Cruel Cruel World
Chapter 7: Fear of Falling Under
Deep into the water, deep into the dark, deep into the places, stories have to start.
Peel open the layers, go in for the kill. Bite into the onion, taste it for the thrill.
It had been a lonely couple of weeks. Kelly had called Matthew on his birthday, and he hadn't been drunk, thankfully, but though he was nice, he was eager to get off the phone, and hadn't really said much to her. The call had lasted all but two minutes, if even that. She had tried tweeting him a nice message, telling him she was lucky to have worked with him all these years, and that she adores him beyond words.
He had responded to her with just a general thanks. To make it worse, though he had singled her name out, he had also added, "And everyone else" in his tweet, so really, the thank you hadn't been just to her.
She had thought he would have some kind words for her in return, but she was wrong.
He had said he was back from San Francisco, and excited about lightt.
As if Kelly cared about lightt. She had a feeling he posted more crap, so she looked, and sure enough, there he was with his precious Maria.
They had dinner or whatever with a female friend of theirs, then they went back home, and watched what looked like The Black Swan. Maria was draped comfortable on his couch, her arms draped over her head. Why Matthew thought Kelly would be interested in that, Kelly had no idea.
Later, he even posted a video of Maria her laying her head on his lap in a car while his daughter slept beside him. Sleeping on his lap? Really? What was she, Aven's age? Heck, even Aven was acting more normal than Maria was. Then again, Kelly knew Maria was all about smothering. She had to be glued to the hip with Matthew, and she had to try to act like Aven was hers, even though Aven's mother was alive and well. Talk about overkill. Probably a lot of it was just showing off as well.
Kelly tried her best to put it out of her head though.
Around the same time, he posted a video of Maria and him at a concert. He tweeted her about it, but she ignored him. Something about him being with Maria took away from his tweet. Though, she had to admit, it was nice he was still thinking about her even when he was with Maria. But he didn't love her in that way, and she wasn't going to let herself believe that he did. If he really wanted to be with her, he'd be with her and not Maria, and that was that.
At the end of September, she had gone to France to see her kids. It had been great, but the time flew by all too quickly again. It always did. It made her feel even worse than she had before when she got home. It made her miss them even more than she already missed them, and she hadn't even known that was possible!
Well, Kelly was tired of being sad all the time. She felt like such a loser, crying over losing her kids, and pining after a guy who didn't want her. Well, any mother would cry over losing her children. She didn't really blame herself on that one. Still, she didn't like appearing weak to the whole world. She didn't like being the victim. She didn't like appearing weak. It just wasn't her.
So, she spend the day at the spa. She needed some pampering.
The first treatment she got was a massage of course. Her masseuse was pretty darn good looking too. The only thing was, he reminded her of Matthew. He looked a lot like him. Strangely enough, the monogramed name on the shirt part of his uniform read Matthew, of all names.
She tried not to think about how much he reminded her of Matt. Even so, as Matthew the masseuse began to work his magic on her tense back and shoulder muscles, she couldn't help but close her eyes, and picture Matt being the one to massage her instead. She quickly started an exercise she came up where, every time she'd picture her and Matt getting romantic, she'd picture him getting romantic with Maria instead. That way, she wouldn't let herself get hooked again. So, she tried to replace her thoughts with Matt massaging Maria, but it only held for ten seconds before she felt the stress coming back. So, she found her mind drifting back to pretending that her masseuse was Matt instead of Matthew.
She bit her bottom lip as he rubbed her shoulders, using his thumbs to get out all the knots.
He then did the same for her back, pressing his thumbs at her lower back, then rubbing up her spine.
He worked on her neck, next.
Kelly bit her bottom lip. She loved a good neck rub. She pictured Matt rubbing her neck, then turning her around, and kissing her passionately, his hands roaming up her body before they started to make love right on the massage table. "Matt," she murmured, caught up in her fantasy.
"Yes, Ma'am?"
Kelly broke from her fantasy, and blushed. Had she really just called Matt's name out loud? What was she supposed to say? "Oh, I'm sorry, I was fantasizing about a guy who happens to look a lot like you, and who—get this—also happens to have the same name as you! Isn't that funny?" Right. The guy would think she was psycho.
