CHAPTER TWO

It had been a long night at the restaurant for Matt, especially after spending all day on a construction job. He was beat. He was thanking the powers of the universe that it wasn't a night where he had to spend a few hours at the food truck. He liked his truck. It hadn't been something that he had been envisioning for himself, and he kinda just fell into it. But he loved it.

He's barely unpacked, spending all his free time working one of the three jobs he has. Otherwise, what else was he going to do? Come home to an empty place that he was still working on furnishing? As shitty as it sounded, that was pretty much all Matt had. He hadn't had many friends when he and Hallie were married. His only friends were her friends' husbands, which made things too awkward now. Before, he was with her, them, or work, and now he was either at work or at home. So much for all that fun, he was supposed to be having.

Matt stepped out of his car and closed the door. He happened to glance around the garage space next to his and noticed the light on, filtering out. The garage was open now, so he thought, what the hell, and headed that way to introduce himself. When he got closer, he saw a motorcycle on a stand, tools, and a man leaning over the bike. He didn't know much about motorcycles, but he could tell this was an older one, a classic, maybe. She was a beauty.

"Hobby or profession?" Matt asked before noticing a second bike in the garage. The other looked newer. It must be the one he rode while he worked on the other. The dark-haired man looked up at him, a grease smudge on his forehead and a face full of dark stubble. He wore faded jeans and no shirt, which showed off his unbelievable body, dark curls that appealingly covered his chest, also with grease smudges. Matt was secure enough to appreciate the man's attractiveness objectively.

"Just a hobby." The man grinned at him, stood, held out his hand and then said, "Second thought, you probably don't want to shake my hand. I'm Kelly Severide, and most people call me Severide; nice to meet you." He hesitated taking Kelly's hand, not because of the grease. He didn't give a shit about the grease. But because the name Severide- he remembered from the academy. He held his hand out anyway, "Matt. Matthew Casey. I moved in next door a few days ago. She's pretty." He nodded toward the bike. "Thanks. She's a 1974 Harley Davidson Shovelhead. Prettiest girl I've ever had. So pretty no one lays a hand on her except me." He winked at Matt. His heart slammed into his chest. He had no idea what was going on. A thoughtful expression clouded Severide's face. He opened his mouth to say something but seemed to change his mind and instead asked.

"You ride?" Kelly leaned against the wall of his garage and crossed his arms. His hair was cropped short- practical. He was maybe two inches taller, more muscular than Matt. Matt was tall but more of an athletic build.

"Hell no." Matt laughed. "I can appreciate a nice bike when I see one, but, if I'm honest, they scare the shit out of me. You wouldn't catch me on one."

"No! Don't say that." Kelly chuckled. "It's only because you haven't been on one before. There's nothing like the freedom of cruising on a bike, wind all around you and just fucking going." His voice was all passion, and it almost made Matt want to ride. Almost. "I'll have to take your word for it. Do you work around here?" He knew the answer, but he needed it confirmed before saying something- well, if he said anything.

"Yeah. I work over in the Firehouse 51, and I work out of here earning money on the side. I buy old bikes, fix them up and resell them. What about you?" Severide's deep-set eyes took him in as though he was trying to figure out what Matt did by his clothes. He'd changed before leaving work, though.

"I have a small construction company, and I also own a food truck. Tonight, however, I was at Porchello's working to gain more experience."

"What food do you sell in your truck?" Matt nearly bristled at the question, but he knew it was born out of curiosity. The man Kelly Severide had an intense brashness that either pissed people off or intimidated them. However, the effect on Matt wasn't either of those two. He kinda liked it.

"Comfort food mostly. It's good for those nights when people have been out clubbing."

"It all sounds great. I'll have to check it out sometime. Do you want a beer?" Kelly walked over to a mini-fridge in his garage.

"No, I'm okay. Thanks. It was a long day, and I have to be up early again tomorrow. I just wanted to stop in and introduce myself." Jesus, he sounded like he was eighty years old. It was a Friday night. There was no reason he couldn't have a beer with his neighbour. The urge was there to say yes, even though he'd given an automatic no. He'd only spent a minute talking to the guy, but Matt liked him already. He liked the passion in which he spoke about his bike. He could tell this man would be fun to be around, which was what he was looking for, right? Fun. Just as he opened his mouth to change his mind, Kelly spoke. "Yeah, okay. It was great to meet you." He twisted the lid off his Corona. "Stop by anytime." Matt nodded and again considered changing his mind about the drink, but he didn't.

"Same to you, man. Have a good one."

"Hey! wait. Matthew Casey, yeah?" Matt froze in place, and he could feel the blood recede to his feet. He was hoping that Kelly Severide would forget him.

He just turned and nodded. He wasn't going to be a pussy now.

