Lacey

Chapter 27 - Lacey

Thankfully Matt changes the subject "So, what did you get?". Before I can respond, a horn sounds out the front. Grabbing Matt's hand, I squeal and practically skip to the front door to where a large car carrier has pulled up to deliver my BMW. My phone dings in my pocket, so I fish it out and smile when I realise my dad has sent me a text.

Dad: Your car should be there any minute. I just got off the phone with the delivery driver. I hope you like it. I wish I were there to see your face. Enjoy. Love Dad

Me: It just arrived. I can not thank you enough! Love you too xx

Shoving the phone back into my pocket, I squeal again as I watch the driver unload my car. "Are you shitting me? Your dad got you a 2022 g30?" Matt whistles, clearly as impressed with it as I am. "I have never owned a car before", I sheepishly admit. The only way I got my drivers license was by borrowing Dane's Aunt's car to practice in. It was a rust bucket that always needed to be jump-started, but at the time, it had been a godsend that I was thankful to have the use of. Dane had spent weeks patiently teaching me to drive stick. He was a saint and never said anything when I stalled the car or missed a gear. He would encourage me to try again every time. Without him, I wasn't sure I would have ever got my license but was grateful that I had because now it afforded me independence from ever having to rely on Ryder again.

I can't wait to see Dane again; he would love the g30, I was sure. After I have signed the appropriate paperwork for delivery and the driver has left, I grin at Matt and jingle the keys. "Ready hot stuff?" I question giddily. "Hot stuff, huh? How can I refuse when you say it like that" Matt replies with a panty-melting smile that has the rhythm of my heart speeding up.

"Just get in the car Matt" I reply with a playful shove. "Yes, ma'am", he replies. As soon as my ass touches the buttery leather of the seats, I groan in appreciation. "Not going to lie, I'm jealous of the sounds you are making for the car right now, Lacey", Matt replies with mock indignation, which has me laughing until my stomach hurts. When I catch my breath, I sync my phone to the Bluetooth stereo and crank Swamp by Little Darkie as I peel out of the driveway.

Matt and I spend the day driving around the city, enjoying each other's company while he plays tour guide, showing me all the local attractions that I haven't been able to explore yet. When the sun starts to go down, we decide to eat at a lovely little corner café that has been decorated to look like a diner from the fifties. We take a booth in the far corner, facing the door. A young blonde server brings our menus, and I am instantly ticked off when she adjusts her t-shirt so that her nipples are almost poking out and completely ignores me, snapping her gum and batting her eyelashes at Matt. I have zero claims to him but it still pisses me off that she is being so rude. Much to my surprise, Matt doesn't spare her another glance, holding eye contact with me as he declares he will have whatever I am having. The server pops her gum loudly, turning to sneer at me while I pretend to be still looking over the menu when I already know what I want. When she starts to stamp her foot impatiently, I take pity on her and order a double cheeseburger, onion fries and coke with a side of apple pie and ice cream. Matt stares at me with his eyes comically wide, obviously not expecting me to order anything other than a salad, no doubt. "What, just because I'm tiny doesn't mean I don't know how to eat", I pout.

When the server returns, I am amused to see that she has written her phone number on a napkin. Matt looks at me and laughs. Halfway through our burgers, Matt wipes his mouth with the napkin before screwing it up and tossing it in a trash can nearby with a laugh which earns him a sharp glare from the waitress who storms off in a huff, flicking her long hair in irritation. "Poor girl, you could have at least pocketed her number," I say, laughing at his antics. "Why? To give her false hope. I have no intentions of perusing her, Lacey." He replies seriously.

The bell over the door jingles, pulling me away from our conversation, and I groan in annoyance when Ryder, West, Saint, Lawson and Lyndsay enter the café. As soon as they spot us, all four guys tense up, their eyes narrowing on Matt. Lyndsay has her usual resting bitch face as she grabs Ryder by the arm and drags him to the booth opposite ours. Lawson looks like he wants to say something, but West shakes his head at him, and they both take seats across from Ryder and Lyndsay. "Time to go," I say to Matt, completely losing my appetite when I see Lyndsay kissing Ryder's neck with a smirk on her face. Jokes on her Ryder hasn't taken his eyes off me the entire time. How pathetic can you be, I think? "Sure", Matt replies, clearly not happy with being interrupted nor me being uncomfortable with the situation. We pay our bill and are ready to leave when I hear Lyndsay call me a pathetic slut. Seeing red, I turn around and march over to their table. "Is that all you have, Lyndsay? It is as terrible as that shitty synthetic wig on your head," I reply, smiling when she unconsciously reaches up and adjusts it. "At least I can afford a wig bitch. You look stupid with a big chunk of yours missing," she scathes. She needed to find a new hobby; clearly, insults were not her strong point.

"Fuck off, Lacey", Ryder snaps, making Matt stiffen in anger beside me. "Before we remind Matt here just who the fuck you belong to", he continues, venom dripping from every word. "I don't belong to you, Ryder", I reply through gritted teeth. "You proved that, you whore. You are mine to torment, nothing more. You are too far beneath me to ever mean anything else to me," he retorts with a nasty smirk. Thankfully West, Saint and Lawson don't utter a word. I don't think I could handle any more shit right now. Dealing with Ryder and the queen bitch was enough stress for one day. "Why can't you get it through your thick skull Lacey. You were nothing but a warm hole for Ryder, and he has now come to his senses. We belong together, Ryder and me. We are cut from the same cloth and walk in the same circles. It was pathetic of you to think he would want anything more from you. Now run along. You are ruining my date," Lyndsay says in her annoying nasally voice of hers that grates on my nerves.

Good luck with that, Ryder, I think with a snort. I don't bother replying. I just grab my keys and toss them to Matt, who catches them with a huge smile on his face. "Why baby, I didn't think you would ever ask," he says with a wink, putting on a show in front of the dickheads. So I follow his lead, grab his hand and laugh my way out of the café as if the confrontation didn't rattle me. "Thanks, Matt," I say as soon as we are safely in the car. Matt notices the slight tremble in my hands and grabs them in his. "Are you ok?" he asks with genuine concern. "Yeah. I just stupidly thought I meant something to them, is all. That was a huge mistake on my part. I tried to talk to them about the video, but they wouldn't hear a word about it. They believed Lyndsay over me," I say with a sniffle, hating that once more, I am showing just how vulnerable I am feeling about the whole mess. "They are morons then, Lacey. Lyndsay has always been a snake, and if they are too blind to see it, that is on them. It is their loss. And the way I see it, it is a huge loss. You are a wonderful person, don't ever let them make you believe otherwise, ok," Matt says with conviction. See, this is what I loved about Matt. He always knew the right things to say to make me feel better. "Thank you", I reply sincerely. "For what?" Matt questioned; his eyebrow raised. "For always having my back. You are the only one here who does, and I am so grateful for it," I reply. Matt nods and starts the car, revving it a few times before exclaiming, "Time to see how fast this baby is" as he lays rubber in the parking lot, making me squeal as my body is forced into the back of the seat when he accelerates out onto on the main road with a laugh.