Chapter Eighteen

I sense an unfamiliar warmth next to me. My eyebrows pinch for a moment. Hmm. I don’t have any pets…

The body next to me is entirely too big to be a pet.

The memory of last night suddenly comes back, and I flush. I’m in Matt’s bed. I shift slightly and bury my nose in the pillow. It smells like him, but it also smells like me. I smile, secretly happy that our scents are mingling on his pillows and sheets.

As my eyes adjust to the dim light, I take in his bedroom. I didn’t pay much attention last night, too sated to care. It’s a large room with a sitting area. The ceiling is high, with a fan, and there are two comfy-looking armchairs and a small round table by the windows. Unless my sense of direction is totally messed up, some of his bedroom windows are looking at the man-made lake behind our properties. It’d be lovely to share coffee on a lazy morning overlooking the ducks and geese floating on the tranquil water.

I look around some more. He has three floating shelves with framed photos. I can’t see them very well, but they’re probably of himself or family and friends. Possibly something artsy. Or not, since he has a huge abstract mosaic art piece on the wall too. It’s mostly monochromatic with a few splashes of bright color.

I sigh softly. It’s such a manly room. It won’t surprise me one bit if Matt has a manly closet too. Wonder if he has cufflinks. Those are sexy…

“Good morning,” he says, his voice a warm rasp.

“Morning.” I smile, thinking of all the dirty things we can do this morning, then remember today’s Monday. “I wish I could call in sick.” I gasp the moment the words pop out and clasp a hand over my mouth. I’ve never, ever played hooky.

Matt laughs. “The thought crossed my mind, too, but if we both call in sick, it’ll look suspicious, especially since Michelle’s in human resources.”

“She and Sammi wouldn’t tell.” They’d just demand to know all the details. Not that I’d tell them anything. What Matt and I had last night is too special to share with other people, even if they are my best friends.

“Have breakfast with me. I basically only have bagels and cereal, but I can also whip up some eggs if you want.”

I don’t really eat breakfast, but I don’t want to leave either. So I nod. “Okay. Half a bagel and plain cream cheese for me.”

He grins. After placing a kiss on my forehead, he bounces out of the bed, his nude body in full display. I can only see his backside, but when he turns…wait. Is he sporting morning wood? Before I can say anything, he vanishes. Confusion clouds my thoughts. I’m here and naked. Doesn’t he want a morning quickie? I’m not against the idea.

Then I shift, sitting up, and wince at the soreness between my legs. It’s a bit more than I expected. I’m pretty sure it isn’t supposed to hurt this much, since I’ve heard Michelle and Sammi talk about doing it multiple times. I sigh. Somehow Matt knows and has preemptively showed me consideration again. Maybe he’s deflowered girls before, despite his odd reaction about the bit of blood last night.

And because I’m a morbidly curious bitch, I go to the bathroom and see the washcloth flung in one corner. There’re a couple of spots on it. So that’s my V-Card. Gone.

I thought I’d shout, “Good riddance,” when I finally got rid of it, but I feel none of that. Nor do I feel any different. The only thing I’m feeling is relief and gladness that I didn’t punch it with any of my previous one-night stands. I can see clearly that none of them would’ve been worth much. But then I don’t know what other man could possibly compete with Matt. He’s freaking perfect.

Since I’m not quite feeling blasé about parading in front of Matt naked yet—last night was a special case—I open a drawer, take out a Harvard T-shirt and put it on. My nipples show a bit, but oh well. Can’t be helped. I really wish I had some underwear.

I go downstairs and see two steaming mugs of coffee, a couple lightly toasted bagels and some cream cheese on the table…which has been recently wiped clean, by the looks of it. A small porcelain sugar pot sits in the middle. “Is that from Sammi?” I say, taking a seat.

“Yes.” He takes the one opposite me. “And that shirt looks fantastic on you.”

I flush. “You like?”

He gives me a caveman growl. “Enough to rip it off you.”

I rest an elbow on the table, propping my chin in a hand, and waggle my eyebrows. “You can if you want.”

“Don’t tempt me. I know you’re sore this morning. But next time, you’re going to be wearing my T-shirt and nothing else.”

I grin, absurdly pleased we’re talking about a next time. “Okay.” I open the lid on the small pot and dump a spoonful of sugar into my coffee. And it reminds me what I wanted to ask him earlier. “By the way, why did you pick our house? The one on the other side would’ve been a better target.” It’s owned by a Chinese family, and Mrs. Chang is totally into home decoration and gardening. Their house is one of the most domestic-looking ones on this side of the street, the kind that you know is well-stocked with everything at a single glance.

“Actually… My uncle left me a message, telling me to go to your house. To make sure I complied, he threw out all the sugar and sweetener when I moved in.”

I take a sip of the coffee. It tastes amazing. Matt apparently doesn’t skimp on java. “What did he say to convince you?”

“He wrote, and I quote, ‘They’re such young sweet things, just your type.’ Except every time he says that, it really means they’re hot coeds, just his type, and he hasn’t exchanged a word with ’em.”

I laugh. “That part is true—he never got to talk to us. We did everything to avoid him after his first dance.”

“I’ve told him nude dancing isn’t the way to a woman’s heart.”

“Well. If it had been you flailing around naked, it would’ve been fine.” I spread a generous amount of cream cheese on my half of the bagel and start munching.

He looks pleased. “I knew all the working out would pay off.”

“I’ll bet you’re admired by all women in the vicinity when you pump iron.” I wince a little at how jealous and possessive I sound. But I can’t help it. Matt is mine, damn it. If I were King Kong—I can’t think of anything cuter, prettier, but at the same time just as fearsome this early in the morning—I’d be roaring and pounding my chest over him every time a woman got near.

Matt sniffs tragically. “Yes. Only as a piece of meat.”

I snicker, then polish off my bagel. “Come on. Don’t tell me you don’t like women ogling your body.”

“I want to be ogled for my mind too. I work damn hard on it, even though it’s sort of nerdy.”

I hide my smile behind my coffee mug. “How nerdy?”

“Very. Glasses, pocket protectors, the whole thing.”

I laugh. “You should wear the whole get-up for me one day, make me swoon with lust for your sexy mind.”

A dimple pops on his face as he smiles. “If you wear your Clark Kent glasses again…”

“You liked those?”

“Loved them. They looked totally hot on you.”

“Deal.”