soft | murdock

7

"Okay, be honest, how do I look?" I ask Eddie as I turn around to face him. He's fixing his navy blue tie and his eyes widen a little when he sees me.

"Wow, Sky. Isn't that a little overboard for a guy who's blind?" Eddie says almost mockingly. "Now help me with my tie. You certainly don't need any help with your outfit."

"Oh, phew," I say, helping tighten Eddie's tie. He hands me a simple silver tie bar and I slip it on.

"You clean up nice, as well," I say to him, hitting him on the arm.

"Let's go before we're late," Eddie says, checking his wrist for the time. 

-

"Why are they late?!" I say in desperation, getting more nervous as the second tick on. 

"It's 7:02. Chill. They're probably just arguing with their cab about the fare," Eddie shrugs, moving one of his forks around on the table.

"If you're so calm, explain to me why you're pushing that fork around like a compulsive maniac," I shoot back.

"I am no- Hi guys!" Eddie greets Matt and Karen, and I'm almost scared to turn around.

I turn around after a few moments, and Matt looks as nice and similar as ever. He's shaved, but that's pretty much the only thing that differentiates him from his normal work attire. He's also wearing some type of cologne. I scoot over on the booth and let him sit next to me.

"Hi. You smell nice. Is that Bleu De Chanel?" I ask him as he sits down next to me.

"Yeah. How could you tell?" he asks, smiling and showing off his dimples. 

"It's one of your favorites. How are you doing, Karen? I'm Skyler," I say, holding my hand out to the strawberry blonde as she graciously takes it.

"Oh, no need to introduce yourself, Foggy and Matt are always going on and on about you," she smiles as Eddie stares at her.

"Wow. Would you like to explain yourself?" I ask Matt, who just smirks slightly.

"What's there to explain? You're a pretty lady who has a nice voice and a kind heart," he says.

"Uh huh. How would you know that?"

A waiter comes to our table and cuts us off. 

"Any drinks for you guys today?" he asks politely. Matt and I just get water while Karen and Eddie each get a glass of chardonnay. I'm not the type to drink and I guess Matt isn't either. 

"And for the main dish?"

"I'll get the ravioli," Eddie says first, closing his menu.

"The duck salad for me," Karen says sweetly.

I wait for Matt to go, but he just looks at me.

"I'll get the steak," I say after a short pause.

"Uh, I'll get the roasted chicken," Matt finishes. 

"Okay. Thank you guys," the young waiter says before leaving. 

"So, how's everyone doing?" Eddie asks, placing his hands on the table and interlacing his fingers. 

"Just chilling," I say.

"Well, Nelson and Murdock finally has their first client," Karen chirps happily. "It's this guy who-"

"Karen, you gotta remember, that stuff's confidential. We could get sued if we tell anyone," Matt smiles across the table at Karen.

"Oh. Right. So what's up with you guys?" Karen says, turning to Eddie. Then they do this weird thing where they look into each other's eyes like they've been married for twelve years.

"Not much, honestly," Eddie says, finally breaking his gaze with Karen and looking at me for ideas.

"Yeah, same here," I say, shrugging.

"Come on. Someone's got to have something going on," Karen says.

Except apparently, none of us do. Which is actually quite saddening because I've been looking forward to this and now we're all just sitting here awkwardly. 

"I can tell stories about when Foggy and I were in college," Matt brings up as our drinks arrive. 

"A chance to hear about all the weird stuff Foggy did when he was young? Count me in," I say cheerily. 

"Yes, well, he's done lots of stupid things in life; most of them did happen in college. Like that time he took Punjabi because there was a hot girl who was going to take it as well."

"Sounds like Foggy," Karen laughs. Foggy is shaping up to be quite the weird creature.

"Yeah, he can't seem to keep anything in his pants," Matt laughs. 

After what feels like only a few minutes of banter and conversation, our dishes arrive. Matt fumbles around for his utensils for a couple of seconds before grasping them in his hands. Conversation slows to a halt as we all dig into our dishes. 

The rest of the meal goes smoothly, with a couple jokes here and there. But I think everyone gets the general idea that they'd rather just hang out with the person they went out with, not in a group of 4 people, on a "double date." It was a good idea, but I don't think Karen, Eddie, and I get along very well in a romantic setting. 

After the two men fight over the bill and eventually split it, I pay the tip and the four of us walk out of the restaurant. Karen has her arm around Eddie's and I'm hanging close to Matt's side. 

The air's chilly tonight - I can see my breath fog up next to my face. Although it's already pretty late, maybe half past 10, there are people all over the street, conversing cheerfully. I softly snuggle my head into Matt's arm, which is covered with the smooth material of his black overcoat. 

He softens at the gesture and I shiver slightly. Eddie waves to me and says a "see you next time, Matt!" before heading in the opposite direction with Karen. 

"Do you think he's going to get any tonight?" I ask Matt, alluding to Eddie's sexual activities. 

"Definitely," Matt smiles cheekily. 

"What about us?" I ask, the words practically jumping out of my mouth without my permission. 

He just shrugs nonchalantly. 

"Yeah, I'm tired, too," I say, yawning loudly. "Want to just call it a day?"

"Sure. I'll walk you home," Matt smiles.