The Mate Deal

Chapter 7

I lay in Matt’s arms, a smile creeping onto my lips.  I couldn’t deny that it was nice being so close to someone.  It was comforting.  Matt had fallen asleep, and I proobably would have tried to get up without waking him if I thought I could.  Or wanted to.

But the truth was, it was too warm.  And although I knew it was eight in the morning, and I wasn’t the kind to sleep in past seven most of the time, I hugged myself and closed my eyes, hoping for some dreamless rest.

But before my could fall blissfully asleep, Matt tried to sit up gently, hoping he wouldn’t disturb my sleeping.  But instead, she sat up to let him up.

“Oh.  Sorry to wake you up.”

“No, I was already awake.”

As he got out of my bed, I suddenly realized I should hve been slightly embarassed.  A guy had spent the night in my bed, and I was wearing my ugly baggy sweat pants and gray t-shirt.  But despite how I should have reacted, I looked over and smiled at him.  “Thank you, by the way.”

“For what?”

“For last night.  For… being my friend.”  I had accepted by then that we were friends, but I hadn’t been so grateful for it before.

“Don’t mention it.”  He smiled, and helped me make my bed, a simple wooden queen-sized with ice blue covers and gold colored pillows.  It matched the color-scheme of the room, with the walls being the same pale blue and light wooden furniture, a desk and dresser, and the doors were the wood, too.

“So, I’ve been thinking, and I was wondering what you thought,” he began.  “Should we go for a public proposal, or should you just come home one day with a ring on?”

It took me a minute before I realized what exactly he meant.

“I don’t see why the proposal has to be in front of everyone.  Just so long as our stories are straight.”

“Right.”  And he was about to walk out when he remembered something.  “So today, when you’re done with school, you want to go ring shopping?  You can pick anything you want.”

I frowned in mock disappointment.  “You mean I have to pick my own ring?  No surprise?”

A quiet chuckle rumbled from his chest and he replied, “No, I’m afraid there will not be any surprise.  I don’t know you well enough yet to pick out the perfect ring.”

I giggled.  Then, I realized that I had just giggled.

He left the room, and I fell back on my bed, wishing I had gotten some sleep last night.

I dressed in a green blouse with white pants, you know, the kind with the really open leg and look like a skirt, except when you walk.  They have a weird name, but I can never remember it.

I decided with how tired I was, I would ask someone to drive me to campus, since Matt would just pick me up afterwards.

Luna Rosalind was the driver, and it wasn’t an unpleasant ride, but not on my top ten list.  It was just so awkward, not knowing what to say to each other.

When she dropped me off, I jumped out of the car, shot her a genuine smile and walked away to meet up with Renee.

When Matt drove back to the college campus to picke Stephanie up after her last class, he pulled up into a parking lot to wait.  Eventually, he picked up his phone to call her, his impatience seeping in.