34 - Matthew

Matthew

"Your parents arranged a car for us?" Jessica gaped at him.

He nods.

"You have the best parents," she murmurs, giving a playful jab on the rib. "Is that our ride?" She asks, looking at the car pulling over.

"Yes." He smiles, feeling more proud of his parents than embarrassed, which he does most of the time.

The driver opened the car door. Jessica climbed in.

He followed suit.

When the driver clamber back in, Jessica leaned over, instructing the driver that they were not planning on going home yet. She gave him an address before turning to him.

"You've been to a nightclub before, right? Maybe at least once?"

Matthew doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to lie. But he doesn't want to sound like a boring loser. The latter was tempting, but still, he doesn't have the heart to lie.

"No." He heard himself say.

She nods, unbothered. "Okay. It'll be another first time then."

"Another first time," he parroted.

"Mm-hmm. Let's see if this is something that you'll find fun." She winks.

"They're going to let us in with what we're wearing, right?"

She giggled. "Yeah. This is not one of those nightclubs. I don't want to overwhelm you with mobs of strangers writhing like worms."

"Okay. I'll take it I'm in good hands."

They went through moderate traffic, but if it was worse, he barely noticed because Jessica was there telling him about how her day went. And then he was telling her about his.

They passed a few clubs with lines running a mile long. And it seemed as though the later the night has become, the longer the line gets.

They were heading to the seacoast. He wasn't sure what Jessica have up her sleeve, but he trusts her completely.

A few more minutes later, they pulled up at a huge establishment – the only club that doesn't have a line of skimpy-dressed people. In fact, there's no line at all.

Even the bouncers don't even look like the typical ones. In the parking lot, are an array of cars with personal drivers in them.

This is not the usual nightclub he pictured out. The car groaned into a stop. The driver opened the car door.

"You ready?" Jess gave him a saucy smile.

"Ready but confused," he replies honestly.

She steps out of the car.

He did the same thing.

Jessica pulls at his sleeve and ushered him to the entrance. "Okay, so, you need a membership in this particular nightclub. My grandma owns this. She said it was a speakeasy in the 60s."

"Wow. Really?"

"Yep. Her favorite place." She beamed at the bouncer.

The latter lit up.

"Luigi! How's the wife?"

"Pregnant with our third kid," Luigi grinned.

Her hand flew to her chest. "Third kid? Oh, my. It must've been a while."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Jess. It's only been a three-month gap from the second kid."

Jessica laughed. "You never fail to amaze me. Anyways, this is my friend Matthew. Matthew this is Luigi. He's been here for over ten years."

He exchanged pleasantries with Luigi before getting yanked inside by a giddy Jessica. Immediately, he was met by colorful blinking lights, the smell of alcohol and cigar melding in the air.

There was a decent amount of people dancing. The music was adequate. And by that no booming speakers, thank God. Just people who likes to party in private.

Jessica leads him to an elevator and pressed the third floor button. "You okay?"

"Yeah. So far so good."

She giggles. "Come."

The elevator dings.

It was the same scene, but only fewer people. There were private booths that accommodated moderate to loud guests. He let Jessica pulled her away to the direction of an extra large booth that said 'RESERVED.'

A woman appears with a huge smile. "Jessieeee."

"Amanda, hi!" She chirped and dove in for a hug. "Please, tell me you're my girl for tonight."

"Hell, yes. You've been gone a while." Her eyes found his and she grinned teasingly. "I see why."

"This is Matthew."

He shakes her hand.

"So, what do you want for the evening?" Amanda asks with an obliging smile.

"We don't want any alcohol. Just fruity drinks. Amaze me." Jessica sits down inside the booth and gestured him in.

Amanda looked a little surprised at her was still happy to serve. "Non-alcoholic fruity drinks. Coming right up."

Matthew sits next to her.

She propped her elbow on the table, her cheek on her palm as she grins. "What do you think?"

"It's nice."

She snorts. "No, you're just being nice. Tell me what you think."

He pauses thoughtfully then answered, "not bad for a nightclub."

Her grin widens.

