Trying to impress Matt

chapter 19

heyy guys, thanks for all the comments and such!

also this has been edited by Kate Dimka ---- check out her work too :)

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“Holly,” I greeted with a drawl, turning around. “W-what are you doing here?” She smirked smugly at my stutter.

“Oh, I’m just shopping for a few things.” In her overpriced, manicured hands she held several packets of mascara and lipstick. Go figure!

“Oh, okay. Well um, I’m going this way now.” I awkwardly tried to part with her by going to grab a shopping cart, but I could feel her presence behind me, following. When I turned, I saw the mischievous glint in her eyes. Oh shit! Here it comes.

“So, you and Matt, huh?” She asked confidently and I tripped on a magazine lying on the floor. Holly held out her free hand to keep me balanced and I bit my lip to prevent my self from saying something stupid, instead choosing to smile at her weakly, keeping the peace, if you could even call it that.

“Uh, well you see… Matt and I aren’t going out or anything. He just...” Okay, think woman. Come up with a quick excuse to get Holly thinking otherwise about what she saw. “...um, well, how do I put this?” I asked myself as I grabbed a shopping cart, Holly following like a lost puppy. She looked at me expectantly and I had the sudden urge to run in the opposite direction.

“Well?” She prompted, looking a little irate that she wasn’t going to get the gossip she was after. If there was one thing I knew about Holly, it was that she loved to gossip.

“Okay, here’s the deal.” I started down the aisles, grabbing items from the shelves and placing them in the shopping cart as I attempted to put my artificial thoughts into words. “There’s this guy that’s stalking me.” I looked at Holly whose eyes were wide open in surprise so I knew I had to play this out carefully. “So I asked Matt to take me shopping, though in the process, he had to play the part of my ‘over protective boyfriend’. You know, just in case my stalker was watching.” Holly nodded her head with a no-shit-duh expression on her face and I breathed in a sigh of a relief. Maybe this would work after all. “But you can’t tell anybody, Holly. If this gets out, I don’t know what the stalker will do with me.” I whispered the last part to her and she bit her lip as she struggled to take in what I said.

“Well what if he’s here now? He might start stalking me now. I mean, look at me. I’m fricken hot.” I took in a deep and ragged breath, struggling with myself not to say something that could potentially kill her and me in the process. I opted for a sympathetic look.

“That’s why you can’t say anything to anyone.” I looked straight into her glistening eyes and she nodded her head.

“Okay, does Joe know? Why isn’t he here instead?” She prompted, looking at me with curiosity as I took another item from the shelf.

“No, Joe doesn’t know and it has to stay that way. I mean, he could be in danger as well and I don’t want to put him through all that.” I saw her calculating what I said in her pretty little head while I swallowed some built up saliva in my throat. God help me but I think she knew I was lying.

“Well, I just broke up with this guy who had an older brother on the police forc—”

“No, Holly. Don’t tell anyone. I mean it,” I interrupted, looking at her levelly. She held my gaze but then bit into her lip. “Please!” I all but begged.

“Oh alright, I’m just trying to help but whatever. I’ll keep it a secret if you give me something, or rather someone, in return.” I raised my right eyebrow expectantly and she smiled wickedly. “I want Matt.” I wasn’t paying attention to the person in front of me, so my shopping cart collided with theirs as I played out Holly’s words in my head. She wanted Matt!