24 - Matthew

Matthew sat on the kitchen stool, a warm cup of coffee between his hands. He's still absorbing the events from last night. And he was thinking the worse things that could've happened had they not made home first. He doesn't want to think that the woman is reckless, but she could've ended up in the E.R last night.

He hears footsteps coming toward the kitchen. He set his cup down, expecting a sleepy woman with the messiest bedhead. A shadow loom over him. He looks up.

It's not Jessica.

"Good morning. You're expecting someone else?"

He shakes his head.

Andrei narrows his eyes speculatively. "You sure?"

He nods.

"How was your little activity last night?" He walks toward the fridge, gathering eggs, milk and butter in his hands – probably for making breakfast.

"It was okay."

"Oh." His brother sounded genuinely shocked that nothing went wrong last night. Which he can't blame him for. Where Jessica goes, trouble follows.

Matthew sighs, contemplating whether to tell him about last night's mishap or just leave his brother out of this. "Hey, Andrei," he clears throat with a decision in mind: he's going to tell him.

"Yeah?" He proceeds to the shelves where he was retrieving glass bowls.

"Did you know Jessica is allergic to peanuts?"

Andrei lets out a little laugh. "Oh, yes. I found out the really hard way."

Same here. He thought.

Maybe he's been quiet for too long that Andrei turn all the way around, walked giddily right up to him and sputtered, "Sooo, why'd you asked?"

He hesitated.

Andrei clicks his tongue. "I found out that she has a peanut allergy when we were cake tasting. We shouldn't have drunk too much beforehand because we were a giggling mess by the time we got to the cakes. The next thing I know she was choking to death. And then she couldn't breathe, and we were on the ground scrambling for her inhaler because we spilled everything in her bag."

Matthew felt his jaw dropped.

"We made it though. As you can see, she's alive and well." He winked. "How about you?"

He sipped on his coffee. "Well, she ate special fries and wasn't aware it was special because it was fried in peanut oil."

"Oh. She didn't read it on the menu, did she?" Andrei scrunched his nose empathetically.

Matthew nods.

He chuckles, shaking his head. "She just loves to eat."

"Yeah. Apparently."

His brother smiles meaningfully. "Look, she's a lot, but trust me, she's the sweetest thing ever once you really get to know her. She's a really good friend."

"She's not bad," he added truthfully.

Andrei's smile turned into a large grin. "Really? You think so?"

He nods hesitantly. "Is this some sort of trap?"

"Oh, no. No, no, no. Definitely not." Andrei turns away still wearing the grin. "If the boat sails, I'll ship."

"Huh?"

"Nothing," he answers with a bat of his lashes. "So, what do you want for breakfast. I'm thinking chocolate waffles for Miles and frittatas for the godparents."

"You need help?"

"Oh, no. Just sit there and be adorable like you'll always be."

Matthew's response was a shake of his head.

For the slightest bit, the house became silent. And then furniture rattled from the living room, followed by a series of hushed F-bombs.

He and Andrei exchanged looks.

"Jess, honey, you okay? His brother called out.

She appeared in the doorway, wearing one shoe and holding the other. Her hair is a soggy, tangled mess. Her long, high-waisted skirt is lopsided. Her white blouse has damp spots on the shoulders anddddd her buttons are misaligned.

Wow, she's really a mess.

"Uh, what's going on, Jessica?" Matthew hears himself ask.

"I gotta meet a client in twenty minutes. My boss called me last night and told me one of her photographers got the flu and I need to fill in for her. But like an idiot I forgot to set my alarm." She tried putting on the other shoe but ended up losing her balance instead. "Oh, Fuck!" She muttered under her breath as she fell ungracefully on the floor.

Matthew was instinctively off the stool and knelt down in front of Jessica. He clasped his hands around her arms and helped her up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just need to put on this other shoe." She held onto him and put on her shoe without staggering this time. "Oh, shit." She froze as if she just remembered something.

"What is it?"

She sighed. "My stupid car is in the fucking shop."

"It's okay. I'll drive you."

Her green eyes scooted straight up to his. "What?"

"I'll drive you."

Her face softened. "Really?"

"Yes. If it's okay with you."

She relaxed under his touch. "Are you kidding? That would be the greatest thing ever."

He looks over to Andrei. "Can you watch Miles for a little while?"

"Of course. It would be my pleasure. You guys go ahead."

They both nodded. He grabbed his keys and she followed just a stepped behind. She didn't wait for him to open the passenger door–she was inside the car before he could even open it for her. She sputtered the name of the restaurant where she was supposed to meet her clients and turned the AC on in full blast.

He rushed behind the wheel and started the car immediately. They were on the road within a few minutes.

Jessica is dabbing her wet hair with tissue paper and dumping the wet clutter into her ginormous shoulder bag–no wonder she couldn't keep her balance earlier. She seemed a little less freaked out now.

He took the quickest glance over to her and wished he hadn't. Because now that he's really seeing her up close, he realized she's wearing her shirt inside out.

Crap.

He didn't want to be the one to tell her that not only was her buttons misaligned. She's wearing it inside out too!

He cleared his throat."You look nice."

"Nice?" She paused from wringing her tresses. "In this attire?"

"Uh, yes."

