Page 7 of Your Rhythm
He reaches a hand out towards me and I pass him the phone, wondering what he’s up to.
“There,” he says, handing it back after a moment. “That’s my number, in case you come up with any more questions. Or if you plan on climbing any more stairs tonight. It seems like it might be dangerous for you to do that alone.”
“Ha ha. Hilarious.”
I blink as my eyes adjust to the bar lighting once we’ve climbed back down the stairs.
“Hey, isn’t that the beach boy you were talking to when I came in?”
Matt steps up beside me and points to where Eric’s chatting up another girl a few feet away.
I turn to face him. “You noticed me when you came in?”
I’m surprised to see him look embarrassed for a second. “Yeah. I did.” He glances at the floor, fingers tapping out a staccato rhythm on his thigh. “Anyways, sure you don’t want to go say hi?”
He lifts the remainder of his beer and drains it, nodding towards Eric as he does.
“I don’t think that would go well. I told him you were my sperm donor.”
He splutters for a moment before managing to swallow the beer down, thumping a fist against his chest.
“It was a joke,” I hurry to add.
“Thanks for clarifying,” he wheezes.
“I gotta go now. Thanks for showing up. My boss would have killed me if I didn’t get this story.”
I give him a small smile, turning away as he continues to recover from choking.
“Kay, wait!”
I’m halfway across the room when his hand brushes my arm. I turn around and find him staring down at me.
“Look, I know you’ve got work tomorrow, but do you want to just stay for a—”
“Excuse me?” We both look over Matt’s shoulder to see the brunette girl with the Sherbrooke Station shirt standing behind him. “I’m really sorry to interrupt, but are you Matt Pearson?”
“Yeah,” he answers distractedly, “I am.”
“I know I’m being like,superannoying right now, but IloveSherbrooke Station. Do you think we could maybe get a picture? If you’re not busy?”
Matt turns back to me, his eyes searching.
“Like I said,” I tell him, “I’ve gotta go.”
