Addison
"I have nothing to say to him," I stated flatly, riffling through my closet for cornflower blue jean shorts. Where are they? I searched the recesses of my brain trying to recall where I had last seen them. I smacked my forehead. Of course, on the floor of Joe Getty's apartment that night we had played naked Twister.
"Addie, please," Vanessa implored, scooting across the carpet on her knees until she was by my side. She grasped my hand. "Come out to dinner tonight. I can't have my best friend and boyfriend not speaking to each other."
Pausing from stepping into a lilac pleated skirt, I stared at her as though she had just sprouted a tail and wings. "Excuse me? Come again, your who now? I thought you two were just 'seeing where it leads'," I spit out, making air quotes with my fingers.
A flush that matched the linens on my bed, spread across her cheeks and she lowered her gaze. "After you and Matt got into it...he and I had a chat and decided to get back together again. So really, we owe you for that."
Whoopee, I'm so honored, I thought sarcastically, buttoning my top. "Well in that case, that changes everything," I blurted out. "I simply must call him immediately and praise him for not jerking my best friend around." I rolled my eyes. "Give me a break, V."
"Addie, come on," she pleaded, pouting her lips at me. "He's your friend and you two have never gone more than a day without speaking."
Piling my hair into a high ponytail, I shook my head. "Vanessa, I said, no. N-O. I'm not seeing him and that's final.
A few hours later, I saw Matt. He was seated at our usual spot at the diner and had a been a tea kettle, steam would have been pouring from my spout at the sight of him. I swiveled on my heels to do a U-turn back to the entrance, but Vanessa blocked my path.
"What is he doing here?" I hissed, gesturing at the dumb oaf. "You liar!" I jabbed her in the ribs as I spoke. "You claimed it would be just the two of us. You tricked me."
"I took a page from your book," she grumbled, grasping me by the arm and dragging me down the aisle towards Matt.
He sprung from the vinyl booth the moment he laid eyes on me. "Why did you bring her? I thought this was a date."
Scoffing, I slid into the seat, pulling a compact from my purse and combing my fingers through my waves. "Vanessa, I didn't realize you brought the vermin back with you from New York."
"You must be referring to your own reflection," Matt muttered, taking a reluctant seat. "You look like a beady-eyed little rat wearing a wig and heels."
I slammed the mirror down on the table, cracking the glass. "You're an asshole!"
"Alright, enough, you two," Vanessa interrupted, sitting beside Matt and handing us both menus. "I quit babysitting when I was sixteen." She glanced over at her boyfriend. "Matt, why don't you share your good news with Addison?"
I arched a brow as he lowered his gaze and studied his folded hands. "I got a promotion to waiter," he mumbled.
She nudged him in the side. "And?"
Leaning back against the cushion, he exhaled. "And my boss believes that if I keep up the hard work, I'm on track to making management."
Vanessa straightened her shoulders, a beaming smile on her face. "Apparently Matt is fantastic with the customers and is known to be quite charming."
Rolling my eyes, I scoffed loudly. "Please! He's about as charming as the serpent that convinced Eve to eat the forbidden apple. And we all know how that turned out. The human race was forever doomed."
He made a face at me. "I believe that didn't occur until the day you were born."
I gave him a swift kick in the shin causing him to yelp and Vanessa to shoot me a venomous glare. "I told you this was a bad idea," I responded. "You have only yourself to blame."
Dropping her head in her hands, she shook her head. "You two behave as though you're literal children."
I could hardly despite her claims when the rest of the meal passed by in a flurry of snide remarks, sneers, and a dinner roll that got flung at Matt's head. When Vanessa finally decided to have mercy on us, we walked out to the parking lot.
Kicking at loose gravel, I shoved my hands in the pockets of my skirt as we stood around awkwardly in front of Matt's Jetta. Vanessa leaned in, wrapping me up in her arms. "I love you. Text me when you get home."
"I love you too." I turned to leave but when she loudly cleared her throat, I knew that I hadn't gotten off that easy.
"Addie?" She questioned. "Aren't you forgetting someone?"
I slid my gaze over towards Matt who was pretending not to notice me as he feigned sudden interest in a crow pecking at a dead mouse on the ground. In that moment in time, I would rather have been the bird, tearing into a dead carcass than being subjected into making physical contact with Matt.
Sighing, I threw up my hands. "I guess I don't have a choice, do I?" I stepped forward, rigidly holding out my arms to him. He hesitated before leaning ever so slightly into my embrace, leaving a good foot of distance between our bodies as if touching me would transmit a deadly disease.
I responded by gingerly patting his back, careful not to linger on his skin thus I should be contaminated. I was certain we must have looked absolutely ridiculous, and I couldn't stop the corner of my mouth from twitching. Even though I tried to stifle it, the beginning sounds of laughter escaped from my lips.
Matt pulled back, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. He caught my eye and within seconds, he started to chuckle as well. His snickers morphed into a deep rumble, the dimple on his cheek appearing. "Come here, Addie," he said, picking me up and tossing me over his shoulder. I squealed as he hugged my legs tightly and just like that, we were friends again.
Sometimes, it was just that simple.
***
And sometimes, it was far more complicated.
It was the Fourth of July, and I was on my way to Matt's for some fireworks and grilling. Slipping on my red star-shaped sunglasses, I got behind the wheel of my Jeep and let the wind whip my loose hair around my shoulders as I drove along with the top down.
Maybe it was the several traffic violations I had broken on the ride that allowed me to arrive at his house before Vanessa did. Or perhaps, it was my desire to snag a few moments alone with him before she would float through the door on her golden pedestal and nab all of his attention.
When I arrived, I smoothed out the creases in my pastel blue halter dress before turning the knob on the front door. "Oh, Mattie!" I called, clutching a bowl of wiggly green Jell-o. "Where are you?" I popped my head into the kitchen but was only greeted by a bowl of soggy cereal in the sink.
Figuring he must have been hiding out in his bedroom, I jogged upstairs and flung open the door to his personal space.
The Jell-o instantly slipped from my fingers, landing on the carpet in a smattering of fluorescent ooze as I was immediately given a private viewing of his other personal space. A gasp fell from my lips upon him emerging from his bathroom, stark-naked and showcasing the parts of his body where his summer tan didn't reach.
My hands flew to cover my open mouth, my eyes widening. Vanessa, you are one lucky girl.
Our gazes locked for the briefest moment before he scrambled to snatch the towel lying on the floor, wrapping it around his fit waist. "Fuck, Addison," he scolded. "Don't you ever knock?"
"Oh no...my...Jell-O," I stammered out. "I dropped it." I backed up, hitting the base of my spine on the doorknob. My eyes travelled over his bare chest, water droplets shimmering on his skin and highlighting the muscles that rippled down to his abdomen. I knew I was staring longer than was appropriate at the deep v that was scarcely hidden by the low-slung linen on his hips.
He cleared his throat and I swallowed, my sights jumping to the scowl on his face. "I...uh...I'm sorry. You're right. I should have cocked. I mean knocked!"
His eyebrows shot up, but my feet remained rooted to the carpet. "Addison, go," he growled.
Reality suddenly slamming into my brain as though it were a freight train, I whirled around and stumbled out of his room. A burning sensation tingled all the way from the top of my skull down to my toes and I wasn't sure if it was from mortification or red-hot desire.