Page 91 of Her Dark Angel

Sadie’s eyes widen before she slaps Matt across the shoulder. “Hey! That was supposed to stay between us.”

I can’t help but chuckle as they continue to banter with each other. Being away from the silence of my house and focusing my attention on something that isn’t Nash Beck related is working as a great distraction.

I know I can’t hide from the reality of the situation forever, but at least I don’t have to worry about it for one night.

It is a problem for future me tomorrow morning.

“The only rule for tonight is no talking about Nash or the scandal,” I say when Sadie and Matt finish arguing. Sadie opens her mouth to protest, but I hold my hand up to stop her. “Please, Sade? I don’t want to talk about him or our relationship tonight. Just for one night, please?”

Matt offers me a nod of agreement, but Sadie sighs dramatically. I watch silently as she contemplates my request, twirling the ends of her hair as if she were in a tense battle between wanting to agree but also needing to know the details.

After a long moment of silence, she exhales slowly and nods. “Okay, fine. I promise I won’t bring him up, but you owe me.”

I hold my glass in the air and wait for them to tap their glasses against mine. “To having a good night with no drama.”

“Cheers!” Sadie and Matt chorus before we all take a long sip from our beverages.

As we delve into catching each other up on our lives, it feels nice to not have to talk about my relationship with Nash. I can focus on filling them in on my modeling jobs and future plans for other projects. It’s also nice to hear about what is happening in my friends’ lives, too.

Sadie is still having issues at work with her boss and having to take on extra workloads. She’s confident she can sort that out soon.

Matt’s restaurant is flourishing. It’s now one of the best five-star restaurants to visit in Los Angeles, and more and more celebrities are flocking through his door, hoping to snag a table.

The smile on my face as I listen to them talk about their accomplishments and dreams is filled with admiration and joy. It’s nice to see my friends succeeding in life and doing everything they have ever dreamed of.

We spent countless hours talking about our futures during lunchtime at school and after class. Back then, it felt like such a stretch to make all these dreams come true, but we have proven if you work hard enough for what you want, anything is possible.

“So, Matt, are you seeing anyone?” I ask. I twirl the plastic straw around the glass of my third cocktail while I wait for his response.

Matt raises a brow at me. “We can’t ask you about your love life, but ours is fair game?”

I feign a look of innocence as I shrug. “Sorry, Mattie, but rules are rules.”

“Yeah,” Sadie interjects, clearly excited to see Matt on the chopping block. “Spill everything.”

He playfully rolls his eyes and chugs the remainder of his fourth beer. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he sighs, defeated. “Okay, fine. I am seeing someone.”

Sadie and I lock eyes from across the table, and moments later, a squeal of excitement erupts from our throats. Sadie grabs Matt’s forearm and gazes up at him. “What’s her name? How did you meet? Is she nice? Is she?—”

Matt chuckles and presses his finger to her lips to silence her. “Jesus, Sade, calm down.” He pulls his finger away and Sadie’s cheeks flame with embarrassment. “Her name is Jennifer and we met a few weeks ago when she was dining in the restaurant. I noticed her at a table alone. After thirty minutes, I realized she was still alone so I went over to see if everything was all right. She told me she had been stood up and apologized for wasting my time.”

My eyes widen with anticipation. “What happened next?”

Matt rubs the back of his neck, his cheeks turning a deep red as he recalls the next part of the story. “Well, because I felt so bad for her, I told her to stay and that dinner would be on me. She tried to refuse, of course, but my persuasion made her stay. Throughout the night, I found myself sitting down to talk with her over a glass of wine before I was rushed off somewhere to help. And I don’t know, we just… clicked, I guess.”

With a knowing smirk on her face, Sadie twirls her finger in the air at Matt. “You player. But I have to give credit where credit is due because that is one way to pick up a lonely woman.”

Matt playfully swats Sadie’s finger out of his face. “It wasn’t like that, I promise. I felt sorry for her that she got stood up and wanted to make sure she still had a good night. That was my intention. But then it turned into something more because we had so much in common, and my God is she fucking beautiful.”

I smile at my best friend, swooning at his love life. “That’s so cute. I’m happy for you, Mattie.”

“Will we get to meet her soon?” Sadie asks with a hint of curiosity in her voice.

Matt rolls his tongue in his mouth thoughtfully before he shrugs. “Maybe. She knows about you both, and although she is keen to meet you, I want to make sure she’s prepared. You two are… a lot.”

Sadie feigns hurt at his words while I laugh. It’s nice to see him so happy. He hasn’t dated anyone in two years since his last girlfriend cheated on him. I’m glad he’s finally healed from that situation.

“Actually, Kin, now that I think about it, when are we going to meet this Travis friend of yours? You mention him every now and then, but we are yet to meet him.”

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