Follow Your Heart

Chapter 7

Two more weeks passed by. Matthew and Skylar continued their friendship like the kiss never happened. As a housewarming present, Skylar bought him a nice ficus plant, saying it brought life into his place. He loved the plant and named it Lizzie. She enjoyed her time with Matthew. Some nights they would take the train and walk home together, like friends.

One night, the train they took was exceptionally crowded that they were forced into a corner face-to-face. At one point, Skylar was pushed into Matthew as he put his arms around her to steady her. She refused to look at his face but her skin tingled when he touched her. The pit of her stomach churned and her heart hammered foolishly. The train seemed to get stuffier and she prayed that their stop would hurry and come. He held her for awhile until they reached their destination and silently they walked home together.

When their schedules permitted, they would stop at his apartment for a beer before she went to hers. The other nights, he would hear her come home, open his door to make sure she got to the door ok. He would give her hell if she came home too late. They would argue in the hallway for five minutes until she called him a mother hen. That would shut him up. It was kind of nice having someone worry about her. She worried about him also. She would look through her peephole anytime she heard a noise outside. She felt like such a schoolgirl whenever he was around.

She never saw him with anyone else. She never called George again even though he left her a few messages at home. They never mentioned the kiss or Mexico. Matthew would compliment her on her clothes at work or the way she styled her hair. She started finding different ways to style it, instead of her regular bun that she used to wear before he started working at the firm. Their friendship arrangement was working out fine, just as long as they didn't stand too close to each other.

During a typical Monday business meeting, while she was taking notes, a cold shiver spread over her as she recalled the smoldering passion that went through her when he kissed her. She closed her eyes and her face burned as she remembered, bringing her trembling finger to her lips. Her breath quickened, her cheeks became warm and she quickly opened her eyes to make sure no one was watching her. She raised her eyes to find him watching her. He winked when he caught her eye, making her blush more and lower her eyes to her pad.

He knew she was thinking about their kiss. He couldn't stop thinking about it either and wondered when he would get another opportunity to taste those sweet lips again. That thought would keep him up at night in an uncomfortable aroused state.

A few days after the business meeting, he stopped by a café for lunch and noticed Skylar sitting in a corner table, looking out the window. She never saw him come in. He walked over to her, leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"May I join you?"

She was startled for a second but she knew that voice. She smiled and turned to face him. His lips were inches away from hers. She stared at those lips as they broke out into a smile, showing her his sexy dimples. She almost let a groan escape her lips. "Of course."

He sat across from her. The waiter came over. Took his order and left him a glass of water. Matthew tried to broach the subject of the kiss carefully so he sipped some water and slowly lowered the glass. "Can we talk?"

Her whole body stiffened. She knew exactly what his topic would be. "It depends on the subject."

He shook his head. "We've been avoidin' this subject for weeks and it's drivin' me crazy."

She leaned forward and lowered her voice after taking a quick look around. "We kissed. What's the big deal?"

"It wasn't a big deal for you?"

"No," she lied. "Listen, we just got caught up in the moment, it was a mistake that will never happen again."

"Never?"