Looks Can Be Deceiving

I had to adimt that Lynds was right. The clothes we'd spent all day searching for were exactly my style. They fit me better as a person, and I felt so much better about myself.

I wouldn't tell her that, though.

I looked at myself in the mirror one last time. The strapless white sundress I wore fitted my small frame perfectly, the hem stopping a few inches above my knees. The fabric was soft and light, which was extremely comfortable. I paired the dress with a high pair of wedges and a small, cropped jean jacket to complete the look.

"Not bad at all," I smirked to myself, tossing my hair over my shoulders after shrugging into the jacket. I grabbed a tube of lipgloss before tossing it into my bag, along with a few other things, before taking hold of my keys and setting off for the front door.

My phone blared loudly as I hurried to my car. It was clearly Lyndsey's ringtone, and I knew she was probably freaking out at the fact that I was late for the barbeque Matt had invited everyone to. I knew better than to answer it and have to endure her fussing, so I allowed the phone to continue ringing as I unlocked my car and sat inside.

I threw the car into gear and took off in the direction of the neighborhood entrance. The light at the entrance was red, so unfortunately, I had to stop and wait. As I waited, I punched in the adress that Lyndsey had texted me earlier for my GPS to use before the light turned green. Once again, I was off.

I weaved in and out of traffic, frustrating some drivers and scaring others, barely giving the GPS enough time to catch up. Within a matter of minutes, I was driving through yet another upscale neighborhood. Million dollar homes, pools, and nice cars was all I saw. I decreased my speed just so I could look around in awe.

"What the fuck do these guys do for a living? I'm so serious." I mumbled, shaking my head as I continued down the streets.

It was just unbelievable to me how they seemed to be so filthy fucking rich, yet they were the same age as us...or at least close to it. Dammit, both Lyndsey and I had been through college already and we'd never seen that much money in our lives, so did the just go to college ten times or what? Who makes that kind of money before they hit thirty? Lyndsey had chalked it up to them inheriting money from a long line of wealthy family members.

After a couple of minutes, the GPS mentioned that I'd reached my destination, so I pulled into the nearest driveway and looked around. I spotted Lyndsey's car among the several others, and decided that I had the right house.

As soon as I climbed out of the car, Lyndsey's squeal met my ears as she came running out the front door, "You made it! What took you so long?"

I shrugged indifferently, "Just lost track of time, I guess."

With a roll of her eyes, she quickly ushered me inside. Just like Brian's house, this house was nice. Actually, it was even nicer. It was way bigger, if that was even possible, and the furniture looked like it belonged in a high-end museum, that's how nice the shit was.

"I told you this dress would make you look great! See what freshly-single-shopping can do for you?!" Lyndsey smirked, reaching behind me and slapping my ass. I hadn't expected it and let out a small yelp, quickly sending her an unpleasant glance as laughter sounded throughout the room.

Looking up, I saw all of Lyndsey's friends. Jimmy was there, smiling brightly at me, and of course Brian was there, smirking as Lyndsey threw herself at him. Johnny said a quick hello before chugging down a beer, and Zack walked forward with a grin. I greeted everyone, stifling a laugh as Jimmy called me 'smokin'. It was pretty awkward.

"She's right, you know," I turned at the sound of Matt's raspy voice and smiled at him, "You look good."

Again, his gaze made me shift nervously, "Thanks, I guess."

He sent me a knowing look and chuckled before nodding his head in the other direction. Silently, I followed him through his maze of a house, listening as he told me which rooms were which. The place was far more extravagant than Brian's house, and I honestly wasn't sure how that was possible in the first place. Once he'd finished showing me the downstairs area, he led me to the backyard where a few other people I didn't know were gathered.

"Something to drink?" he asked gruffly, covering his eyes with a pair of dark sunglasses once outside.

I shrugged, taking a vacant seat next to Johnny, "Sure, what do you have?"

He chuckled lowly, "Anything your little heart could possibly desire."

I smirked lightly, "Surprise me."

I watched as Matt disappeared back inside, most likely to get a drink for me. I took the time to watch everyone else. There were several people, mostly men, who lounged around Matt's backyard. While a couple of them horsed around the pool near the few females present, the majority of the men were congregated at various tables and lounge chairs, some carrying on deep conversations. Nearly all the men were covered from head to toe in dark colors or had tattoos. A lot of them didn't look so friendly, despite the harmless gestures they used towards people around them.

Just then, Johnny turned to me with a grin, "How's it going, North Carolina?"

I rolled my eyes playfully, "Just fine, California, and yourself?"

"I'm fuckin' great, dude, thanks for asking!"

Wow, he was a strange one.

Matt's chuckle met my ears, "Like I said, you get used to it after a while."

I snorted quietly, taking the mystery drink he'd offered, "Hmm."

I took a sip of the drink, finding it to be a simple Arnold Palmer, sweet tea mixed with lemonade. I smirked knowingly over at Matt, knowing that he'd been around Lyndsey long enough to learn that this was one of my favorite drinks. He returned the smirk, throwing a wink in my direction as he took Johnny's now unoccupied seat.