A that she was satisfied with his answer.

Their drinks arrived. Although he was a little confused why she opted out of alcohol, he didn't ask.

"The last thing we need is a hangover tomorrow when we pick up Miles." Jessica sips on her pink straw, avoiding eye contact.

He tried not to smile.

She's thinking about that awkward morning when his parents walked in on them.

Then he couldn't help it.

He smiled.

He tried to hide it behind the rim of his own glass, but almost sloshed his drink because Jessica just let out a loud, excited squeal.

"This is my favorite song." She stands up, holding out her hand for him to take.

He clasped his hand around hers then she pulled him out of the booth and to the dance floor where the music was stopped to figure out what the song was.

Jason Derulo's 'Trumpets' is playing. He just didn't recognize it because it was remixed.

Jessica started dancing, her hips swaying in synchrony with the beat. Her hair brushed her shoulders back and forth, her dress twirled beautifully as her body moves rhythmically.

"Matthew," she calls out, beckoning him.

She looked free and happy.

And immensely inviting.

Matthew gave in inevitably.

He adjusted here and there. And when he finally got the hang of it, he figured for a nightclub novice, maybe he's doing pretty good. Or if he wasn't, Jessica didn't care. She was simply enjoying his company.

Their hands were on decent places. But the proximity was more than platonic. However, he was too happy to mind.

All he knew was that he was having the time of his life. With someone he never expected. She was taking him high up and he didn't want to come down.

Jessica's laugh prevailed over the music when he spun her around with a flourish. He realized just then that they'd been dancing to a different music already.

Five more songs later, they decided to call it a night. He had to admit, he would've stayed for a couple more hours with her.

They were just getting making their way to the exit when they bumped into Alistair. He was coming in with his friends as they were going out.

He paused in his steps. As if he was staring at a mismatched pair of shoes: him and Jessica. His brow arched. "Nice to see you, Jessica. Haven't seen you in our usual nightclubs lately."

"Yeah, well. I do have a life outside of nightclubs," Jessica replies bluntly.

He chuckled vehemently. "Does that mean you're done sleeping around with your boy toys? Maybe you're done being the town slut?"

She didn't flinch.

But he was close enough to see the hurt that fleeted past her face. "That's none of your business."

She looks up. "Let's go, Matthew."

Her eyes shine.

His jaw clenched when he realized they were shining with unshed tears.

Alistair smirked. "Great choice, man. A short-term girl before settling for the right one."

"Hey, watch it." His voice came out sharp with warning.

Jessica seemed a little astonished hearing the unusual tone in his voice. He never knew he had it in him either.

Alistair shoots daggers at him, tucking his arms over his chest. "What are you going to do about it, pretty boy? We don't want to mess up that face."

Matthew hadn't been this angry his entire life. Heck, he's livid!

He gritted his teeth, his hands balling up into fists. As if the anger took over, he lurched forward, his punch landing on his cheek.

He hadn't punched anyone his entire life. He only one thing in mind: Jessica was hurt.

Oh, if his brothers could see him now.

Maybe he should've been more to a lot of fights, because when the jerk retaliated, he wasn't able to dodge it. In fact, it took him by surprise he might have lost his balance if Jessica didn't an arm around him.

"Oh, my fucking God. Are you okay?" There was no longer hurt in her eyes. In fact, there was anger. And when they turn to Alistair, they slanted into furious slits. "You asshole!"

She swung her fist, hitting him square in the nose. His face whipped to the side, his fingers touching his upper lip where the blood trailed down.

She broke his nose!

Wow, compared to her impressive punch, his was embarrassingly sloppy.

Seconds later, the bouncers were coming over. Jessica ordered Alistair be escorted out of the building with his snarky friends. As they've been ushered out, Jessica gave him the middle finger. "Next time, it won't just be a broken nose, you sack of dirt."

They've caused quite a scene, but it seemed as though everyone in the club was so accustomed to it they just stop for a minute and then carried on.

Jessica turns back around. Their eyes both did a quick assessment. Then, they both blurted out:

"Matthew, your face."

"Jessica, your fist."

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