She nervously cleared her throat. "I was just wondering if you could move onto my legs and feet now. I think I'm good up here."
"Of course!" Matthew said, moving down to work on her feet.
"Thank you," she said. She relaxed, and closed her eyes. She was going to have to be more careful about whom she fantasized about. If she called out Matt's name again, it wouldn't be quite as easy to lie her way out of. She shouldn't be fantasizing about Matt anyway, she knew. After all, he was with Maria, so what good did it do? No good. That's what good it did.
"Oh! I forgot to ask if you'd like some music put on. Would you like me to put some soft ballads on? I also have beach sounds, and rainforest sounds if you'd prefer," Matthew suddenly asked.
"Um, yes. Beach sounds would be nice, please," she requested.
"Right away! Sorry I forgot to mention it earlier," Matthew said, going to put the beach sounds on.
"It's all right. Don't worry about it," Kelly said. She just wanted something to take her mind off Matt. Concentrating on sounds of the beach should do it, she figured.
"At least you still have twenty minutes left of your massage to enjoy the sounds of the beach," Matthew said once the beach sounds began to play.
Kelly smiled. "True."
Matthew then got to work at massaging her legs. She had opened her eyes, but closed them again, and let the sounds of waves wash over her. No more thoughts of Matt. She wouldn't allow it!
Got a fear of falling under, underneath the dream. A fear of going too deep, deep beneath the seams. A fear of falling under, underneath the spell. A fear of what the truth sees, secrets I will tell. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh oh.
The massage hadn't turned out so well. The beach sounds had ended up reminding her of when Matt had taken Maria to The Hamptons. He had made sure it was all over his lightt. Needless to say, instead of soothing her, the sounds had ended up stressing her out worse. As if that wasn't bad enough, one of the hot stones from the hot stone part of the massage had been a little bit too hot. Matthew had managed to take it off her as soon as she cried out, but it had hurt even though it had only been on her a couple seconds. Then, Matthew had informed her that she had a red welt on her back, but not to worry, it should be faded by the next day. Great. He was very apologetic, and begged her not to tell his boss. Apparently, he was new, and she was his very first massage without supervision. Super! She had been nice to him though. It wasn't her style to be a witch to anyone. Besides, he had given a great massage before the stone incident. She figured she'd cut him a break. She assured him she wouldn't tell anyone. She even tipped him a little extra just because she felt sorry for the poor guy.
Next up was a facial. She loved facials. They always left her face feeling so clean and refreshed. However, the esthetician was talking to the dermatologist that was there to observe and help. They were discussing their children.
"So, Cassie wants a cat. She's been begging me, and begging me for months now, so I'm finally going to break down and let her have one. Her birthday is next week, so I'm going to tell her then that she can have one," Tammy, the esthetician said to Darla, the dermatologist.
Darla smiled. "Aw, how old is she?"
"She's seven," Tammy said proudly.
Darla smiled. "I remember when my husband and I got our son a dog for the first time. He had just turned eight, and he promised us he would take care of it. He'd walk it, feed it, brush him, and so forth. He chose this little Chihuahua. My husband and I though, oh he's tiny and cute! He won't be a problem. The thing peed all over our furniture, barked at everything including the phone ringing, and shed all over the place. Who knew Chihuahuas shed? My son got sick of walking him after only having him a week, and he still has to be coaxed to feed him even now after we've had the thing for five years. As for brushing, you can forget about that happening. I wanted to get rid of the thing, but my husband treats that thing like a second son now, so there goes that! Heck, I think he loves that thing more than my son does."
Tammy laughed. "Well, the good thing about cats is, you don't have to do much for them. They prefer to be left alone, and go to the bathroom on their own."
Kelly tuned out the rest of the conversation as images of how her children loved Oliver so much filled her brain. It wasn't long ago, that Helena was asking for a cat, and Hermés was asking for another dog. Kelly had told them no because it was hard enough getting Oliver approved to live in their apartment. Now she felt sad that she hadn't at least tired for another animal. She felt she had failed her children in more ways than one. She never should have let it get this far, where Daniel got to practically hold them hostage in France.
