Against the Wall (24 page)

I amble toward him slowly and sit on my desk facing him. I nod my head in agreement. “I wasn’t absolutely sure I was ready to move on until then. But when you kissed me, I knew.”

“
I guess I knew, too.” He scratches his head. “Summer and I are back together.” Surprisingly, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest to hear this. “She kept on telling me I wasn’t over you. And even though I tried to reassure her, maybe I didn’t believe it myself. But then we kissed, and it wasn’t like it used to be. It was just … ”

“
Blah,” I finish his thought. He smiles. “I know. It was weird. I didn’t feel anything.” Then I realize how bad it sounds. “No offense,” I quickly say.

“
Shelly, I don’t want us to hate each other anymore. I think we had a great relationship all those years, but it just wasn’t meant to be forever.”

“
I could never hate you, Chase. I’m grateful for the time we had together,” I say. “I've known you my whole life. We grew up together. I think we’ve finally come to the point where we’re really ready to move on. I’m assuming you explained this to Summer?”

He nods. “I had to email her because she wouldn’t talk to me. But she understands now.” He grins at me mischievously. “I think you and Mel would really like her, if you gave her a chance.”

“
I think you’d like Matty too, if you gave him a chance,” I flash the same grin right back.

“
I do like Fuller. I always have. He’s cool. Maybe he just rubbed me the wrong way because I kinda knew you’d end up with him. You two are perfect for each other. I’ll be totally cool with him from now on. You’ll see.”

“
Now, if I could just get him to be in the same room with me, I could fix all this. He saw you kiss me, and he took it the wrong way. I haven’t talked to him since.” My eyes well up and I put my head down to try to calm my emotions.

“
Don’t worry about it, Shel,” he stands, and gives me a hug. “Summer and I are proof things will work themselves out.”

“
I hope so,” I sniffle into his chest.

My door flings open and I really must have the worst luck in the entire fucking world. Once again, Matty catches me in Chase’s arms.

He puts his hands up like WTF. “You know, I was already in my car and I decided to come back. I guess I was right in thinking I should have just gone home,” he practically spits the words out.

“
Oh son of a beeyotch, Matty, you have the worst timing ever,” I say, rolling my eyes for good measure.

He turns to leave but Chase shouts, “Fuller, don’t leave. Stay here and talk to her. I think you’ll want to hear what she has to say.”

Just then, my door opens for the third time and the familiar sound of heels comes tapping in.

“
Well hello, everyone,” Summer says.

“
Hi, Summer,” I say, as I hop off my desk and start to move toward her. “Nice to see you. I’m really happy everything worked out for you two.”

She smiles and I have this overwhelming urge to hug her. So I do. Thankfully, she doesn’t punch me. She hugs me back and says, “I’m sure things will work out for you too.”

We back away from each other, and I run my fingers through my hair. I glance at Matty and he looks so confused, it’s adorable.

Summer gestures to the door. “You ready, Chase?”

“
Sure am,” he says. He bends down and kisses my cheek. “Good luck.” Then he sticks out his hand to Matty, who still looks puzzled but shakes Chase’s hand anyway.

“
Bye, guys, see ya later,” I say as they leave.

Matty points at the door, “What the hell was that?”

I smile at him. “What are you talking about?” I ask, facetiously.

“
You just hugged Summer McGallian.” He’s still pointing at the door.

I shrug. “We’re friends.”

“
Since when?” He puts his hand to my forehead. “Are you feeling okay? Is it the flu?” Thank you Jesus, he’s joking. This is going to work.

“
Since she discovered I’m not in love with her boyfriend.” He runs his fingertips along the side of my face and brushes my hair back. “And since Chase explained to her I’ve moved on just like he has.”

“
But what about the party?” he asks, putting his hands to his sides.

“
Chase and I kissed, briefly and it was just a peck. But I think it was more out of curiosity. For both of us. To see if there was something still between us. And we both figured out what we already knew. Our feelings for each other no longer exist. I didn’t feel one thing when he kissed me. He may as well have been a stranger. There was nothing.”

“
And what about what you said? You needed him.”

I roll my eyes in frustration. “You need to use Q-tips, Matty. What I said was ‘I needed that.’ Meaning, I needed
that
to move on, to say goodbye to him. And he understood, but you just left and didn’t give me the chance to explain. You bailed on me.”

Matty runs his fingers through his hair, and then puts his hands on his hips. “You scared me, Shel. When you went out with the other guys, I wasn’t worried in the slightest. There was never a doubt in my mind you’d come back to me. But with Chase, it was different. When I saw you guys together, I was crushed. I assumed the worst. I guess I always felt like I couldn’t compete with him and the history you have together.”

I shake my head, and can’t help but laugh.

“
What’s so funny?”

“
You!” I shout. “You don’t get it Mr. Fuller. There’s no competition. And if there was, you’d win every time.”

He tilts his head, still looking perplexed.

“
For you being such a smart ass, you sure are dumb.” I stretch my arms up and clasp my hands around his neck. “Matt Fuller, I love you. Now kiss me, you fool.”

