A Mattory Love Story

Julian & Julian - Mallory

"Can I start you two off with something to drink?" The waiter looks at Matt and I over the top of his wide-rimmed glasses. 

"I'll just have a water, thanks." Says Matt.

"Make that two waters." I smile at the waiter.

"Yes, ma'am." He struts off in his white suit and black dress shoes. 

"Wow, this place is fancy!" Matt remarks. We're sitting at a table up on the balcony. The city lights shine glamorously in the night, and a sweet-smelling candle lights up our table. I can't help but notice that Matt's eyes twinkle in the candlelight when he looks at me.

"Thanks for taking me here, Matt. You didn't have to take me to Julian & Julian, this is really nice of you."

"Oh, no problem, Mal. I've been wanting to come here myself." Says Matt, kindly. 

"Matt, about yesterday, I'm really sorry," I begin, "I was overwhelmed, but that's no excuse. I shouldn't have ran out like that. That was irresponsible and rude. I hope you can forgive me."

"Mallory, don't be so hard on yourself! Everyone has their off days, but you don't need to beat yourself up about it just because you overreacted a little bit. Don't worry about it."

I marvel at how forgiving he is. It's like yesterday had never even happened. "Thanks, Matt."

"What I want to know, though, is what exactly do you not like about the script. We can take the kiss out if you want..."

"Matt, there's something I need to tell you, first. It has to do with why I freaked out when you first showed me the script. And it has to do with the way I've been acting lately, too." I say. I know I have to tell him. It might make things awkward for us both for the rest of our lives, but he deserves to know.

"Ok. I'll shut up and listen, then." He says.

"Well, we've been friends for a really long time, now. And I don't think I'd ever thought of us being, you know, a couple before. But lately, I've been thinking a lot about it. You know, just wondering what life would be like if we were a couple. Not in a weird way, just a casual thinking process."

The waiter comes back with our waters and sets them on the table. I can tell he wants to take our orders, but Matt mouthes "5 minutes" to him and he leaves. I can feel my face heating up, so I try to cover it up standing up and moving over to the balcony, where only the stars and the city illuminate our faces. He gets up and stands next to me.

"As I thought about it, I guess I started feeling a different way about you. Every time I saw you, I wanted more and more to be something else to you. Something more than a friend." I take a deep breath, still not looking directly at Matt. My heart is pounding.

"I guess what I'm trying to get at is..." I try to look for the right words. I like you? I love you? I want to be with you for the rest of my life? "What I want you to know is...." Nothing comes out. "What I'm trying to say is---"

"I love you, Mallory."

"Yeah, I guess you could put it that way. I love you," Then I hear it, "Wait, what?" I finally look up at Matt, who's grinning from ear to ear.

"I love you, too."

"But--but--why?" I sputter incredulously, still trying to process what he had just said.

"Mal, I put the kiss in the script because I thought maybe if we were to kiss, just once, something like fireworks would happen and we would magically be in love or something." He covers his face with his hands. "I'm too wimpy to approach you and ask you out myself, and I thought I would never have a chance with you, anyway."

"Why would you ever think that?"

"Because you're the smartest, funniest, most beautiful girl I've ever known. Why would you ever date an awkward dork like me when you could have any guy you want?"

"Me? Beautiful? You're the one girls swoon over. You're the creative one, the one who can make anyone laugh. You're sweet, and willing to help anyone with anything. You're easy to talk to because you're friendly. I would date you because you're Matt Meese and you're also hot." Did those words just come out of my mouth?

"Look who's talking!" Matt laughs. 

"The reason I got so mad at you about the kiss is because I wanted our first kiss to be a real one. Not just to please the audience."

He looks into my eyes for a long time. I look at him. 

"Who says it has to be our first kiss?" He whispers.

He leans in a little, and I do the same. He gently brushes my hair out of my face and cups my cheek. I can barely breathe while he leans in closer. It all happens at once. His lips connect with mine, I close my eyes so that all I can feel his is our kiss, our first kiss. 

I didn't notice the shooting star that lit up the sky, I didn't notice the waiter approach our table, see us kissing, and then walk away awkwardly. I didn't notice that my heart was beating like a drum. I only noticed that his hand went from my cheek to the back of my head, pulling me in closer, and his other hand rested on my hip.

I'm pretty sure time stopped for a few seconds.

Finally he pulls away. We don't speak, we just look out into the night sky. He drapes his arm across my shoulder, and I rest my head on his. I don't remember what else happened that night. I can't remember how good the food tasted, just that it didn't taste as good as his lips pressed up against mine. 

I do remember one other thing though, and that's Matt kissing me lightly on the cheek before we leave, and whispering "I love you" in my ear before pulling away.

I wonder what I'll be dreaming about tonight.