"So, Lynds mentioned something about freshly-single-shopping, eh?" he smirked, a playful edge to his tone.

This time I really snorted, "Yeah...my best friend's a little special," I sighed, causing him to laugh loudly.

"I see," he smiled, "So, what's the story?"

I giggled, thinking of my friend's wild antics, "Oh, God. It's honestly not worth mentioning."

"I'll be the judge of that," he smirked, motioning towards the side of the pool on the other end of the yard.

I shrugged haphazardly and followed him, watching as he peeled off his shoes and socks before rolling up the legs of his pants. He then sat down and allowed his legs to dangle some in the water. I chuckled as he looked up and flashed me a small smile, the ring in his lip glinting in the sunlight.

With a sigh, I stepped forward, kicking off my heels and scooting them out of the way before I plopped down next to Matt. I then stuck my own feet in the water, squeaking to myself as the water raised goosebumps on my skin.

"So how about this story?" Matt pressed, and I rolled my eyes.

"There's not much to it, really. My ex and I split up just the other week, so I moved in with Lynds until I can find a place of my own."

"Ah," Matt nodded, looking off elsewhere, "How long were the two of you together?"

I bit my lip, willing myself to not become overwhelmed with emotion, "Uh, t-two years." I mumbled quietly, staring down at my neon pink painted toes.

Matt gave out a long. low whistle, causing me to chuckle softly, "Long fucking time then."

I couldn't help but to scoff, "Apparently not long enough for him."

"Unfaithful?" he guessed immediately, and I nodded.

Silently chewing on the inside of my cheek, I replied, "Beyond so. I tried to ignore it for as long as I could, but after coming home and seeing some girl making herself comfortable on my living room couch, as if she'd been a guest in my house more than once...well, that didn't settle very well with me."

"Fuck, he cursed lowly, "I'm sorry to hear that."

I shrugged indifferently, "I'm just sorry I stayed around for so long. I tried to ignore all the signs for the longest time, which was stupid on my part. You can't make someone love you, and if he chose to be that unfaithful, then clearly, love wasn't a factor of our relationship."

It seemed that right then and there, I embarked on a quick trip down memory lane. Flashbacks of the good times and some of the bad invaded my thoughts. Then, came the worst memories. I fought to suppress those and blinked quickly, bringing my attention back to the present. Matt was watching me solemnly. I turned my gaze from him.

"I know how it feels."

Frowning, I looked over to see that Matt had taken off his shades, "What do you mean?"

I watched as he looked elsewhere before choosing to answer, "Few years ago, I was engaged to be married."

I felt my eyes widen, "W-what happened?"

I took note of the way the muscles in his arms rippled underneath his shirt as he clenched his fists. His jaw tightened, and his body completely tensed altogether. I knew the inner struggle he was facing all too well and gave him a minute to respond, knowing if I were to push, he would have an unpleasant reaction. I waited patiently as he took several long, deep breaths, and slowed his breathing to a calmer pace before answering.

"She found someone who she thought could treat her better than I could. Turned out to be the guy I hated the most on the face of this fucking planet. She left."

"I'm sorry," I said, honestly feeling bad.

When I thought of it, I'd just been in a simple relationship. Tyler and I hadn't even discused marriage. We hadn't even really acknowledged wanting a future with one another, but I'd thought that had gone without saying. Matt, however short his story was, had completely committed himself to a girl, only to have her rip his heart out and stomp all over it by turning to someone he considered his enemy. It was clear he'd had his share of heartbreak, no matter how few details he'd given me.

Matt shrugged just as I had, "I'm not. It only showed her true colors; she wasn't who I thought she was, y'know? So now I'm not tied down to anyone, and I can wait for someone who's better for me than she ever was. I still win, even though sometimes it doesn't feel that way. And soon, you'll realize the same for yourself."

I cocked an eyebrow at him, "Realize what?"

A hint of a smile began to play on his lips, "That things get better with time."

With that, he patted my knee before standing, gathering his socks and shoes in one hand before returning to the group, leaving me with my thoughts. It wasn't exactly something I'd wanted to hear, but maybe I'd needed to.

He was right, afterall. Life goes on after love, and then a new love comes along.

Though, just as I'd told Lyndsey before, I wouldn't be holding my breath. I couldn't see myself getting involved with anyone anytime soon. Tyler had been everything to me, and to have all that completely torn from under my feet was something that I had yet to get used to.

It pained me to see other couples together, looking just as in love as Tyler and I had once been. I woke up every morning expecting to see Tyler's sleeping face next to me before reality hits me hard in the face. I fell asleep every night hoping that things would get better, only to be met with a dreamless sleep. Sleep interrupted with memories of how amazing things had been between us, as well as memories of our relationship falling apart. Everyday I felt as though I didn't know what to do with myself now that Tyler was gone. I didn't know how to be on my own, I hated being on my own.

Love made me this way.

No, the last thing I ever wanted to hear about was love.