

Matt noticed my distracted demeanor. "Okay, really. What's up? You know that you'll feel better if you just tell me."

I grabbed his arm a little bit harder than I meant to as I dragged him away from Shannon, who looked perplexed at my exit.

"Ow!" Matt whined. "When did you get so tough?"

"I've taken to borrowing your exercise stuff. That's not the point."

"Right. What is the point, exactly? I'm still in the dark here."

"It's fine, Matt. I just didn't want to have this discussion in front of Shannon. You know that she's involved in it."

"I thought you didn't hate her."

"I don't," I persisted. "But that doesn't mean that I adore her, either."

"So you don't want me to date her?"

I folded my arms across my chest, seething a little bit. "You're making me look like the bad guy here."

Matt matched my challenging stare. "So who is the bad guy, then? Me? Just because a girl had he balls to ask me out and I said yes?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Wait, what? She said it was the other way around."

He shrugged. "That's not how I remember it. Maybe she thought you'd get mad if she initiated something. But that's just crazy talk, isn't it? You would never get mad over something like that."

"Matt, shut up for a second," I said, holding up a hand to silence him. "Why would she lie about something so stupid?" I was speaking more to myself than to him. "And if she lies about the little things, what else is she willing to lie about?"

"Maybe she just-"

"Didn't I just tell you to shut up?"

Matt laughed. I had to hand it to the guy; he never took me too seriously. Most people would have gotten upset if I spoke to them that way, but Matt always knew when it was just a joke. I sighed heavily, then gave him a small smile.

"You know how I worry about you. That's all this is. I just haven't learned to trust Shannon yet."

Matt gave me a small, sympathetic smile. "Give it time. She really seems nice. Who knows, maybe I'll discover that she chews too loud or something and I won't want a second date. You've got nothing to worry about, Beck. I won't make this weird for you. And even if you don't trust her just yet, you still trust me, right?"

I couldn't find an argument that was good enough. I still didn't want to drag Markie into anything, so I couldn't bring up Shannon's bitter words. So, instead, I slid my arms around Matt's waist and gave him a friendly hug.

"I trust you. But if you happen to leave her so broken that she doesn't want to work here anymore, that's okay. I can handle Leilani's disappointment. I can even help her find a replacement."

"Don't get your hopes up. I'll be back to pick you up, okay?"

"Hey Matt?" I paused as I broke the embrace. "You didn't tell Markie, did you?"

"You said not to. Sometimes I actually listen to you, you know."

"Good. Don't say anything. I'll have to break that one to her gently."

Matt seemed a bit torn. "Is she still hung up on me? She's been acting different around me lately. I guess you could say she's been normal. Which isn't really normal for her, is it? I just assumed that she didn't think of me like that anymore."

I shook my head slowly. "No, that's my fault. I told her that I wouldn't stop her from dating you anymore as long as you liked her back. Maybe this was just her way of really trying to win you over."

"Oh," he shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his torn up jeans. "I don't really know what to say to that."

"It's okay. She'll get over it."

"She's a tough girl. She'll be fine."

I heard the front door open, and I knew that I had to get to work. "I guess I should get back. I'll see you later, though."

"How long is Markie staying here?" He asked, acting as though I hadn't spoken.

I shrugged. "I think she booked a flight back for next week. Why?"

His eyes looked distant. "I kind of miss having you around. I know she's there, but it's not the same as having you down the hall."

I couldn't stop the enourmous smile that split my lips. "I'll be home soon. Until then, keep Markie out of trouble. And by that, I mean you should get home and make sure she hasn't already done something stupid."

Matt waved as he turned and left the restaurant. I was still smiling through most of my shift. Even Shannon's bubbly mood wasn't enough to get to me. I didn't really care right then that they were going out on a date. He had clearly taken my advice seriously, and even after that he had done something that Shannon hadn't taken the time to notice.

He hadn't said a single word to her the entire time he was there.