Needles to say, by the time her spa treatments were over, she was ready to get out of there. She had gotten her hair and nails done just for fun. At least that had gone by without a problem. Even so, she left the spa still feeling stressed. She figured maybe a shopping spree to get a new outfit to go with her freshly done hair and nails might make her feel better. So, off it was to Fifth Ave. She didn't know if it would take away her depression, but she figured it was definitely worth a shot!
Reach into a top hat, reach in all alone. Reach in for a rabbit, come up with a stone. Searching for pieces, pieces left behind. Discarded moments in the junkyard of my mind.
Kelly was really happy with her purchase. She had found a wonderful outfit complete with shoes and accessories. She could hardly wait to get home and try her outfit on. Heck, maybe she could call one of her gal pals up and see if they wanted to go out. Or one of her guy friends. All she knew was that she was ready to put this sadness behind her even if it was only for the evening.
She took out her iphone, and began scrolling through her contacts as she tried to decide whom to text to ask out to dinner.
As she scrolled, she headed out of Saks, and ran smack dab into someone. Her bags fell to the ground. She looked up, ready to apologize, and she realized it was none other than Maria. Matthew was right behind Maria.
"I'm sorry! I shouldn't text and walk I guess. Maria, Matthew, how are you guys?" She tried to be nice—for Matthew's sake. Maria, she really couldn't care less about, but if Maria was cordial to her, she'd be cordial to Maria in return. But really, as big as the city was, why oh why did she have to run into them of all people? Kelly held back a sigh. Just her crappy luck she guessed.
Maria smiled, and latched tightly on to Matthew's arm. "We're doing fine, thank you! How are you?"
Kelly highly doubted Maria really cared, but she played along, resisting the urge to gouge her eyes out for holding Matthew so tightly. "I'm doing the best I can with the situation I'm in."
Matthew gave Maria a gentle squeeze, then released her so that he could pick Kelly's bags up. He handed them to Kelly. "I'm sorry about that," he said even though it hadn't been him that she had crashed into, causing her bags to fall. Of course Maria hadn't offered to pick them up for her.
Kelly took her bags from him, and gave him a weak smile. "Thanks. Don't apologize. It wasn't your fault. I should have been watching where I was going. So, how was your birthday?"
"It was great! Sorry I didn't get to talk long. I was on my way out when you called. Maria and I went out to dinner with a mutual friend of mine, and it was a really nice night," Matthew explained.
"And then we went home, cuddled on the couch, and watched some movies." Maria grabbed Matthew again, and rested her head on his shoulder. "You know, we wanted some romantic alone time, so our friend went home after dinner."
Kelly gave an extremely forced smile. "Well, I'm sorry again for running into you, Maria. I guess I better be going."
Maria hit the air with her hand. "Don't mention it. It was an accident. I'm eager to get some new clothes of my own. Matthew's such a dear. He's buying me a new dress and the shoes to go with it! Do you think I can get a purse out of him too?" She winked at Kelly.
Kelly wanted to hurl. It hurt that Matthew was buying her things. She knew he was Maria's boyfriend, so it wasn't that odd. Still, she didn't like to think of him being a boyfriend to her. "Maybe." She smiled weakly, and winked back.
"Hey!" Matthew said.
Maria laughed, and gently pushed him. "You know I'm only joking!" she pulled him in for a kiss.
Kelly really felt sick then. "See you guys later!"
Maria broke the kiss. She waved at Kelly. "Bye."
"Good to see you again, Matthew," Kelly said, quickly patting his back.
"Hey, you too. I'll call you later!" he called after her.
She was already a yard away. "Mmhm!" she answered as she kept on walking without looking back. She highly doubted that would happen. She was sure Maria would make sure they were too busy in the bedroom for him to call Kelly.
Kelly hailed a cab. She was suddenly no longer in the mood to go out tonight.
