Almost Said It

My outfit was finally complete. A black and gold dress with gold heels and clutch. The party was in the building, so I didn't need to worry about outdoor attire. I finished off with my hair curled and makeup done as I received a text from Matt.

Hey, I'm five minutes away, see you soon!

I didn't bother to reply and shoved my phone into my clutch. I looked one last time in the mirror and paced the kitchen until I heard a knock. Matt was on the other side of the door, black jacket hanging open to reveal an all black outfit. He looked classy, with his hair flowed back, as usual.

"You look great" he said shaking his head slightly, "Beautiful even"

"The night hasn't even begun and I already got that out of you? I'm curious to see what I'll hear at the end of the night."

I shut the door as I heard him laugh quietly while I locked it. We chatted as we made our way a couple floors higher to Gina's apartment. As we arrived at the door, she was quick to greet us both in a green dress that seem to follow every curve of her body, while her red curls bounced.

"I'm so glad you came!" she exclaimed pulling me in a for a hug, "And you brought a date!"

"Gina, this is Matt, Matt, this is Gina"

They both shook hands, "Nice to meet you" she smiled, "Feel free to grab anything you like for a drink guys. Sam, I got your favorite wine!" I was already excited and made my way to the kitchen to grab a glass and Matt stayed close behind.

"Check the fridge for a beer if you want" I told him. He opened it and searched for a moment before grabbing a bottle and easily twisting off the top.

"So Gina is your best friend?"

I nodded, pouring some wine into my glass, "Yah, we met one day when I moved in here. She helped me when she saw me struggling to take a box of dishes up and we've been pretty inseparable ever since. I guess it's when you and James both came to Pittsburgh, February of last year." One year and nine months.

"In a few months, you guys will be coming up on two years, not bad. What about friends back home? None long term?"

"Just James" I shrugged, "I had a few girlfriends but James stuck around"

"He's good like that" He said taking a drink, "He's extremely loyal"

I know, and that's what scares me.

The rest of the evening was nice, fairly quiet though, nothing too rowdy. Gina insisted we all get pictures together, and Gina always gets her way. She ran around the apartment with her phone, snapping pictures with herself and others, or just herself, or just others. I think she had a few too many glasses.

"Oh you two, be cute!" she ordered us. Matt moved closer to me on the couch and I felt his arm wrap around as his hand landed on my hip, but I didn't mind, "Oh that's cute!" she took one quickly as we smiled and moved onto the next victim.

"You getting tired?" I yawned.

"I'm okay, but sounds like the wine got to you. Want me to walk you back?"

"Sure" I smiled. I grabbed his hand as he helped me up and said our goodbyes around the room.

"Thank you so much for coming!" she said, giving me a hug, "We have to plan a dinner and movie date soon, okay!"

"I'll call you" I told her, blowing a kiss before I shut the door, "Did you have fun?" I asked him as we made our trek to the elevator.

"I did" he replied, "I really enjoyed spending time with you"

I felt my cheeks flush and I pushed the down button on the elevator, keeping my eyes on the floor. The door opened and he followed me in. It was a quiet ride down, and he kept behind me as we reached the door, "Did you want to come in?" I asked. I wasn't sure where it came from, maybe the wine, and the way he looked with his shirt slightly unbuttoned at the top, his coat hanging from his arm.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded, "Yah"

I unlocked it and almost had a heart attack as I found James sitting on my couch, casually flipping through the channels, in the dark. I turned on the lights and freaked out, "What are you doing here?!" I nearly shouted, my blood still rushing from the surprise.

His eyes turned towards me and then to Matt, and they stayed on Matt as he stood up, "You weren't answering your phone, I got worried. I came to check in. I didn't realize you'd be so late"

"It's not your job to check in" I told him.

He shrugged, "Well I did" his eyes still wouldn't leave Matt.

"Maybe I should go" Matt said. I didn't want him too, but I knew only one of them was leaving and it wasn't going to be James if he had anything to say about it.

I turned to him, "I'm so sorry" I told him, "Give me a call soon, okay?" He nodded and leaned down to kiss me on the cheek, James watching him like a hawk. The door shut behind him and I threw my clutch at him, "Not cool!"

"What?" he knew how to play innocent well.

"You were supposed to be with Shayna"

"You invited him in?"

"For a few minutes!"

"That's not what he was thinking"

"James you have to stop acting like my boyfriend. We're not together anymore"

I noticed his jaw clench and he turned away quickly, "I'm looking out for you"

"He's your friend, your teammate! You just treated him like your enemy."

He didn't respond, he just sat back down on the couch and continued flipping through channels.

"That's just like you. You run any time something gets complicated. I don't understand how we can still be just friends after everything we went through together"

"Because we've always been friends"

"Well that changes when you've been together. Slept together. For a year. I know you've heard how hard it is to go to being just friends after any kind of relationship"

"We're different"

"There is no 'we' anymore Jay. Your other half is Shayna and I like Matt so you're going to have to deal with it or do something, I don't really care at this point. I'm going to bed" And that was the last I had heard from him the rest of the night, as I quickly passed out, realizing I had more wine than I thought.