He looked down at his phone and tapped the screen a few times. What was he doing?
"Here is Taylor," he said, giving me the phone.
I took it from him and looked down at the picture. The girl was beautiful, with shoulder-length platinum hair. She had striking blue eyes. She stood beside a guy with a tattoo sleeve who had one arm around her. He had midnight-black hair, and his blue eyes were looking at the girl in the photo with adoration.
"The guy with her is her boyfriend, Sin Carter."
I had jumped to conclusions and now I felt like an idiot. I handed the phone back.
"Taylor is my friend."
There was nothing I could say that would take back the accusation, but I mumbled, "I'm sorry."
He approached me and I dropped my eyes to the floor. He lifted my chin with a finger.
"She's been dying to meet you," he said.
"Really?" I looked at him with surprise. "You've told her about me?"
He nodded. He took my hand into his and pulled me closer.
"Would you like to meet her?"
I nodded. "Yes, I'd like that."
He hugged me and pressed a kiss to my forehead. His lips lingered like he didn't want to let go of me, and I wrapped my arms around him.
"We can go through to visit them next weekend."
The only friend of his that I had met was Mark and I was excited to meet his other friends. But still, none of this had explained away his need for privacy with phone calls. I ignored the thought.
Aweeklater we were on our way to meet his friends and I was happy but I couldn't stop the feeling of nervousness at the thought his friends might not like me.
"Do you think they'll like me?" I asked, feeling apprehensive about the meeting. Matthew meant a lot to me.
"Don't worry, they'll love you," he assured me. He took my hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
Despite his words I was still feeling nervous as I stood outside the door, waiting as Matthew knocked. He hadn't told me a lot about them but I was so excited to meet his friends that I hadn't cared. The door opened and a beautiful angelic-looking girl greeted me with the biggest smile. Her long platinum hair framed her small face and her bright blue eyes sparkled as she continued to smile with excitement. I remembered her from the photo. Taylor was even more beautiful in person.
"Hi," I greeted her. Matthew was standing just behind me.
"Come in," she gushed, giving me an unexpected hug. Even though the hug had taken me by surprise, I hugged her back.
My eyes took in the guy who was standing behind her. He was the total opposite to Taylor. He had a tattoo sleeve on one arm and a lip piercing. I wasn't one for tattoos, but they were beautiful. He was the boyfriend I recognized from the photo.
"Hi," he greeted me as I stepped into the apartment. They looked like complete opposites. Taylor looked like an angel. Sin Carter, with his black hair, piercings and tattoos, looked like a rebel who lived his life the way he wanted to whether it was against the rules or not.
As I greeted him it was hard to believe that people who were so different in appearance could look so happy together—and there was no doubt by the way that Sin looked at her that he was head over heels for her.
I didn't believe in love but it was hard to dispute when I took in the couple in front of me. The way they looked at each other, it was like no one else existed.
Taylor hugged Matthew.
"It's so good to see you," she said. "I liked it better when I saw you nearly every day."
Taylor and Sin were in college. Apparently that was how they met. Matthew had told me they had met in college and had become fast friends.
Matthew and Sin shook hands before we were ushered inside.