"Shit!" Matt groaned, putting his hands to his hips.
"Aw, another gutter?" Alicia pouted mockingly to him as he frowned and reached to tickle her.
"Nope, too slow! Stop with that shit." Alicia said, laughing, as she went and she rolled the ball.
"I'll get you again. Soon." Matt said, walking away as she chuckled, shaking her head.
Andrea was in position to throw the ball until Joba towered over her and caught the ball right before she rolled it.
"What the heck!" Andrea yelled looking back to find Joba running off with the ball.
She laughed at this sight and ran after him to get the ball.
"Aw young love, am I right?" Ian said, nudging Alicia as she shook her head.
"They're like adorable little puppies." Romil said smiling and looking back at them, Joba shuffling back and fourth as Andrea jumped to reach the ball. Joba towered over her frame and laughed as she tried her hardest to reach.
"That's a way to put it." Ameer said laughing.
Joba finally gave in and handed Andrea the bowling ball carefully as she chuckled.
"Thank you very much good sir." Andrea said nodding and returning back to the lane.
She got a perfect strike, everyone clapping loudly. She chugged her beer in celebration. She had a high alcohol tolerance but was getting a bit tipsy.
Everyone bowled and had a really good time. There were no drunken accidents, thankfully.
Once the game finished, people began calling for Ubers home, leaving Matt, Alicia, Joba and Andrea sitting at the table and finishing up what was left of the food.
"I appreciate this so so much." Andrea said, talking to the slice of pizza, everyone laughing as she bit into it eagerly.
"Well, me and Matt are gonna go to leave you guys you alone, if you catch my drift." Alicia winked as Andrea rolled her eyes at her.
Matt and Alicia hugged them goodbye and left to have a smoke, hand in hand.
"They are so cute." Andrea said wiping a fake tear.
"We're literally matchmakers." Joba said engulfing Andrea and resting his chin on her head.
"Thank you for making this birthday special, carebear." Andrea said holding his arms that were wrapped around from behind.
"Oh it's about to get way more special." Joba said, smirking as Andrea furrowed her eyebrows.
Joba pulled away from the hug and pulled out his phone, handing it to her. On the screen was a Malibu beach house that he had rented for her birthday.
Andrea mouth was wide open as she pretended to faint.
"What the fuck, Joba!" Andrea exclaimed loudly looking closely at screen.
"Malibu, bitch!" Joba screamed as Andrea jumped up and down.
"Joba, this is too much. Oh my god!" Andrea yelled hugging Joba as he held her up.
"Don't worry about that. We're going next week." Joba said smiling brightly as Andrea kissed him, still smiling. He smiled back widely, meeting his lips with hers. He couldn't think of a better way to spend his weekend.
Alicia took a final hit of her cigarette before putting it out and tossing it in the garbage. Matt followed her lead, throwing his out before taking her hand and going on a walk with her down the street.
They walked by shops and restaurants, weaving through the crowds. Alicia laughed as she they walked by a salsa class studio.
"Man, y'all white people really have no rhythm."
"I have rhythm, what do you mean?" Matt defended, shaking his shoulders to the beat.
Alicia laughed loudly, clutching her chest. Matt chuckled, wrapping an arm around her and kissing the side of her head. They walked to the end of the street, stumbling upon a super cute park with a view of the city.
"Oh, wow." Alicia smiled, tugging him to the bench. They sat down, Matt wrapping an arm around her. She leaned her head against his chest, watching the sunset.
Matt bit his lip nervously. He had a lot going through his mind and he wasn't exactly sure how to bring it up.
"Are we a thing?" Matt blurted out, immediately cursing at himself at how awkward that sounded.
"Do you want us to be?" She asked, sitting up and turning to face him.
"I mean, yeah. I'm kinda falling for you really fucking hard."
"Labels are just so scary to me." Alicia sighed, looking at her lap.
"I know, I know." Matt mumbled, looking back out at the sky.
"Is this something you're ready for? The stuff with your ex was only like a month ago."
"If you think that I want you to be a rebound, that's not true." Matt said, looking down at Alicia.
She met his gaze, and her butterflies filled her stomach. She knew she was falling for him, and the thought of that literally terrified her. She hated feeling this vulnerable and trusting someone to this extent was really hard for her. She stood from the bench, pacing in front of him.
"Matt, I...I don't know. I just-" she started, Matt standing up and cutting her off with a kiss. She melted into his arms, kissing him back.
He had put himself out there, which was pretty out of character. He usually was pretty passive, but something about her was different. He knew he wanted to be with her. He didn't want to lose what they had together.
"I think we can work something out." She smirked once they pulled away, shrugging playfully.
Matt smiled widely hugging her tightly and lifting her from the ground. She squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly as he spun her. She felt like she had made the right decision, and her gut told her she would be okay.
He set her down, pressing his lips against hers passionately. She kissed him back, taking his face in her hands. The two stood in the middle of the park, all alone and feeling unstoppable because they had each other.
Andrea looked down at her phone which had received a notification. She was watching Call Me By Your Name for the third time with Joba, Ian, and Romil at the house. Her eyes widened at the text she received from Alicia.
"hi so uh...i have a bf now"
"OMGOMGOGMG NO UR KIDDING"
"ya he asked me and i was kinda like hehe commitment? who is she....but then idk he kissed me and i realized i wasn't that scared. idk i see us working together."
"omg im literally fucking shaking."
"stoP i hate you."
"i'm so fucking happy rn dude. you deserve to be happy!! my pisces ass is thriving rn"
"stop mentioning that you're a pisces challenge"
"im a pisces"
"bye"
Andrea laughed loudly, standing from the couch and jumping excitedly. The three guys looked at her like she had lost her mind, making her laugh even harder.
"Okay, sorry. So basically our plan worked. Our babies are finally dating!" Andrea yelled excitedly, dancing awkwardly and making Joba laugh.
"Matt is off the market. I don't know how I feel about this." Ian joked, the rest of them cracking up.
"Yo, I'm so happy for them. They can be angsty and fake hard together." Romil nodded, finally overcoming his laughter.
"I'm so glad y'all see through that facade. She really thinks that I don't know she's secretly emotional as fuck." Andrea laughed, crashing back down next to Joba onto the couch.
They spent the rest of the night watching the movie before breaking off to their separate rooms and calling it a night.
