Page 14 of Kicking it with my Fake Fiancé
Finally, dinnertime rolled around, and guests started appearing, mostly friends from the other apartments, kids in tow. Matty’s apartment building, which was comprised of only six units, had a large yard, boxed in by hedges to give it privacy. He had set up a soccer goal with some playground balls for the children to play with, and I busied myself practicing kicks while he fired up the grill and started cooking hot dogs. Nearby, Brock and Steve were interviewing some of the guests and capturing footage of Matty cooking.
“Hallo?” Two male voices called out to us as a pair of guys rounded the hedge.
Matty put the grilling tools to the side and went to greet the newcomers with fist bumps. “Jared,” he called to me, gesturing for me to join them.
I stopped kicking and jogged over. “Hi there.”
“These are my friends, Jakob and Benjamin.”
I nodded at them and offered my hand to shake. “It’s good to finally meet you. Matty’s talked about you a lot.”
“Same,” Benjamin said, smiling brightly.
Jakob looked around. “Where’s the cooler? I need a drink.”
“Rough day?” Matty asked.
He shrugged. “You know how it can be. Discovered lots of bugs today.”
Matty looked at me. “Jakob is a software tester.”
“I would’ve guessed an entomologist,” I said with a grin. They all laughed, and Benjamin clapped Matty on the shoulder.
“I like this one. You made a good choice.”
The comment warmed me down to my bones and I couldn’t hide the pleased smile on my face.
After we’d all eaten and had several beers, Benjamin announced that we were going to play croquet.
“Wait a second,” I said, holding up a hand. “Can’t we play something a little more… interesting?”
“What’s your suggestion?” He pointed his croquet mallet at me as he asked.
I grinned. “Kickball.” The yard space wasn’t quite large enough for an actual-sized field, but it didn’t matter to me, and I went around gathering items to lay out for the diamond.
Matty’s laugh was warm and fond. “Jared plays kickball competitively in America.”
“I’m a good teacher, I swear. I won’t make it too difficult. Here, Jakob, you go stand there, at home plate. We don’t have enough for two full teams, so I’ll pitch, and the rest of you can be the fielding team.” After giving a few more directions to Matty, Benjamin, and some of the other onlookers who were joining, I pitched the ball toward Jakob.
He kicked it and it rocketed toward Matty, who caught the ball smoothly and tossed it to Benjamin at first base. Jakob yelled in protest as he was tagged out.
“It’s okay, you’ll have your chance to get him out, too.” Time slipped by as we played, the sun sinking low in the sky and twilight falling over us. As people started to leave, I realized just how tired I was.
Matty must have noticed, too, because eventually he called the game off. “I think that’s enough for our guest for one night, everyone. Thank you for coming.” He took the ball from me and leaned in close. “Why don’t you go to bed? I’ll be up shortly.”
“And that’s why I love you,” I murmured, blinking my eyes heavily. I did just as he’d instructed, a few minutes later burrowing myself into his bed and drifting off to sleep.
Chapter Eight
Matty
Despitesharingthebedagain, Jared and I managed not to spend the night in one another’s arms the following night, but I was still twisted up in knots over that first night. I’dlikedit, waking up in his arms, being surrounded by his strength, feeling his heartbeat against my back. I’d wanted to tell him that my feelings were… changing… but he’d insisted it had to be a one-time thing, so I forced myself to push through. He was gay, had always been out to me, and I suspected he just didn’t want to feel like he’d made things challenging for his ostensibly straight friend. I’d never come out to Jared myself, largely because it felt unnecessary—it wasn’t like I’d had a boyfriend or any kind of relationship with a man—so as far as I knew, he believed I was straight.
It’s nothing. Lots of people cuddle with their friends,I tried to reassure myself.It doesn’t mean anything. I wasn’t sure it was working.
I slipped out of bed, leaving Jared asleep, and headed for the shower where I stood for an extremely long time, wasting hot water as I let it stream down my body, spray pounding the back of my neck. I stared at the floor, mind on a loop, replaying over and over the moment in which I’d woken up with Jared’s arms around me. I didn’t want to admit it, but I’d also felt his erection against my ass as he slid away, and instead of being upset in any way, I’d beencurious. Even a little turned on. My body hadreacted. Luckily Steve and Brock had shown up before I could do anything really stupid, but they wouldn’t be rescuing me again. Our plan for the day was to meet near Kristiansand, where Jared and I would be staying overnight with my mamma, which meant I wouldn’t be seeing our crew until much later that day. Unfortunately, it also meant that since we were in no hurry, I also had plenty of alone time in the shower.
I tentatively slid my hand down to my groin, touching myself under the guise of washing up. Instead of stroking myself right away, I closed my eyes and let my mind wander back to Jared, to the feeling of his body against mine. I remembered the way his arms felt wrapped around me in the airport, crushing me to him. Our kisses came back to me, the way his tongue felt as he slid it along mine, the way our lips locked together in a tangle of heat and intensity that I hadn’t felt in a long time.