"I borrowed this from Audrey. I don't own shirts and skirts like this. Well, not usually. Depends on the client I'm meeting with. These ones are a little stick-up-the-ass type."

Oh, makes sense. She doesn't know how to wear them.

Matthew shakes his head to focus on the task at hand. How will he tell her nicely? "I'm sure you'll do great with this one."

She chuckled. "Why are you being so nice?" She adjusted in her seat so she can fully face him.

Crap. Probably cut back on the compliment.

"I'm always nice."

She narrows her eyes suspiciously. "Yeah, we'll, nice, yes. But cloying with niceness, no. Seriously, why?"

This is one of those moments when Matthew wishes he was a better liar. "To lessen the blow."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't freak out, okay?"

She nodded eagerly. "Sure, sure, sure. I'm totally zen."

He held onto the stirring wheel, hopefully for a little moral support. "Your shirt is inside out."

"What?!" She looked down to her shirt with a horrified look on her face, "holy shit. I didn't even button it right!"

"Hey, it's okay. Maybe we can make a stop at a gas station—"

"And lose a big amount of our already insufficient time? I can't risk being late." She unbuckled her seatbelt. And to his utter surprise, she started wiggling between the seats and onto the backseat.

"Hey, whoa. Are you sure about this? We might get pulled over."

"Just keep your eyes on the road and don't crash the car. We'll be fine." She made it to the backseat with a thump.

"What? You're not going to do it in the backseat, are you?" He looked up to the rear view mirror and swiftly retrieved his eyes back on the road because it was too late to talk her out of it.

She was already stripping her shirt off. "How many more minutes do we have?"

"About ten minutes," he answers distractedly.

"Okay. Are we there yet?"

"We're just a few blocks away. We just need to make a right turn at the next intersection."

"Oh, good." She sighed loudly. "And I'm done. So do you think I should wear my hair up? Will it look less soggy?"

"I, uh, I think so?"

"Okay. Wearing it up." She reached for her bag on the passenger side. By the time the car was parked, she already fixed the shirt and her hair, and everything else. She climbed out of the backseat, collected and unwrinkled. Honestly, she was a far cry from the soggy mess earlier.

A couple was just coming out of their car at the same time as they are. He recognized them.

"Oh, crap. They're already here." She stares at them for a full minute. "God, I'm a lost cost. If they start talking about economy and politics, I'll stab myself with a butter knife. Or anything else on the table."

"Come on. You don't know that," he says.

"Nah. I know the type. Those two can talk about world hunger all day."

Well, in retrospect, she's right. He knew the couple from prep school. Allan and Judy are just... too much. He feels kind of bad for Jessica.

"Thank you so much for everything. Now I'm off to the lion's cave." She takes a long sigh.

"Good luck. If you ever want to run away, I'll be your getaway driver. I'll be right here."

Jessica laughed.

He smiled. Finally, he made a good joke.

"Wait, are you serious about staying right here?"

He shrugged. "Yes. Who's going to drive you home?"

She tilted her head to one side, green eyes sparkling. And her hair looks amazing. It's like how she made wonders with her hair that one time she ended up with a bedhead in his hotel room. "Really? I was thinking I'd take the bus home, but this is wayyyyy better."

He happily stood by the car as she made her way to the restaurant, expecting at least half an hour before she makes it back. And when she did make it back, she was pouting like a grumpy kid.

Matthew clambered out of the car. A question was on the tip of his tongue as to why she's looking like someone stole all her Halloween candies but decided against it. He had a feeling she's going to tell him anyway.

She leaned against the passenger door. "I blew it."

"It was that bad?"

"Yep. It was just horrible. I think we lost a client."

He looks over to the entrance of the restaurant and saw them exiting. They paused on their way to the parking lot. They must've spotted him. Just as he intended to. He raises his hand and does a friendly wave. "Trust me, you're not going to lose a client today."

She looked at him, utterly confused. But he didn't have the time to explain because Allan and Judy are already making their way to them.

"Hi. I heard about the engagement." Matthew put on his brightest smile.

Allan stepped closer to give him a one-arm hug. "We didn't know you were in town."

"My brother, Vren, is on a honeymoon with his wife so Jessica and I are looking after Miles."

The mention of her name led their gazes to Jessica beside him. "Yeah, she's really doing them a really big favor. Juggling her job and taking care of our godson must be driving her crazy. Especially now that she's getting more clients. Kierra asked her personally to photograph her wedding."

Judy's eyes twinkled.

Matthew knew what he was doing. And the mention of Kierra Wayne will immediately reel them in.

"She did?"

"Yeah." He grinned.

Judy glances to Jessica and then back to him. "I'm so glad we made the best choice."

And just like that, Jessica didn't have to worry about losing a client. He's not the type to drop names but this looked like an emergency. Plus, seeing Jessica's slightly opened mouth is priceless.

Hey, guys! Sorry for the late update. Gosh, do you ever feel like the time is running out all the time and just won't slow down? I feel like I've been trying to keep up but fail every freakin' time.

Anyways, I need your opinion on something.

Is it okay if I post a picture of myself, my cat, and maybe just about everything else that happens in my life on my Instagram? Will it be weird? I know I made the insta account for my books, but I also want to share something about myself to let you guys know there's a  real, living person behind my books. And I did tried to post some personal pics and lost a few followers.

Soooo, is it cool or not?