Matt Sturniolo imagines.

Cruel Summer - 1

"Ellie?" Someone calls and i turn my head down the bar. " matt." I say back and i bring my beer up to my lips. " its been years." He smiles and sips on his beer. " 4. Its been 4 years." I say and he nods. I swig the last of my beer and put it back on the bar.

" can i get you another." Matt asks and i nod. " sure, thanks." I say and he puts a ten dollar bill on the bar.

" what have you been doing since i last saw you." He asks and i exhale. " i just graduated college last week. And im in the middle of writing a book." I say and he smiles. " thank god you stuck with writing, your so good at it." He smiles and i do too. " i remember all the books i made and i drew covers for them." I say and he nods. " i have them all." He says and i cover my face with my hands.

" tell me what your doing now then?" I say and he smiles. " still youtube and we have a weekly podcast." He says and i nod. " i must have a-lot to catch up on." I laugh and he nods.

" how are Chris and Nick." I ask. I used to hang out with them all the time. We were friends for years and when i moved to college  we all just drifted apart. And i used to catch up with them on socials but i just got busy. And i used to be in love with matt.

" nick is married and Chris is dropping new clothes. But his girlfriend just broke up with him." He says and my eyes widen. " congrats to nick, anyone in your life?" I ask. My heart hopes that he will say no but i do want him to be happy.

" no. No one." He says, i smile and he does too. " are you happy?" He asks and slides down the bar so he's at the seat next to me. " i did always kinda like you." I say and he smiles. " did? So you dont anymore." He asks, wiggling his brows. My cheeks turn pink and he signals for another beer.

" im not saying anything." I laugh and he does too. He talks about his new place and how he got a dog. Milo. A pug. " what is this new book about." He asks me. " i dont know. I havent stared it yet." I laugh and he does too.

The clock turns 10 and i exhale. " i have to go. We need to keep in contact." I say and he nods. Matt gives me his new number and i smile. " ill go too." He says and follows me out to the front of the bar. I wrap my arms around my torso because its cold.

" want me to call you a cab." He asks. " no its okay. Im only a couple blocks away." I say and he smiles. " let me walk you, ill feel horrible if i dont." He asks and i nod. " sure, its down here." I say and he follows me.

I stop at the front door and poke around in my bag for my keys. I turn to look at matt and he pulls me in and kisses me. His fingers grip my hip and he kisses me. I bring my hands up to his cheek and cup his face. He pulls back and stares at me. " im sorry". He says. Sorry? For fuck sake. Why is he sorry?

" dont be. I liked it." I say and my lips wont stop smiling. " i shouldn't have done that. I have to go." He says and his arms drop off me and he starts to walk away. " ill text you." I say and he walks away after lifting his hand to wave. I wave and head into my apartment and flop onto my bed. I pull out my laptop and try to write but i dont get far. I sigh and go to sleep.

I wake up with a message from nick. ' hey, so glad matt saw you yesterday. We need to catch up. Were having a barbecue tomorrow. Would love to see you there. 6pm, just bring yourself. Looking forward to seeing you! - nick.' Nick texts me and the address. I save the address im my phone and get up for the day.

I write a couple of chapters and send them to my publisher. She says she loves them but wants 5 more chapters for the end of the week.

Nicks house is beautiful. Its not huge but its a decent size. Way bigger than my studio apartment. I knock on the door with a bottle of wine in my hand. I have no clue if anyone drinks but its worth a try.

Nick opens the door and he looks way different than high-school. He has tattoos and a huge grin on his face. " hey! Oh my god your dress is to die for." He smiles and brings me in for a hug.

" got it on sale. 10 bucks." I say and he smiles. He closes the door behind me and puts the wine in the fridge and pours me some wine into a glass. " congrats on your marriage. Where is the beautiful bride." I say and he laughs. He leads me to the garden and matt is stood at the barbecue and Chris is playing with a dog. There is another tall brunette sat at the garden table.

" honey, this is Ellie, we went to high school together." Nick introduces me and his husband Micheal walks over and hugs me. " hi Ellie. You look great." He smiles and i smile. " so thats Chris and Matt who you obviously know and then thats Jess, matts girlfriend." Nick says and i freeze. Girlfriend, matt has a girlfriend? But we kissed. We kissed. We flirted.

" hi im Ellie, i love your hair." I say and she flashes me a smile before walking over to matt and wrapping her arms around his waist. He turns with a smile but it turns i to a straight line when he sees me. " Ellie? Hey, want a burger?" He asks and i nod. " um, yeah sure." I say and he nods and plates me up a burger.

After i eat my burger matt is talking about something that happened to him yesterday and Jess is sat on his lap with her hands wrapped on his neck.

" wheres your bathroom?" I ask nick. He points me to the room and i excuse myself. What the fuck? He has a girlfriend! And i kissed him last night! WHAT THE FUCK?

After i compose myself i head back out side to see matt and jess making out. I keep my head down and drink the rest of my wine before heading to nick. " hey, so ill be getting off." I say and he frowns. " what? So soon." He asks and i nod. " im still jet-lagged." I smile and he nods. " okay well we should stay in touch, safe trip." He says and i thank him.

I say goodbye to everyone and then get in my car and head back to my summer house. I sit on the dock and get out my laptop and a bottle of wine. No glass just the bottle.

" why'd you leave so early?" Someone asks me and i turn to see matt sitting next to me. He grabs the bottle and takes a swig. " why'd you follow me." I ask.

" i couldn't watch you leave again, not knowing when id see you again." He confesses. I stare at his face. He's not looking at me, he's staring straight out at the lake. I lean my head on his shoulder and i hear him laugh. " dont laugh at me, your the one thats following me around." I scold and he laughs again.

A/n: IM WRITING PT2 RN GUYS!!!!