Got a fear of falling under, underneath the dream. A fear of going too deep, deep beneath the seams. A fear of falling under, underneath the spell. A fear of what the truth sees. Secrets I will tell. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
When Kelly got home, she put her new outfit on, and admired herself in her full-length mirror. She looked hot if she did say so herself. Matthew didn't know what he was missing! She wore a strapless red silk dress that had two chiffon sashes that came to a point between the breast area, and billowed out on each side. It went to the middle of her knees. She had had laser hair removal ages ago on her under arms and legs, but she wore nude tights anyway, just to give her legs a slightly bronzed look. On her feet, were her black Christian Louboutin platform pumps that made her legs look even longer than they already were. Her eyes were dusted with a sparkly silver shadow, lined with the darkest of black eyeliner, and coated with two coats of black mascara, making her eyes look sexy, and perfectly shaped, with long, luxurious lashes. Her foundation and powder combo made her skin look absolutely flawless. Her cheeks were lightly dusted with a rose blush, giving her cheeks a pretty blush-colored tint. Her lips were painted an apple red, which matched her dress perfectly. Her lips were also slightly glossed with cupcake-flavored gloss. Her hair was up in a chignon, with red feather rose clips clipped in between it.
For her jewelry, she kept it simple. She wore a diamond tennis bracelet with diamond tear top earrings. Her necklace was a small ruby in the shape of a heart. The ruby was outlined by tiny diamonds.
She had even gone all out, and put on some rose perfume.
"All dressed up with nowhere to go," she said to her own reflection. She sighed. "Maybe I should have texted someone after all."
She briefly contemplated calling someone, but decided against it. She would fix herself dinner, and enjoy a candle lit dinner by herself. She would turn on some soft music, and just relax. Clear her mind from all distractions. And if that didn't work, heck, even if it did, she would take a nice, relaxing bubble bath after that, then crawl into bed with either a good movie, a good book, or both.
She made her dinner, and did just that. She had to admit, it was rather relaxing. She didn't even care that she was alone. She was just grateful for the alone time. It was absolutely more relaxing than it would be if she was dining with someone.
The thing was, she was still hungry after dinner, and she didn't really have much at home to eat.
"Well," she said out loud, "you're all dressed up. Why not go out and be seen?"
So, she grabbed her silver clutch, and headed out to get some cupcakes from the nearby bakery. It didn't take long. She didn't stay to eat them there. She got a box, and brought them home. It made her smile when she got five compliments during the short time she was out—two on the way there, one from the baker, one from a fellow customer, and one more on the way back. It felt good for her self esteem.
When she got home, she sat down at her table, and devoured not one, but two of the cupcakes. She washed them down with a nice, tall glass of milk. She knew she really shouldn't have had two. She knew she'd probably have to work out for a couple hours to work it off, but she didn't care. They were delicious, and she figured she owed herself that much.
After her dessert, she reapplied her lipstick and gloss, set up her camera tripod, and took a few shots of herself. Maybe she'd send a few shots to Matthew, she figured, amused. She knew that was just the wine she had for dinner talking. She had only had two glasses, but she was still going to blame her stupid thought on the alcohol, as Jamie Foxx recommended.
She decided to take her bath then. She ran the bath water, and was just about to undress when she heard a knock at her door.
She glanced at the clock. It was ten thirty. She wondered how it had gotten to be so late. Better yet, who could be knocking on her door at this hour?
She went to the door. "Who is it?" she called out.
"It's Matthew!" the familiar voice on the other side of the door called back.
Kelly unlocked the door. She wondered what he was doing there. He never came to visit her uninvited. Well, besides that one night he was drunk.
She opened the door, and saw that he was wearing the same sneakers with no socks, and khaki shorts he had been wearing earlier. His blue polo was the same as well, except it was unbuttoned, and before it had been buttoned. His hair looked disheveled, and he had that glazed look in his eyes. His eyes were looking a little bloodshot.
"Hey, Kel," he said, taking her into his arms, and hugging her tightly. Mm, are you wearing cologne? You smell pretty. I mean, not cologne, perfume. Men where cologne, women wear perfume, right?" He laughed. "You really do smell good. Not that you don't usually. You know what I mean."
Kelly sighed. He was drunk again. If his eyes and what was coming out of his mouth were't a good enough indication, the heavy scent of alcohol on his breath sure was. "You're drunk. Again," she stated.
