and it was perfect

Chapter 22

After taking a long shower and preparing for the next day, I went to bed and waited for him to return. He didn't. And at some point, I must've fallen asleep.

The next day he pretended nothing had happened, so I had no choice but to play along. He didn't ask me to come over that night or the following one. I tried not to reach too much into it. I didn't even think it had much to do with me; this weird call had to be what kept him busy.

Two days later, he gave me my car key while I was doing the dishes. "You're already done?" I asked excitedly. "Oh my god, thank you so much!" My hands were still wet, but I threw my arms around him to give him a grateful hug. He squeezed me back for a second before gently pushing me away. I guess I had crossed another line here. I smiled apologisingly, but thanked him once again. "No big deal." he said, and for a split second, I saw that weird look on his face again. Then Zoe walked in, and I excitedly told her my car was running again. She squealed and boxed Aiden just as excited. "Well done, you nerd." he just rolled his eyes and gave her a headbutt on his way out, but I saw the little smile in his eyes.

He didn't seem to get any more of those calls all week, and I stopped worrying again. Every other night he drove me insane and pressed his hand against my mouth to not wake the others. And every other night, I dreamed about him. Zoe and Alice could definitely tell something was up. "Are you ...  seeing someone?" Zoe teased me and lightly tossed me to the side. They just caught me gazing out the window, reminiscing about the night before instead of listening. "Oh, um ... no, I'm just happy at the moment." I tried looking for an excuse.
"Nate has called me much less recently, and I feel like I'm slowly getting over him." They both seemed pretty happy about that, but I could tell that Zoe didn't believe me that was the whole reason.

I gave them a bright smile and focused my attention back on them. "Now, please tell me what you want to do for your birthday," I begged. It was only two more days, and she still hadn't made up her mind. "Ugh, I really don't know." she sighed. "But I think ... something more intimate. I'd love to have Matt spend some more time with you guys." he looked down and turned a little red. I squealed. "Aawww, I knew it!! I'm counting the days until you finally make it official!" she turned even brighter red and covered her face. "Stop it, I'm blushing, and I hate that." I laughed and took her hand away so I could squeeze it.

"I'm really happy for you guys. I mean it. You deserve the best." She squeezed my hand and gave me a grateful, loving smile. "Thank you, Jen. That's so sweet. "I smiled. "And so do you," she said with an intense look in her eyes that I didn't want to think about too much. She knew something was up. I quickly switched the topic. "Alright, I told the guys to be free that night. How about we just have some fancy dinner somewhere and maybe go out afterward? Just the six of us, Taylor, Alice, and Matt?" Her eyes lit up. "That sounds perfect."

Two days later, I was absolutely stressed out. I had decided to bake a cake for Zoe early in the morning, but I couldn't find half of the utensils I was looking for. None of my roommates seemed to bake. I groaned and tried to mix the dough with a spatula. It was useless. "Is that supposed to be edible? "I shrieked and nearly tossed the bowl I held on the ground. It was Aiden. He already wore his running shoes and grinned. "Jesus, you almost ruined my cake. "I gasped. He looked back at the bowl and started laughing.

"What cake? "I fought the urge to slap his ass with the sticky wood. "it's for Zoe, obviously. I just can't find any proper utensils to mix it, and the smoothie maker will wake everyone. He grinned. Then he opened one of the drawers I had opened before and took out a whisk. "How about this? "I stared at his hand. "Where the hell did that come from? I have looked everywhere. "He winked. "Sure you did." I started whipping, and he gave me a quick kiss on the neck from behind before grabbing a water bottle and walking out. "I'm not even gonna ask if I can help; I'd be even more useless than you as a mechanic." This time, I did grab the whisk and tried to slap him. He was faster, though, and chuckled while making his way out for his run. I stayed back in the kitchen, smiling like a lunatic. That kiss had nothing to do with sex, and I wasn't sure if he realized it. He'd done it without even thinking. It took a lot to finally put my attention back on the cake. Now I really had to hurry.