CHAPTER FOUR

"I'll get the dishes." Matt's mom headed into the kitchen after they finished their meal.

"No, you don't need to do that. It's my House. I had you over for dinner. I'll do my own dishes." She waved her hand at him. "Hogwash. I'll get it. It's what a good guest does." Matt sighed.

"No, a good host doesn't put the guest to work. They're dishes. I can handle them."

"I guess you're right." She smiled at him. "You know... Carrie has this friend she thinks would be perfect for you—nice and dependable. She's just what you need, a traditional, down-to-earth, family woman." Matt groaned. Here they went again.

"You know what I need?" His mom studied him.

"To have fun. To understand what I want as my own person." He paused in contemplation, trying to put into words what he was feeling. "I just….I don't know how to put it into words. I'm searching for something….I need time to figure out who I am when I'm not in a relationship." She gave him a sad smile and came over to hug him.

"Oh, Matthew. When I saw you after that day of the fire, you looked so lost and alone- but you were determined. You are the embodiment of what I would want my own son to be if I had had one. I love you like my own, and I just want you to be happy. I understand; you need to get back on your feet. I won't push." Tears pooled in Matt's eyes. He still couldn't believe that this woman cared for him like he was one of her own. His childhood had been an unhappy one that sometimes he felt so undeserving.

"Thanks, Momma Jean."

Kelly sat next to Matt in the busy bar. There was a live band, people dancing, and hardly enough space to move. They each had a beer sitting in front of them, their first of the night. Kelly hadn't taken him to Molly's, he sensed that going to a firefighting bar might not be the best option until he gets to know Matt a little better. Besides, he could tell the man was as nervous as all get out; he was practically vibrating with it.

"It feels weird not being at the restaurant or the food truck," Matt told him, leaning close so Kelly could hear.

"You work every weekend?" he asked.

"I work almost every day. Too much, from what I've been told." Matt tilted the bottle and swallowed a mouthful of beer. "Feels good, though...taking a night off."

"Good." Kelly clapped a hand down on his shoulder and then pulled it back. At the same time, he saw a woman sit at the end of the bar and glance their way. She had thick, blond hair and red lips and a nice, curvy body. She cocked her brow at him, knowing he was looking. "What about her?" Kelly nodded her way without trying to hide it. Matt turned on his stool and looked over. She smiled at him; yeah, she was interested in talking to him. "Go buy her a drink," Kelly told Matt, who'd turned back his way.

"What? No. Not yet."

Kelly rolled his eyes and tried not to laugh. "She's gorgeous, right?"

"Hell yeah," Matt replied.

"Then go buy her a drink, asshole."

"You forget I haven't done this before. Hell, I've never dated outside of my wife. I've never bought a woman a drink in a bar or asked a woman out." Kelly couldn't help but laugh this time. Oh god, Matt was precious.

"You're not trying to date her. I think she knows that. You're trying to fuck her. Go buy her a drink. If she's not interested, she'll let you know."

Matt looked down the bar again at the woman. She gave him another smile and then nodded as if to say, come here, confirming precisely what Kelly thought. She was most likely looking for a hook-up as well.

"Go buy her a drink if it works out, great. If not, you're out six bucks. It's not a big deal." He watched Matt, who ran his hands down his shirt as if to make sure the damn thing wasn't wrinkled or something. Kelly fought to hold in another laugh. As simple as he was, Matt was fun to him. He liked how new things seemed to Matt and how nervous he was and that he wouldn't let that hold him back.

"You're right. I don't know what the hell is wrong with me." Matt downed the rest of his beer, looked at Kelly and looked a Kelly earnestly. "What do I say?" Kelly could feel his own eyes stretching wide. He didn't even know what to say? Then Matt's lips pulled into a sly grin.

"I'm kidding. I'm not that clueless. I thought your eyes were going to pop out." And he gently whacked Kelly on the arm.

"I thought my eyes were going to pop out, too." Kelly rubbed his arm.

"Keep your eyes in your head. I'll be back."

"Hopefully not," Kelly said but then felt a little stab of disappointment. He enjoyed chatting with Matt. And now he almost wished the reason they'd come out hadn't been for Matt to meet someone, but for them to hang out instead. They could visit any time, though. That wasn't the point of the night. Kelly raised his bottle at Matt, who walked toward the blonde. Kelly saw him speak to her.

The man beside her moved, so Matt took the spot and then waved the bartender over. Matt was a riot. Totally naïve in a way Kelly wasn't sure he'd ever been. Maybe naïve wasn't the right word, almost innocent, but also eager if that made sense. Like he wanted to soak up all these experiences as though he was a child, seeing everything for the first time. Kelly had never known someone like that. He wasn't sure why he got a kick out of it. He didn't think he'd ever been that innocent. Kelly tried not to stare at them like a weirdo, but his eyes were drawn to the duo. Matt had gotten them both a drink. They were speaking to each other. She kept touching him—his arm, his leg, his shoulder. Matt didn't return any of them, but he did keep talking. She'd laugh, and then he'd laugh.

It was a good thirty minutes later when he wondered why in the fuck, he was sitting here watching his neighbour get picked up by a woman but wasn't trying to pick anyone up himself.

It was time to change that.

Before he had the chance, the woman stood, leaned forward, mouth close to Matt's ear. "There ya go, man seal the deal," Kelly whispered to himself. What the hell was this? He was treating Matt like his project or something. The master teaching the student. He snorted to himself, shaking his head; he was losing it. He watched then as Matt backed away from the woman. She looked confused, then rolled her eyes and walked away.

"What the hell was that?" Kelly asked when Matt made it back to him.

"She wanted to fuck me in my car."

Kelly waited for the punch line. Waited for him to continue. Waited for something, and then... "Umm...and that's a bad thing?"

Matt looked at him like Kelly had suddenly grown a second head or sprouted horns. "Yes. I don't want to sleep with someone in my car, which I've known for thirty minutes. Hell, at least say we can get a hotel room." Well, when he said it like that, it made Kelly feel like a dickhead. And having sex in a car, while hot, was a little uncomfortable.

But still...this was sex they were talking about. Kelly couldn't find words. This was going to be more complicated than he thought.