Cliché with a player

Chapter 33 - The silent mach

He loves me. Me, the unstable, broken, untrusting person I am and he loves me.

"Y-you...love me," I declare. His body gets rigid behind mine — he must've stepped closer when I was too focused on The Wall.

"Yes," it's his only respond.

"Since when?" My voice is like a screech from the shock.

"I realised it yesterday when we were playing together, and today only confirmed it." He puts his hands on my shoulders and turns me around to face him. "I love you, Laken Davis."

I love you too. The realisation hits me harder and more abruptly than I expect. I love him and he loves me. I love him. And I realise I have from the moment he'd lain on the floor with me.

"I love you, Matt Taylor."

"Don't say it if you don't mean it," he says quietly, holding himself back from something. Hope, maybe.

"I mean it. I love you, I love you."

The gloom of the morbid day vanishes almost completely, as he takes my face in his hands and kisses me deeply. Lovingly. He pulls back and leans his forehead on mine. "We're too deep in now, can't back out."

"Wouldn't dream of it," I retort and kiss him again.

~~~

Nessa's family is having a family picnic and she has invited all of us, including our families. She said everyone in her family, who is living here, would come.

"Are you sure?" I ask Matt for what feels like ten thousandth time. It was the anniversary of his father's passing just two days ago. I don't want to push him.

But despite my annoying self he smiles brightly at me. "Don't worry, Lake, I'm sure."

The hairs on my arms stand up because of the nickname. "Don't call me that."

"You like Darling better?" The smile he gives me is half devilish.

I squeeze my lips shut into a thin line. "I'm going to leave you here."

"I have a car".

"Then I'm not going to talk to you for the rest of the day."

Matt narrows his eyes into two cracks. "You won't make it trough the next hour," he dares me.

I shrug. But stay quiet. "Oh, it's on," he purrs and shuts his mouth too.

"Kids, let's go!" Mrs. Taylor — who I guess kept her former husbands surname and hasn't remarried — calls out to us. I wonder where the twins' father is. And if Matt's dad is...well, down there, does that mean that Mrs. Taylor's current partner, Matt's stepfather, is helping my father sue my mother. And if that is true, why didn't Matt tell me?

Matt and I look at each other one more time, before going down. Silently.

"You ready?" Mrs. Taylor asks us but we only nod. She arches one of her neat eyebrows. "What's going on?" We both shrug and Matt even points at me with his finger. I whirl towards him, about to say something, when his daring expression reminds me of our bet. I stay quiet and shrug once more. "You know what, I don't care, you're almost adults, please, don't embarrass us," she half laughs, twisting on her heel and walks away.

Matt extends his hand towards the door in a way of saying You first. I mock a curtsy and go for the door. He opens that for me too, almost making me say thank you. Almost. I shoot him a glare. You play dirty. And I swear I can see it in his eyes. You haven't even begun to se dirty.

We drive off to Nessa's where multiple families are already in the backyard and I can hear them from the road.

I can hear the music and a delighted yelp as You Shook Me All Night Long starts blasting out of the speakers. Matt looks over at me, brows raised as to say this will be fun. I am inclined to agree.

Mom hugs Andrew over the shoulders, presses a kiss to my temple and we advance towards the back of the house.

It's already in full swing, the picnic. A man in his forties is dancing by the grill and turning over the meat on it — Ness is his reflection. Their eyes are the same, the cheeks, nose...she truly is her father's daughter.

"Hello, welcome!" A woman greets us and there is that womanly grace Ness picked up from her. Her mother is just as beautiful, the white strands lining her hair worn proudly, the corners of her eyes wrinkling slightly as she smiles at us. She hugs Mrs. Taylor first and then my mother, to whom she whispers something in her ear. She turns to my brother and me and offers us one of her smiles. "How are you?" That's worry in her voice I hear.

"Fine," Andrew lightly answers for both of us.

"Laken!" Nessa exclaims from where she is standing with her dad, and then runs over to us. In that moment Dan and his family enter the backyard, and he joins us. Ness first greets us, then turns over to Dan, fidgeting with her fingers nervously, blushing slightly.

"Um, hey." Neither of them look the other in the eyes with their parents present, and when Dan leans down to press a kiss to her cheek, both of them vividly blush. "Come on," she takes his arm and leads him over to her dad, while her mom welcoms other guests.

Matt asks, absolutely horrified, "Did Dan just blush?"

I nudge him with my elbow and we make our way to the long table, where a few people are already sitting. I know a couple; Nessa's aunt Nada, and her daughter Mirjana, both delightful ladies. Nada is older than Mrs. Moore, Mirjana is already working at a law firm.

"Hey, Laken," Mirjana smiles, Nada turning immediately to greet me herself. I've slept over at Moore's house so many times these people were like a second family to me — I've even been on one of their family reunions. The mother's eyes scan me in a second. And she takes in Matt with a slightly judging gaze, the one a family uses when assessing a new partner of one of their own. Matt and I aren't partners, we haven't even clarified our relationship yet, but we are...fond of each other? Keen? In love.

"And you are?" she purrs with that melody of a voice.

"Matt Taylor." He extends his hand.

"At least he has some manners." She throws a glance at Dan's direction.

"What did Dan do?" Matt goes into defensive mode in a second. I noticed before he doesn't let no one shit over his friends.

"Nothing. Yet." It is clear she doesn't approve of him — yet — and even clearer Matt is about to say something that would no doubt make the situation worse, so I pull on his sleeve and point to the other side of backyard, where Jack and Myles entered seconds ago. "Let's go say hi."

Before we reach them, Myles already steps away to Irina. The smile she gives him is the definition of bright, happy, and Myles seems to breathe a little easier.

"Nessa, take over, I have to go take more peppers," Mr. Moore says, stepping inside. My friend only nods and, while still continuing conversation with Dan and his father, starts turning around meat.

Dan's father — Daniel — laughs deeply, broadly, loudly, "Son, if she knows how to handle the grill, she's a keeper." And I am so glad I overheard everything — it was worthy just for the blush on their faces and the way Mr. Thompson laughed even harder.

Matt tenses all over beside me, so I put a hand on his shoulder. "Talk to him. Remember that he is still your friend — and it's not your choice." Muscles under my palm flex, but with an inhale he approaches his sister and his friend. Not before pivoting back to me and saying, "You lost, by the way," flashing me his smile.

"Actually you did," I remind him to before when he asked if Dan really blushed. Mischief dances in his eyes.

Finally, I think it's appropriate to start writing from someone else's point of view.