Friends and Lovers

Chapter Fourteen

She walked alone, her eyes adjusting to the darkness around her as she followed the path Matt had taken just a short time before.

Sora was surprised Joe allowed her to leave so easily. With his recent behavior she anticipated more of a fight, but when she looked back half expecting him to still be following she instead saw him slipping back inside the restaurant. It was a relief to realize he'd respected how serious she was about this. Or perhaps he had only been afraid of her temper. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so angry. Had she ever yelled at him before tonight?

And what had even happened back there?

She replayed the events of the night over and over again in her mind, her eyes barely seeing the ground as she walked. What was she missing? Matt was always sarcastic so it couldn't have been his teasing her… could it? Everything seemed fine until then, but if she was being honest she had spent a large portion of the day distracted. Maybe she missed something from earlier.

Joe's hovering since they arrived, his overprotective defense, The hostility before they even left the cabin today, the tension around the table when Matt called it out... she must be missing something - some history between them. Something everyone else at the table knew, but as usual she was outside of.

She reached the park near the lake and paused to look down on the walking paths that ran the length of the shore. She couldn't see Matt below in either direction and her feet were cramping from walking most of the day in heels. Disappointed that she never found a shoe store and now she didn't think she had it in her to go further. With a sound of defeat she sank to the steps and removed her boots.

The combined pain and relief tore a moan from her throat. If she never wore heels again in her life she'd die happy.

She checked the bottom of her injured foot as best she could in the dark, flinching when her fingers pressed the tender spot on her heel. It wasn't as bad as it could be after walking on it all day, but it still hurt. She continued rubbing her feet first one and then the other while looking out across the water.

What if this was something she couldn't fix? She needed to talk to Matt and do their best to put the past behind them, but she couldn't shake the feeling that wasn't all this was. There was definitely something more going on between her friends that she was missing.

She dropped her head back and contemplated the night sky, looking for perspective in the stars.

When she heard the footsteps approaching behind her she smiled, not the least bit surprised he'd come out of hiding to find her. Then he was there looming over her. His face blocking out the stars and filling her vision - becoming the center of everything she could see. She looked up at him looking down at her and felt herself falling.

"Of course I'd find you wandering alone in the dark." He nodded his head at her discarded boots "At least you're wearing most of your clothes this time."

Sora wiggled her toes for him. "Maybe I just want you to carry me again."

"Not likely." He snorted.

He stepped around her to sit on the hill beside the path and she moved to join him, the blades of grass prickling her skin. She pulled her legs close and rested her cheek on her knees, staring at Matt's profile against the lights of the town behind him.

"So where's Prince Charming." He wasn't looking at her as he asked, but she frowned at him anyway.

"When you do that," She asked, "are you insulting him or me?"

Matt blew the hair out of his face, his frustration obvious though whether with her or Joe she couldn't say.

"Why are you out here?" He asked instead, "Shouldn't you be eating with everyone else?"

"I followed you." She searched his face in the dark, willing him to look at her. "It's not fair the way they treated you."

He laughed and raked his hand through his hair.

"Yeah well, you left." He fell back onto the grass, an arm slung across his eyes. "You left and everyone knew it was my fault. How did you think they'd treat me?"

Sora looked down at his other hand laying palm up between them and reached out to trace circles against his skin with her finger tip.

"It was never your fault." She whispered, too scared to look back at him now in case he might finally be looking at her.

"You still left." They were both whispering now.

"I had to." She swallowed down the tears that rose in her throat and curled onto her back beside him, her hand resting open beside his. "It hurt too much to stay."

"I just…" He paused, taking a breath to steady his own voice. "I thought it would hurt you more to leave."

She turned her face to look at him, surprised by the emotion in his words, but he was still hiding beneath his arm.

"I think it did." She confessed. "I've missed you so much."

His hand pushed against hers, tangling their fingers together. They stayed there on the grass together and the quiet stretched between them.

"Do you think if I stayed we'd be here right now?" She wondered more to the stars than to him.