Matthew held up his thumb and index finger to her, centimeters apart. "Maybe jus' a li' bit." He laughed.
Kelly sighed again. "Why do you always come to me when you're drunk?" Sheesh! After all, Maria was his girlfriend—not her. Any other time, he chose to hang out with Maria over her. Why was it the opposite when he was drunk?
"Because I love you, Kel," he said.
Kelly felt her heart melt a bit. She shook her head. He was drunk, and didn't know what he was saying. She was not about to get sucked in. Not again. "I love you need to get sobered up."
"Is that a new dress?" Matthew suddenly nodded at her attire.
Kelly looked down. She had forgotten she was wearing it. She then looked at him. "Why, yes! The whole outfit is new. It's what was in my bags when I ran into you, or technically, Maria, earlier. Do you like it?"
Matthew stumbled over to her. "Do I like? Mm, Kel, I love!" He ran a finger down the valley of her chest. I like the sash things on the side. I also like how it's tight around the bust area." He laughed. He then pulled her close to him.
Kelly cried out in surprise. "Matthew, you're squeezing me."
Matthew released his grip just enough for her to breathe again. He ran his fingertips down her bare back.
She shivered at his touch. "I love the dress it's so..." Matthew trailed off.
Kelly raised an eyebrow. "So what?"
Matthew suddenly turned green.
Kelly had never seen anyone turn green before—not even her kids! She had always figured it was just a figure of speech until now. Her eyes widened when the realization of what Matthew turning green meant. "Matthew, no!"
But, it was too late. Matthew retched, then vomited all over her new dress.
"Matthew, why?!" Kelly cried out. "Oh, ew, ew, ew!" She narrowed her eyes at Matthew, and pointed to the direction of the bathroom. "To the bathroom, now! What is it with you puking outside of the toilet? Huh?" She felt like she was scolding one of her children. In a way, she was, for Matthew was acting like a child tonight.
Matthew pointed to her dress, and laughed. "I just puked all over your new dress!"
"It's not funny! I spent a lot of money on this dress that I shouldn't have even spent. I should be saving it for the lawyer's bills, but I was depressed, and needed something to take my depression away even though it was only temporary, and— Ugh! Why am I even bothering? You need to get to the bathroom. She narrowed her eyes at him again. Now."
Matthew saluted her, then laughed. "Yes, Ma'am!" He giggled some more. "I feel like I'm on Band of Brothers again, saluting and all."
Kelly took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. "You cannot kill him, you'll regret it later," she said quietly to herself. "Besides, you don't need that on your record when you're trying to get your children back."
She practically dragged him to the bathroom, then pushed him down onto his knees so that he could throw up in the toilet.
"I'll be right back. I have to go turn my tub water off in my bathroom," she said.
Matthew looked up at her from in front of the toilet. He grinned, and wriggled his eyebrows up and down suggestively. "You're going to take a bath? Mind if I join you?"
Kelly bit her bottom lip. If only he were sober, and actually meant that. Before she could respond, Matthew leaned down, and threw up into the toilet.
Kelly sighed, then left to turn off her tub water. She really needed a shower now that he had thrown up on her. She got to her bathroom, and turned the water off. She then drained it. Sadly, her shower was going to have to wait until she had Matthew taken care of.
She went back into the bathroom to find him standing there, buck naked, and grinning at her like the Cheshire cat. "Oh my gosh," she said, covering her mouth.
Matthew smirked, and looked down at his naked body, then back up at her. "Impressive, right?" he asked, the smirk still on his face.
Kelly was too shocked to answer. Her mind was reeling. She didn't know whether to be turned on because well, he was naked, or if she should be turned off because he was out of his mind drunk.
"Now how about the that bath?" He winked at her, and clucked his tongue.
Kelly smirked. "How about a shower instead?"
He grinned wider. "Sounds good, Darling!" He climbed into the shower.
Kelly smiled, and sauntered over to the shower, trying her best to look as sexy as she could.
Matthew licked his lips, and held out his hands to her. "That's it, Baby. Step out of that sexy but soiled dress of yours and come to papa!"
