Falling For Charlie

Part 7- Losing Control

Matthew stood staring into his coffee cup thinking about the blow up he had just had with Kendra a few hours before, almost as soon as they got home. Gripping the cup so hard his knuckles turned white, he could hear himself shouting "you promised you would make time for me! ME, alone time, with just ME!" 

Kendra had looked at him as if she did not know why he was so upset and just shrugged "I did, we spent a whole month together" she said softly and walked over to take his hand into hers but Matthew backed away still angry. 

Bitterly in a loud voice but not shouting Matthew spurted "you call that alone time, you had your phone glued to your side and sent what must have been a thousand emails and texts, that's not a vacation or a honeymoon Kendra."

now Matthew sits, waiting, the neon sign catching his attention for a second as Matthew reads the words with a sad feeling, Heavenly Eats. It had been Kendra's idea to sup here on their first night back in New York, she said she would be here on time this time, that she just was going to "pop in" to see Jacob her manager at Blue Light Alley, the club she plays acoustic shows at. He was a fool to believe her, she was just blowing him off, AGAIN. Now that they were back in New York he would be waiting a lot. 

Cutting into his thoughts Benny the elderly waiter that had been waiting tables for Matthew for over fifteen years said "Hey, bud you're home! Missed you"  with a big grin. 

Matthew smiled back warmly at Benny "Yep, just got back this morning Benny, good to see you still kicking it" then he took a long sip of his coffee that was still warm. 

Benny looked at Jill the new girl that started working there and waved her off, he was here now, so Matthew was his customer. Jill nodded and started serving the other side of the restaurant. Benny sat down on the booth across from Matthew and looked knowingly into his eyes "so where is the wife?" he said gingerly.

Matthew trying to hide his bitterness in his voice but failing miserably "she is at the club, had some new songs she wanted to run by Jacob before the show this weekend." 

"I see, the first day you got  back, huh?" Benny's eyes was all knowing. He too was married to a musician and woman intent to put her hand into many different ventures. It was rough at first to get use to all the time she was away but now as he has lost her forever, when the day her heart stopped beating in his arms, he would give anything to have her back just for one more hour even if it wasn't with him, just to know she was alive somewhere and would be coming back to him eventually. Benny with kind eyes patted Matthew on the hand and got up with his menu in hand. "you will get use to it, Matthew, there is perks to not having so much time together, trust me too much alone time together in a way is worse." with a little laugh Benny goes into the kitchen. 

.....................................................

Matthew had waited at Heavenly Eats for an hour and ten minutes before Kendra had shown up with excitement in her eyes. Now the couple are in Matthew's old blue ford driving home in silence. 

Kendra looked at Matthew watching his expression of disgust and thinking to herself he was being such a baby. They had plenty of alone time in Italy and she had thought that it had been a wonderful vacation but he knew when they fell in love that she was a busy woman and would have to have a lot of time apart, she had never kept it hid. So what had changed now she wondered?

"Are you going to come to my show Saturday?" Kendra asked innocently, quietly, breaking the long silence. 

Matthew replied with a sarcastic grimace "well seems like if I want to be with you then I have got to go, guess so." 

For the first time Matthew thought about not attending the show. He thought back to the first show he had seen of Kendra's at Blue Light Alley, and had always arranged his schedule to make time for her shows since then. Looking forward to them even. Matthew loved seeing Kendra on the stage pouring her heart out but his feelings have changed. Matthew realized he thought marriage would make Kendra slow down but now he knew it was going to take more than marriage to slow her down, he had to be more forceful, as the american's say, Matthew was going to have to put his foot down. Kendra knew that Matthew was hot tempered and stubborn so when he seen the tears in her eyes now as she looked at him it actually made him angrier. She expected him to feel sorry for her? He was the mean one? Oh, boy he thought give him a break!

"you can just save your tears baby, they are not going to work." Matthew looking straight ahead and turning into the parking garage of their apartment complex speaking in a calmer voice than what he felt on the inside.

"I just don't get how you can be so upset over me being late for dinner, you know where I was and what I was doing, its not like I did not call you to say I was running late." Kendra spoke fast nervously playing with the door handle before she got out of the car, slamming it shut before Matthew could reply. 

Matthew came up behind Kendra and put his arms around her. Turning her around he put his lips to hers and felt the heat of the passion that belonged to them. Pressing up against the apartment building in the cool air, the breath from both of them forming little puff clouds around them as Kendra softened under his strong lips that pulled hers apart with ease. 

No matter what Kendra always gave in to his kisses, this was the only control he had and he loved it. Feeling her arms wrap around him pulling him closer drove him crazy, as he deepened the kiss, biting her lip the way she liked it and touching her tongue with his, the heat of the passion grew bigger than his anger. Matthew smelled Kendra's fruity perfume as he broke apart their kiss long minutes afterwards and started to trace Kendra's neck slowly and softly with his lips noticing her mouth was swollen and empty of the lipstick it had worn earlier. Matthew's neck nuzzling created a tickle that caught in Kendra's throat and made her shiver with longing. Looking at each other with an unspoken truce between them, Matthew and Kendra walked into the complex and not waiting for the elevator took the stairs up to there apartment where they later shut the door and slipped into a world all there own, until morning came again. 

While Matthew and Kendra have peace for tonight there problems continue but not problems as big as Charlie and Mary Anne have due to the plan that Howard and Layne start putting into action in Part 8- Ultimatums & Deception