Fight or Flight

Oh boy, Veronica thought.

“If that’s what you want, too…” Matt added.

She opened and closed her mouth, not knowing what to say to him. He couldn't possibly be so serious about starting a relationship. Me and him together? No way, she thought.

"Um," She hesitated. She looked him directly in the eye with a puzzled expression.. "Matt, I don't want you to take this the wrong way but..."

He was a grown man; he couldn't possibly get his feelings hurt from being rejected, could he?

"I think it's better if we stay like this for now," She told him. "Like friends."

She meant to keep their relationship as friends only. She wondered if she’d led him on to think that their friendship would be something more. Once again, she would have to explain that she wasn’t ready for anything serious yet.

"I understand," Matt said, looking down as if he'd just blown his chance with her.

"You're a really great guy, Matt," Veronica continued in an attempt to make him feel better. "And under any other circumstances, I'd love to be closer with you. I'm personally just not ready yet and I hope you can understand that."

"I do," He nodded his head. "I just thought that, with these dates, we might have been getting somewhere."

Veronica's eyes got wide and nearly fell from her head. She coughed nervously. Did he think that they were going on actual dates? Veronica's meaning of their “dates” was actually more like casually hanging out as friends. She never considered their outings to be much of anything formal and progressive.

"I honestly think it's better if we just keep this...platonic," She reiterated, trying to find the right word. "You're leaving in three days and I think you should focus on the tour more than me."

"You’re right," Matt said with a withering look. He rubbed his hands together and put on a fake smile. "Well, what about dessert? You got room for dessert?"

Veronica looked down at the screen of her phone, her stomach falling. Oh God, she thought, closing her eyes for a second. She stood up from her chair in a hurry.

"Actually, I have to go now," She told him apologetically, showing him the phone in her hand. "There's something going on."

"Okay," Matt said flatly, furrowing his eyebrows together in confusion. He stood up. “I’ll walk you out.”

Veronica stepped through the sliding door back into the kitchen. Her palms were sweaty and she swallowed the lump in her throat from nervousness. She almost felt like she was going to throw up. She swiped her keys from the countertop and grabbed her purse. Matt silently walked with her, leading her back through the house and to the front door. She could sense his discomfort.

"Thanks for dinner, Matt," Veronica said as she briskly walked to her car.

"It's not a problem," He said quietly with a double meaning.

"I'm so sorry," She apologized, getting into her car. "I really hate to leave like this, but maybe I can call you later."

"It's fine," Matt dismissed her with a shake of his head.

Veronica started the engine of her truck, quickly and skillfully backing out of the driveway without ever looking behind her. She didn't even bother to wave or honk the horn at him before she drove away, for that would just make her feel worse about what she’d done.



"I cannot believe you blew it!"

"You can't just bail on a man like that. That bruises his ego."

Veronica groaned in frustration at Nathaniel and Audrey's criticism. Maybe running to their house after leaving Matt’s wasn’t the best idea. All they’d done so far was tell her everything she did wrong and what she should have done right.

"I did not blow anything! I didn't even know there was anything to blow!" She exploded from their taunting.

Nathaniel glanced at Audrey with a smirk. Together, they both burst out laughing at Veronica’s choice of words. Veronica sometimes wondered how she dealt with the two of them at the same time. They acted like they were still in high school sometimes. She figured that’s why they were perfect for each other.

Veronica narrowed her eyes at their immature behavior. "Seriously?"

"Okay, okay. We're sorry," Nate said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Go on."

"I didn't bail on him either. I simply told him I had to go,” She explained.

"You faked an emergency text just to get the hell out of there!" Audrey screeched accusingly.

"Okay, so I did. Sue me, alright?" Veronica said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She ran her hands through her brunette hair, massaging her scalp for comfort.

"You definitely bailed on him," Nate repeated.

"We get it, you panicked," Audrey said, shrugging her shoulders.

Veronica glared at her. "I did not panic; I do not panic, ever. I just wasn't ready for him to lay that shit out like that. He never expressed any type of feelings towards me."

"Oh, but he did," Nate countered lowly. "You were just too oblivious to realize it."

"Well, sorry that I missed the signs,” Veronica apologized dryly. “He still should have said something about it before deciding that we were just a perfect match."

"He didn't say you were a perfect match,” Audrey argued. “He just wants to test the waters a bit. He didn't ask you to move in with him, marry him, and start making babies right away."

"I don't care," She argued back. "That's what he's going to want eventually. He's thirty-two. He's going to expect something soon, but it won't be from me."

"You're just paranoid," Nate rolled his eyes at his best friend’s stubbornness.

"I'm not paranoid of anything," She said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Sorry for wanting to protect myself and my career."

"Here we go again," Nate mumbled to his wife.

"Whatever, I'm leaving." Veronica stood from the kitchen stool. She put the strap of her purse over her shoulder and held her key ring on her index finger.

"Wait," Audrey stopped her, reaching out for her arm. "You said he's leaving in a couple of days. Are you going to say goodbye to him?"

Veronica thought about it for a minute. She hadn’t planned that part out yet.

"Yeah, I will," She nodded. "I just hope it won’t be awkward or anything, but I'll figure something out.”

"Alright,” The blonde took her word for it, dropping her hand.

"Alright, I'm out." She did her signature two finger salute. She wondered if she could sneak past the living room and to the door without Alex catching her. "Later, Audrey. Nate, I shall see you on Monday morning."