Kelly raised an eyebrow. Come to Papa? Was that what he said to Maria? After all, he technically was old enough to be her father.
She licked her lips."Yes, my Darling." She dropped the dress so that she was only in her black lace bra, and matching black lace underwear.
Matthew moaned, and licked his lips.
She then headed over to the outside of the shower, turned the shower handle to the cold side, and pulled the handle out, hence spraying Matthew with a shower of incredibly cold water.
What came first, love, hurt, love, hurt? Oh, what came first, love, hurt, love, hurt?
Oh, what came first, love, hurt, love, hurt? Oh, what came first, love, hurt, love, hurt?
"Kelly! That's cold!" Matthew cried out.
"Good! That's the whole idea! I need to sober you up!" Kelly said.
Matthew tried to back out of the water flow, but Kelly pushed him back into it.
"You're going to stay under that water until you snap out of it, and sober up!" Kelly snapped.
Matthew shook under the water. "It's so cold!"
"Yeah, yeah, quit your whining!" Kelly snapped.
"I thought we were friends!" Matthew whined, despite Kelly's order not to whine.
"We are. That's why I'm doing this. Friends don't let friends stay drunk!" Kelly informed him. "Besides, consider your uncomfortableness payback for ruining my new dress!"
Matthew's shoulders slumped, and he didn't put up anymore fight.
After a minute passed, Kelly took pity on him. "Do you think you're sobered up now? The truth! Don't lie to me, or I swear I'll make you stay under there for an hour!"
"I'm good now!" he assured her.
Kelly narrowed her eyes at him skeptically.
"I promise!" he insisted.
So, Kelly turned off the water, and helped him out of the shower.
"Now my clothes are all wet," he grumbled.
"And my new dress is all covered in your puke," Kelly reminded him as she handed him a towel.
Matthew took the towel from her, then looked down to the floor as he tried his best to dry himself. "I'm sorry about that, Kel. I really am." He looked up at her. "Can you get it dry cleaned? I'll either pay for the dry cleaning, or if it's beyond help, I'll pay you back for it."
Kelly sighed. "You're my friend. I ca't make you pay for it."
"Well, you're my friend, and I can't ruin your dress without doing something about it," Matthew shot back.
"We'll talk about it later. Right now, just get out of those wet clothes. You'll catch pneumonia if you don't."
Matthew blushed, and looked down at his pants. "What about my..." He trailed off, apparently embarrassed.
Kelly knew without him having to tell her that he was asking about his underwear.
Kelly held back a smirk. "Well, I think I have a pair of Hermés underwear somewhere. You'd probably fit into those."
Matthew shot her a look. "Nice, Kel."
Kelly tried to keep a straight face. "You're right. There's no way they'd fit you. They'd be way too big in the crotch."
Matthew gasped, and Kelly started laughing uncontrollably.
"You're such a jerk!" Matthew said, though a smile was slowly creeping up on his face.
Kelly grinned. "Ah, you know I'm only teasing! Hm, well, I can give you my bath robe. It might be kind of snug, but it's something at least."
Matthew nodded. "Sure, whatever."
"I'll be right back. Kelly quickly ran to her room, and tossed on a house coat. She tied it securely around her waist. Then, she grabbed her bathrobe, and brought it into Matthew.
"I'll wait for you in the kitchen," she said.
Matthew nodded. "All right. Thanks."
So, Kelly did just that.
A couple minutes later, Matthew entered the kitchen, holding his wet clothes.
"I'll go plop those in the wash so they can be done as soon as possible," she said. She handed Matthew a cup of hot chocolate she had made while waiting for him. "Drink this. It will help to both sober you up, and warm you up."
"Thanks, Kel. You're the best!" he said, taking the hot mug from her, and taking a sip. "Mm, this is good."
She smiled. "I'll be right back." She then headed to the washer, and dumped in his clothes. She threw in the soap and fabric softener, then started the washer, and rejoined him in the kitchen. She grabbed her mug of hot chocolate from the microwave, and sat down at the table, where he was sitting. She sipped her hot chocolate, then grinned at him. "You look kind of cute in my robe." She winked.
