Falling For The Smiths

5.

CHAPTER FIVE | A LITTLE FUN
***

The moment I entered the Smiths' residence, Mrs. Smith ushered me into the living room and seated me on an armchair.
   "I'll get a few snacks," she said, hurrying into the kitchen.
   I stood up. "It's fine, Mrs. Smith. We only have an hour left. I'd rather get started."
   But, at the sight of a plate of freshly baked brownies and butter cookies, I nearly fainted.
   "Don't let the boys have any," she told me.
   I took the plate with drool forming in the corner of my mouth. I absentmindedly nodded and made my way up the staircase. Even in my daze, I knew the house like the back of my hand. Stuffing a brownie into my mouth, I hit my hip against Mathew's door and strolled inside.
   "So, are we going to be studying here, or—?"
   I froze. The plate nearly slipped from my hands. A shirtless Mathew smirked at me.
   "Like what you see?" he teased, striking a ridiculous pose.
   I looked away, blushing furiously, but my eyes found his perfectly carved body again. I never knew he had such a godlike figure — he wasn't on any school team.
   "Done checking me out?" he asked casually, rasing an eyebrow.
   I scowled. "I was not checking you out." Yes, my mouth was still full of brownie, but I couldn't care less.
   From the look of disgust on his face, though, I swallowed the chocolatey delight and stuck my tongue out at him. He just shook his head, laughing.
   "I'll be waiting in Aaron's room," I scoffed, backing out the door.
   I walked across the hall, and this time knocked.
   "Yeah?" Aaron yelled from inside his room.
   "It's Tessa, can I come in?"
   "Sure."
   I opened the door and was relieved to see him fully clothed. I sat on his spinning chair.
   "Why are you blushing?" he asked curiously, sitting on the floor in front of me.
   I bit my lip. "A-am I?"
   "Yes, Tess. You look like a tomato."
   I laughed nervously, slipping a cookie into my mouth to keep it shut. I don't know why, but I didn't really trust Aaron with my thoughts. He could feed them to Catherine, and I just never felt safe around him. Mathew, however, was a completely different story...
   Ah, speak of the devil. Mathew walked into the room, saving me from the awkward moment. I really owe him one — two, actually.
   "I think we should start then," I mumbled, clearing my throat.
   Aaron looked disappointed, but he quickly hid it. I spread out all my books and notes on the floor and sat opposite him. Mathew plopped down next to me.
   "So, we're going to start with the basics," I said, not even trying to move Mathew; he wouldn't have listened to me, anyway.
   I scavenged through my notes till I found the one I was looking for. Putting everything else to the side, I placed it into the floor and pointed at the first line.
   "Repeat after me," I instructed. "Je m'appelle."
   Aaron echoes my words, a slight frown on his face.
   "Isn't that what Mrs. Hubert said when class started?" he asked.
   I nodded, smiling. "Yeah. Can you guess what it means, then?"
   "My name is," he answered.
   "Great job, Aaron." I turned to Mathew. "Matt, you try."
   Mathew tilted his head. "Uh, okay. Je m'appelle Matt."
   His pronunciation was slightly off, but I still nodded. God, I sound like a teacher.
   For the next hour, we went through all the basic greetings and numbers. By the time we reached twenty, though, they looked so bored — you can only guess how their faces looked when we were at eighteen — that I felt bad.
   I gathered up all my things and put them back in my bag. The plate of goods was almost empty. I picked a brownie up.
   "Are you leaving?" Mathew asked, looking up at me.
   I shook my head, popping the brownie into my mouth. "Nope. I say, with the remaining forty-five minutes — which is quarante cinq in French, by the way — we have a little fun."
   Their eyes lit up. Aaron smirked mischievously.
   "Fun, you say?" he asked, rubbing his hands together. "What do you have in mind?"
   I shrugged. "Nothing. Why, you want to do something?"
   They nodded in unison. I gestured for them to speak.
   "We haven't had a nerf gun battle in years," Mathew said, smiling innocently.
   Obviously, they expected me to look outraged. Mad, even. Surprised. I mean, yeah, I was surprised, but I was pretty excited as well. Our nerf gun battles were epic. So, I grinned in response.
   "Get ready to have your ass kicked, Smith," I said. "I will always be the champion."
   Aaron rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. We'll see about that."
   I feigned disbelief and put a hand on my chest.
   "I'm hurt, Aaron," I gasped dramatically. "I thought you had a little more faith in me."
   It took all my self-control to resist a swoon when he pouted - his pouts were, and always will be, the cutest thing ever. Mathew sprang to his feet and held an arm out to me.
   "Come on," he said. "Your gun is in my closet."
   I accepted his hand, letting his hoist me up. We made our way into his room and I kept my excitement under control.
   Suppressing a smile, I sat on Mathew's bed and watched him dig around his closet for the gun. Am I dreaming? I must have been; things like this have only happened in my wildest imagination -- that too, when I'm extremely bored. Nevertheless, I was enjoying the moment. My silence must have alarmed him, though, because he ditched his search and sat next to me.
   "Why are you smiling like an idiot?" he asked casually, draping an arm across my shoulders.
   I swatted him away, blushing furiously.
   "I am not smiling," I retorted.
   He prodded my cheek and smirked. "Aw, you're blushing as well. Thinking about me?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
   I pretended to gag. But, then I realized I was technically thinking about him, which made my blush deepen.
   "Don't deny it," he teased. "I know you want this."
   "Matt," I hissed, "why would I want you? You're not as good-looking as your ego tells you. And, besides, I would want to lose my virginity to somebody I love -- not some guy that hasn't talked to me in five years."
   He looked hurt and I instantly took back the last part. Real smooth, Tessa.
   "I-I didn't mean it that way," I stammered.
   But his arm was already drawing away from me. He sighed.
   "No, it's true," he said silently. "I haven't talked to you for a long time. I just, I thought we could get past that and go back to what we used to be. Is that too much to ask for?"
   I bit my lip. "It's hard, Matt. You left me all alone after eleven years of a strong friendship...I wasn't used to not having you around, I'll admit that. And, I'm still not. Oh, god, not that way, you idiot," I muttered when he smirked.
   "You keep telling yourself that," he said.
   He was smiling again, and I was the reason for it. It made me incredibly happy for some reason.
   "Matt?" His smirk turned into confusion. "Are you ready?"
   "Ready for what?" he asked, cocking his head to one side.
   I rolled my eyes. "For the battle -- Aaron must be waiting."
   He grinned, his grey eyes glittering with excitement.
   "It's on, Parker."