They'd been talking and drinking beer for a good hour before Matt headed into the kitchen. He needed to get some vegetables chopped for dinner tonight. Kelly leaned against the counter, beer in hand, watching him.

"Christ, you're going to chop a fucking finger off or something. How in the hell do you do that so fast?" Kelly interrupted their previous conversation.

"I guess I'm just good." Matt winked at him and then felt like a fucking idiot. He sounded like he was flirting with the man or something. It was strange; usually, it took him a while to warm up to people, but he felt comfortable with Kelly from the start. The guy had that kind of personality, he guessed. Kelly was the kind of man to draw people in.

"Or it could be the fact that I've spent the last few years working in a kitchen. That's probably a more logical explanation." Kelly barked out a husky laugh. He liked the laugh, Matt thought. His laugh was contagious. It made Matt want to do it too. He also liked the way Kelly's green eyes would light up; it made him want to stare like a stalker, but also somehow wanted to make it happen more often. He felt a little off kilter by that thought.

"Okay, let's get back to what you were saying before. I didn't mean to interrupt. So, you were really with your ex-wife ever since you were seventeen?" Shit. Matt was hoping the conversation would veer off into something else. Even though it shouldn't be, it was almost embarrassing to him. He guessed if Kelly knew the whole story, the embarrassment would make more sense. He'd given everything to Hallie since he was a kid, and it had all been for nothing. Kelly didn't know that, though.

"Yep, seventeen. So, nothing serious for you?" he asked.

"No, not really. I guess there was a possibility. Renee, but things didn't work out. We gave it a try for a while, but it wasn't meant to be." Matt could tell there was more to the story than that, and briefly, he wondered if that was the woman he'd seen here.

He didn't ask, and Kelly continued, "Now let's get back to you because you're tripping me the fuck out."

This time it was Matt's turn to laugh. Really, it wasn't funny. Six months ago, he would have been miserable, but for some reason, hearing Kelly talk about his life made him smile. He was a walking fucking cliché—the nice guy who got screwed over. "She was your first girlfriend, too?"

"Yep. And my first fuck."

"Whoa! Fuck man." Kelly set his bottle down. "You married the first woman you had sex with?"

Matt tossed the vegetables into a bowl before grabbing an onion. They really needed to change the conversation and do it quickly. "I was a kid. I loved her. I took that seriously."

When Matt cared about someone, he cared one hundred per cent. He didn't play games. The look in Kelly's vibrant green eyes changed. His forehead wrinkled, and before the man could say anything, Matt spoke. "Shut the fuck up. Don't feel sorry for me, or I'll have to kick your ass. The fact that she was the only woman I'd been with never bothered me while we were married. Now, can we stop talking about my love life, or lack thereof?"

"No, because as fucked as it is to be talking to my male neighbour about his sex life, I'm trying to make sense of it all. I can't figure you out. Are you still in love with her?" Onion tossed in the bowl, and Matt pushed it away. He'd thought he would always love Hallie, but after seeing her callously walk away from him and into the arms of the man she'd been fucking for over a year, no, he didn't love her anymore. He missed the relationship more than he missed her. He hated being lonely.

"No. Shouldn't you be taking notes since you're so intent on figuring me out? Maybe I'm not even human." Matt cocked a brow at him.

"I'm starting to question whether you are." Kelly picked up his bottle, which was empty, grabbed Matt's as well, and then walked over to the recycling bin and tossed them. "Well, hell. I am sorry about the divorce. If you don't love her anymore, it sounds like it was for the best. And hey, you're still young; at least you can go out and make up for your serious lack of female experience."

Fuck. Matt turned away from Kelly and began wiping down the counter.

"No, wait hold up." Kelly sounded shocked. "No, no, no, no. Don't tell me you haven't gone out and gotten a piece of ass since you've been divorced?"

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Matt teased him. He wanted to be angry at that, but he couldn't find it in him to be mad at Kelly. What was wrong with being monogamous? What was wrong with being the good guy?

"The women I take home want to be with me just as much as I want to be with them. They're not looking for anything serious, just like I'm not. It's a win-win for both of us." Kelly spread his palms open and flat in a that's it, what can you do? Gesture.

"I was giving you shit." Matt walked over to the fridge to get a few things out. He felt like he should be annoyed, but for some reason, he wasn't. Kelly had this passionate energy about him that Matt enjoyed. It made him feel electric-like he could and should go out and do all the things Kelly spoke about. It was like Kelly knew how to live, and he was teaching Matt with his words.

"You didn't answer the question." He quickly looked back at Kelly to find his eyebrow raised in a challenging way- knowing Matt was purposeful in avoiding the question.

"Do you always talk to your friends about their love lives?" Matt shot back. He knew it was weak, but hey give him a break.

"We often talk about getting laid, yes, and I'm definitely talking about it with you. We need to take you out and get you laid, man. What are you doing next Saturday night?"

"Working," Matt told him, though he really didn't have to be. He didn't like being away from the food truck for too long.

"Can you get the night off?" Matt sighed, closed the fridge and then leaned against it.

"I don't need help getting laid." Kelly snorted and huffed a small laugh.

"I beg to differ. Going off your experience, I'm thinking you do." An indignant squawk jumped out of Matt's mouth. But he could see what Kelly was saying. It was pretty fucking ridiculous when he thought about it. Why in the hell hadn't he gone out and gotten laid? Dated? Something? Anything?

Shaking his head, reluctantly, Matt said, "I can get the night off." Kelly clapped his hands together. "Fuck yeah. I'm taking you out to show you what you've been missing all these years." Matt was looking forward to it. Maybe. Definitely….scared shitless.

With plans now in motion for: operation Get Matt Casey Laid, Kelly left to give Matt time to finish getting ready for his mom to come over. He couldn't help thinking about the guy- there was something about Matt that just was. He didn't know if that made sense. He thought back to the academy and he was ashamed that he couldn't remember more details. After ten years it was all a little hazy. But he did remember him. He remembers that innocent baby face and pretty blue eyes, that seemed haunted by traumas in his youth. After that not too much as they went separate ways, to different firehouses and lost touch. He wondered what would have happened if they had stayed in touch. It was easy to picture Matt in his life and if he was honest with himself it freaked him out a little just how easy it was.

His cell rang as soon as he got comfortable in his chair. He pulled it out to see Shay's name on the screen.

"Hey, you. Did you see the game today?" Shay asked when he picked up. "I didn't. About to watch some highlights. I was helping my neighbour move a few things."

"Sexy, tall guy with short, blonde hair?" she asked. "He's hot. I've seen him a few times." Kelly laughed at her. "I can't tell you if he's good-looking or not, but yeah, tall with blonde hair. You're not setting him up, though."

"Aww, you're no fun, Sev. Why not?"

"I don't know...it's just weird. I have to live next door to the guy." Though he still wasn't sure why that mattered.

"He's a good guy. You'd like him. I'm taking him out next weekend. He just got out of a bad marriage." Kelly was looking forward to it. He enjoyed Matt's company.

"So, of course, you have to show him a good time." Kelly cocked a brow as though Shay could see him. "Of course." They talked for a bit longer before getting off the phone. Kelly went to the kitchen, opened a can of ravioli and thought about the food Matt had made next door. It sure as hell sounded better than fake meat and pasta in a can, but this worked for him. His mind went back to his neighbour. He kept doing that more and more lately. Matt was different. He seemed a bit tight-assed in some ways, but not in others. Like he wanted to let loose and not give a shit about things, but wasn't sure exactly how. Kelly was good at that. He'd show Matt how it was done.