He grinned. "It's comfortable! Is this terrycloth?"
"No, it's Kelly cloth," she joked.
Matthew rolled his eyes, but grinned nonetheless. "You're such a nut!
She wrinkled her nose and grinned, then took another sip of her hot chocolate. "Yes, it's terrycloth. Feels nice, doesn't it?"
He nodded. "It sure does! I might have to get myself one of these. Only in men's of course."
"Of course!" Kelly said with a wink, and another sip of her hot chocolate.
They sipped their hot chocolates in silence for a moment. Then, Matthew spoke. "I really am sorry about your dress, Kel. You really did look beautiful in it."
Kelly smirked. "Before it got covered in your vomit you mean?"
Matthew shook his head. "Even after. You always look beautiful Kel. you don't even need a dress to look beautiful. You'd look beautiful in rags."
Kelly blushed, and looked away as she tucked a stray strand of hair from her eyes. "Thank you." She looked at him. "And you look handsome even in a lady's robe."
Matthew laughed. "Good to know!"
They grinned at each other.
Matthew finished his hot chocolate with a satisfied, Ah! "That was really good! I love how you put the whipped cream and the mini marshmallows in it. Usually it's just one or the other when you order it somewhere. Or, none at all."
Kelly smiled. "I'm glad you liked it. My kids like it that way, and so do I. It's good, isn't it?"
Matthew nodded, and licked his lips. "The best!"
Kelly downed the rest of hers.
Matthew yawned.
"Are you tired?" Kelly asked.
"I suddenly am," Matthew admitted with a nod.
Kelly stood up. "Come on. I'll make up the pullout for you."
"Thanks. I appreciate it," Matthew said.
So, they headed into the living room, and Matthew helped Kelly pull out the bed.
"Does Maria know you're here?" Kelly asked.
Matthew nodded. "I called her after I got the robe on. I told her I'm at my friends again. I didn't tell her you were the friend. She and I had gotten into a fight earlier. I wanted to invite you to join us for dinner, and she wanted it to be just the two of us. She said she doesn't want to encourage the fans to ship you and me again. She says it will only make people hate her more. I don't know. It doesn't really make much sense to me. I told her so, and it didn't go over to well. She stormed off one way, I stormed off the other. There happened to be a couple bars along the way I stormed off. I had one drink, which led to another, and another, and..." He trailed off.
Kelly nodded. "I get the picture." She grabbed the pillows and blankets, and it didn't take long to get the pullout made up.
The washer beeped, signaling it was done.
"I'll put your things in the drier. It should only take a half hour or less since it's only your clothes in there. Feel free to take them out if you're still awake when it's done," Kelly said.
Matthew nodded. "Thank you. I will."
"Well, have a good night. I'm gonna go take a shower, and head to bed," Kelly said, turning to leave.
Matthew grabbed her wrist before she could leave.
She turned around, waiting for an explanation.
Matthew looked her in the eyes. "I really appreciate all you do for me, Kel. You're an Angel. I want you to know that I know how lucky I am to have you as a friend. Your friendship means more to me than you could possibly know. And I meant what I said earlier. You don't need a dress to be beautiful. In fact, I don't think you can possibly be any more beautiful than you already are."
Kelly blushed. "Thank you. I really appreciate that. I feel so lucky to have you as a friend as well. You know how much I love and adore you. And, if we're talking about looks here, you're about as handsome as it gets!"
Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Only 'about' as handsome as it gets?"
Kelly rolled her eyes, but smiled. "As handsome as it gets!" she corrected herself.
Matthew grinned. "That's better!" He surprised her then, by pulling her down onto the bed with him. He then stroked some hair out of her eyes, and kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, Beautiful."
Kelly nuzzled her cheek against his hand. "Goodnight, Sexy." She winked, then kissed his cheek. Then, she got up, and headed to her bedroom.
She closed the door, and leaned against it, closing her eyes. "Do not let him suck you in," she whispered. "He's just a flirt sometimes. He doesn't mean anything by it."
She shook her head, then headed in to take a shower before bed.
From now on, she was not going to fall for believing he loved her as more than just a friend. No. She knew better now.
Oh, what?