"It took me a few minutes to remember- but I knew that name sounded familiar. You're not a smoke eater anymore?" Matt gritted his teeth. He really didn't want to talk about this.

"Look. I don't firefight anymore, and I don't want to talk about it. Please respect that" he was firm but not angry; Kelly held his hands up in a placating manner.

"Sure." And made a zipping motion across his lips.

Matt walked away, unlocked his place, went straight for the shower, jacked off, and then fell into bed. He laid there for a while, just staring at the ceiling, mulling over the interaction with Severide. He concentrated hard trying to remember any scrap of information about the man from his time at the academy. There wasn't much, really. Kelly was top of the class, and he was close to his friend Andy Darden. He remembered them when he punched Griffin in the face after spouting off about his parents. He had struck up a sort of friendship with the two but went separate ways after they graduated. He was embarrassed to remember that he had a slight man-crush on the older man- he was just so confident and sure of himself in the world that Matt had never felt. And still doesn't feel.

Maybe he'd take Kelly's advice and give riding a motorcycle a try. He'd been given a second chance, and he didn't want to let any opportunities pass him by this time. But, on the other hand, he knew he should stay away from Kelly. He didn't want to dredge up his past; he just wanted to leave it all behind and forget it. However, something about Kelly Severide made him want to throw caution to the wind.

Kelly kept busy over the next week working shifts at the Firehouse, going out, or just screwing around in his garage. It was a Sunday, and he sat in his living room watching sports highlights on the TV when there was a knock at the door.

"Hold on." It made him an asshole, but he hoped like hell it wasn't his mom. Every time she spoke to him, she either grilled him on how he felt—do you have headaches—or Renee, neither of which he particularly wanted to talk to her about. He looked through the peephole to see it was his neighbour—Matt. He was curious to know Matt's story- he had asked around the House to see if anyone remembered Matt. He got a few vague answers in return. Kelly pulled open the door just as the man rubbed a hand over his shortly cropped blonde hair. He looked a little flustered, with wide eyes and a frown that seemed pretty comfortable on his face. "Hey, how's it going?" Kelly asked him.

"Not too bad. I actually came over to ask you a favour. Suppose you're busy, no worries. I don't want to take up too much of your time, but I stopped by this little furniture discount store up the road. They're having a going-out-of-business sale, and there's a furniture set I'd like for my living room. They can't deliver it until tomorrow, and, hell, this is embarrassing." Matt shook his head. "But I'm having my mother over for dinner tonight and—"

Kelly's eyes twinkled. "What can I do to help?"

"Well, like I said if you aren't busy if you could lend a hand moving the furniture into the apartment? And-"

"Say no more." Kelly held up a hand. "I get the mother thing. They mean well but can be a hassle. Let me grab some shoes and my keys, and we'll head out. Come in." Kelly nodded inside, and Matt followed him waiting patiently for Kelly to come back out. He looked around the apartment it seemed to be a similar set out like his, but it felt more open. The decorating was very minimalist and screamed 'bachelor', but it seemed mature. He lamented his current lack of furniture and how much unpacking he still had to do.

"Ready!"

They stepped out, and Kelly locked the door behind them. "So, no family for you? Wife or anything?" He assumed not because of what Matt said and the fact that he hadn't seen anyone other than him but figured he'd keep the conversation going by asking.

"No." Matt didn't finish speaking until they got into the truck that had Casey Constructions stickered on the side, and when he did, Kelly could tell it wasn't a conversation he wanted to continue. "I've been separated for a while but just finalized the divorce." Kelly noted Matt's fixed gaze on the road ahead as they navigated their way to the shop. He could tell that this was a touchy subject, so he offered some of himself up.

"My parents are divorced- hell, my Dad is on wife number four, I think. I reconnected with my mom a while ago, and she's harassing me for grandkids. Apparently, thirty-two is too old not to be married, but not too old to have your mother try to dictate your life." Matt laughed and Kelly liked the sound.

He knew it only came out of love (and her crazy need to hold babies), but it still drove Kelly crazy. It was worse because of his brush with death and then the Renee thing, but Kelly didn't usually offer that information to most people. He liked to keep his private life private.

It didn't take long for them to get to the furniture store. Matt purchased his couch, chair and end tables, and the two of them loaded everything into his truck and headed back. "I appreciate the help. Do you want a beer or something? I have a few hours before I get into a time machine and become a sixteen-year-old again." Kelly laughed at Matt's attempted joke, knowing that Matt's teenage years weren't as easy and carefree as he let on, but he wasn't going to touch that with a ten-foot pole, so he shrugged.

"Sure." What the hell? He liked the guy, and he had nothing else planned this afternoon anyway. He might as well hang out with his new neighbour for a little while.