He cups my face in his hands and touches his lips to mine. Our lips lock together several times, before our tongues slide against each other rekindling the fire that had gone out for a week. Matty traces his tongue across my top lip and catches my bottom lip between his, sucking softly and playfully, and sending tingles all over my body. Then he lifts me in a tight squeeze, as my feet dangle in the air, and he plants quick smooches all over my face and throat. He nuzzles his face in my neck and the feel of his warm breath on my skin is so great I let out a hushed moan.

“
You really love me, huh?” he asks, grinning.

“
Yes, I do.” I smile at him, my feet still off the ground.

“
It’s a good thing I wasn’t drinking a Bud Light at the bar that night,” he tries to say with the utmost seriousness, but it doesn’t work.

“
It wouldn’t have mattered.” I peck at his lips again. “You could’ve been drinking a Lucky Lager and I’d still love you.”

“
What about a wine cooler?” he laughs.

“
Now, let’s not get crazy.” I giggle.

He sets me down and brushes my hair away from my face with his finger tips.

“
You know what this means, don’t you?” I ask.

He knows exactly what this means.

“
Getting naked and having my way with you on your desk is probably out of the question, huh?”

I rest my palms on his strong chest. “Probably.” We grin at each other.

“
The car?”

“
Why don’t you just shut up and take me home, Mr. Fuller,” I say to him.

“
One thing,” he pauses. I gaze up at him, and he gently brushes his lips against mine for a few seconds. “I love you too.”

It’s date night.

Again.

But this time I really want to go. I’m not going to pout as I get dressed. I’m not second guessing my motives. The idea of going out on a real date with my new boyfriend couldn’t make me feel any happier.

It’s funny, really. Since last week when Matty and I finally confessed our love for each other—well, I finally told him I loved him, he’s been telling me he loves me for months—he hasn’t gone home. But this morning, after breakfast, he kissed me goodbye and was out the door. What a goof. He wants to pick me up and that won’t work if we both get ready at my house. So he went home.

The radio is blaring a mix of dance music, slow songs, and country throughout my house. I love setting the player to random picks and just being surprised by what comes through the speakers. After spending over an hour in the shower washing, exfoliating, moisturizing, my body feels silky smooth. It helps I shaved my legs from the tops of my thighs all the way down to my toes. I’d been doing this already, but I took special care today so I wouldn’t miss a spot. If Matty decides tonight is the night, I’m going to be ready for him.

Now that I’m in love with him, I thought we would have been screwing like horny teenagers whose parents were on vacation, but my boyfriend—I like saying it—has this odd sense of honor and thinks we should continue to wait awhile longer. He wants to show me how much he respects me by taking things slowly. I’ve never wanted anyone to respect me less. He’s really driving me crazy. I thought it was always the woman who wouldn’t give it up.

In Matty’s case, I think his reluctance might also have something to do with my house and my bed. While it was okay for us to do everything but make love in my bed before, I’m not so sure he wants to take our relationship to the next level in the same bed I slept in with Chase for so many years. Understandable, I know. But I refuse to do it at his place with three roommates roaming around, two of them being other teachers who work with us. His place reminds me of a frat house, except for his room which is all tidy and neat. I should have suspected considering the way he cleans my house and clears the table within minutes of us finishing a meal.

My place is out and so is his.

I think we’re going to have to go old school and get a room somewhere. Can you imagine? A grown man and a grown woman having to book a hotel room to have sex. Will we have to get a room every time?

Matty will be at my door in thirty minutes. My hair is flowing down my back in loose curls. My makeup is applied lightly in warm tones to match my green eyes. I’ve never been one to get flashy with my makeup and I don’t want to start now. He likes my natural look. I apply a thin layer of nude lip gloss and look at myself in the mirror. Fitted jeans, a flirty black tank dips low in the front under a charcoal gray crocheted cardigan. My heeled boots will give me a little height, maybe enough to make the top of my head clear Matty’s shoulders. Maybe.

Dangly silver earrings pierce my lobes, and a strand of tiny crystals surround my neck.

There, I’m done. Ready for my date with my boyfriend.

A knock at my door tells me I’m right on time. I knew he’d be early.

I open my door, and Matty stands before me with a bouquet of orange Gerbera daisies, my favorite flower.

“
You’re so sweet,” I tell him, taking the fresh flowers from his hands and accepting his kiss on my lips. “I thought all this nice guy stuff was gonna get thrown out the window as soon as I told you I loved you.”

“
Nope, get used to it, baby.” He kisses the top of my head. “This is me. You’re stuck with it.”

I roll me eyes, sarcastically. “Well, I guess I can manage.”

In the kitchen, I clip the stems of the flowers and place them in a vase. When I’m finished, Matty and I are practically skipping down my walkway to his car.

“
Where to?” I ask him.

“
Where do you think?” he grins.

“
Well if I knew, why would I ask?” I smile at him.

“
To your happiest place on earth,” he says. I tilt my head and beam at him. I couldn’t be happier with his choice of restaurants. “I figure they have a hundred different choices of beer, two Sunday night games, plenty of non-vegetarian choices of food, and air conditioning.”

“
Oh, Matty, this is gonna be the best effing date I’ve ever had,” I cry out. “I’m gonna get a Guinness.”

“
And I’m gonna get a Black and Tan.”

“
Perfect,” I tell him, leaning over his center console to press my lips to his.

Just perfect.

Third time
is
a charm.