"Honestly?" He turned on his side to finally look at her, his eyes serious as they searched hers. He touched his fingers to her cheek, tracing her face in the dark. "I was going to keep hurting you. I just thought it would take you longer to leave."

"It wasn't your fault you didn't love me, Matt." She turned toward him, hoping he could see the sincerity on her face. "We were kids."

He slid his hands around to cup the back of her neck and pulled her to him, his eyes holding hers.

"You don't understand anything." He whispered and pressed his lips against hers. This kiss was slow and tender and so sweet it made her heart ache even as desire stirred within her. The now familiar heat between them unfurled, setting her pulse to racing.

She moved into him, craving his body pressed against hers, wanting more. He pulled away just as she tried to deepen the kiss and rolled on to his back with a chuckle. Frustration flared and she jerked upright beside him.

"Why do you keep doing that?" She demanded, ripping at the grass with her hands.

"Doing what?"

"Kissing me and just…" She gestured at his relaxed body stretched out beside her.

"You don't want me to kiss you? Fine, I'll stop."

"What? I didn't say- that's not-" She sputtered, "I want-"

He was laughing at her! She threw grass in his face and he laughed harder.

"Too late." He teased, pulling her back down and tucking her against him. "Next kiss is all you."

Sora melted into the side of him as if it was as natural to her as breathing, which she was currently not doing. She reminded herself to inhale and could taste his smell filling her lungs, every fiber of her awake and aware of him.

His arms were around her, his large hands resting on her back and waist to hold her close to him. Her cheek rested on his chest just under his chin, his exhale stirring her hair. His body was warm against the length of her. The grass cool against her bare legs.

She closed her eyes, wishing to live in this moment forever.

With heart beating in her ears, she dared to move her hand along his chest, enjoying the feel of his body through the fabric of his shirt. She watched her fingers pass her face over the collar to touch the exposed skin at his neck, tracing his collar bone with a feather light touch. She could feel his sucked in breath, but he didn't try to stop her and the reckless part of her wanted to test just how far he'd let her go.

"If we're gone too long your knight in shining armor will send the search party." He murmured into her hair.

"I don't think so." She said after a moment, trailing her fingers back down his chest and across his stomach. "I told him I'd be with you."

Matt moved to capture her wandering hand in his, interlacing their fingers.

"You told Joe," He asked, his tone measured. "That you would be with me?"

"I just said I was going to talk to you." She shifted onto an elbow so she could look at his face, "Was that okay?"

Matt released a long sigh and let her go, sitting up to reach back for his phone. Sora sat up beside him, confused and more than a little anxious. Had she done something wrong?

"What are you doing?"

"Just letting someone know you found me." He explained, thumbs flying over the screen. "So they're not worried."

That made sense, but even after he finished the text he sat staring down at the phone in his hands. She couldn't help the feeling she'd somehow disappointed him.

Several long minutes passed before his screen finally lit up with a response. After reading it he typed a quick reply of his own before stuffing the phone back in his pocket. He pushed to his feet with another long sigh.

"Are you ready to head back?" He asked, turning to face her.

"Not really." She took his outstretched hand and let him pull her up beside him. "Do we have to?"

"We should." He laughed at her pout. "We can't stay here all night."

Even so, she had wanted him to herself for longer than this.

She bent to retrieve her boots from the steps, but had no intention of putting her feet back in that prison. Matt was watching her and when he realized she meant to walk barefoot along the path he glared at her in disbelief.

"You are not being serious right now?"

She looked down at her feet then back to him and shrugged. "My feet hurt."

He gave her a look that told her he was questioning her life choices. Welcome to the team. She raised her eyebrows, daring him to say something. He just shook his head at her instead.

"So I'm carrying you after all."

"No, I was only joking about that." She put distance between them in case he tried to grab her without warning again.

"I had to pick glass out of your foot just last night." He pointed out, advancing.

"Matt it's too far." She took a quick step back, retreating.

"Not to the car."

That stopped her. "We're taking your car back to the restaurant?"

"No," He said, close enough now she had to look up to see his face. "We're taking the car back to the cabin."