Getting Over Matt

7 - "You're too good for him."

- Were you drunk when we slept together? 

I knew I sounded petty again, but it was important to me, and Nathan was right. It wasn't fair on me to bottle everything up, being too afraid to speak my mind for fear of sounding pathetic. So I sent it. He replied almost instantly.  

-Yes, but you know how important sex is to me. I just wish I'd been more sober so I could have appreciated it properly with you xxx 

I considered my reply. Nathan was driving in silence now, letting me get on with it without interfering.

- So you're saying you were only flirting because you were drunk? 

I sent that without hesitation. He'd walk straight into it; I knew he would. He thought I was giving him a get-out. I wasn't.  

- Yes. And it was stupid I know. Xxx 

Yep. Straight into it. I tapped out my reply again, my fingers hitting the screen with more force than necessary in my increasingly anxious state. Nathan glanced over at me, sensing my mood, but didn't say anything.  

- So what you're actually saying is that I can't trust you when you're drunk? 

I felt some satisfaction as I sent that, wondering how he'd reply. Despite thinking I'd caught him off guard, Matt responded almost immediately.  

- You can trust me. Flirting means nothing. They're just words. I wouldn't have touched her. You know that. Xxx 

I sighed to myself and Nathan glanced over again, this time deciding to speak up. "What's he saying?" 

"He says flirting means nothing. He'd never have touched her." 

"That's beside the point," Nathan told me, flicking on his indicator and pulling into a deserted road. "Flirting is still being unfaithful. It's just insinuating it rather than doing it. It's still wrong." 

The car came to a stop and I looked around. We were at the cliff's edge and the road was cordoned off with a no-entry sign.  

"Okay, hop out," Nathan said chirpily, unfastening his seat belt and then pressing the button on mine so that the strap released itself and sprung away from my body.  

I remained seated, not moving, completely perplexed. "But we can't go any further. It says no-entry." 

Nathan opened the boot of his car and pulled out a bag. "You coming?"

I got out, purely so I could talk to him, but he locked the doors and began to stride down the road towards the barrier. When he showed no signs of waiting for me, I ran to catch up with him, taking hold of his arm to force him to come to a halt. 

"Nathan, we can't go any further. It's cordoned off." 

"Just live a little, Bella. It's exciting, isn't it?" he said, giving me that classic cheeky grin of his. "Come on, I brought a picnic and everything. I won't manage it all by myself..." 

"It's October and it's cold," I muttered stubbornly.  

"Oh, toughen up. The sun's warm when you're out of the shade. It's not like it's raining. That would have totally screwed up my plans." 

He bent under the barrier and beckoned for me to come, too. I growled to myself but followed him. What choice did I have? He didn't take us right to the cliff's edge but close enough that we had an amazing view of the sea and of the land curving around.  

"Like the view?" he asked, laying out a rug on the grass and then proceeding to settle himself down on it.  

"Yeah. It's incredible," I replied, completely truthfully.