The Arrangement | Book 2 | Completed

7

Matty's POV

As we walk down the streets of Seattle, Candace stares up at each one of the tall buildings.

"It's insane here." She says in almost a whisper.

"It is. Sometimes I forget that Seattle is actually massive. It's beautiful, though. Especially at night. You should see it from my studio apartment. The view is unreal." I tell her, taking a sip of the coffee we brought along to keep our hands warm.

"Do you like it?" She asks me, directing her gaze up at me.

"My apartment? Or Seattle?" I ask.

"Both." She smiles.

"It was kind of strange going from my house in Vancouver to an apartment in the city. Actually, it was kind of hard to go from what I was living in to this. That house was pretty big, as you know. I had to sell a lot when I moved out here. I didn't have room for all of the cars, so I kept the Tesla. That kind of sucked because I liked having options." I laugh, realizing how uptight that must sound. "But, I like it. I love it, really. Both the apartment and the city. It's big and sometimes really lonely, but overall it's great. I don't really have anything to complain about." I tell her honestly.

"Do you ever miss Vancouver?" She asks.

"All the time. But...I had to do this for me, you know? It's hard sometimes. It really gets lonely out here. Kyler and Megan are in Vancouver with Magnolia. My entire family is back home too. So, sometimes I really miss it. I feel like I...took it for granted. I didn't take the time to appreciate home like I should have, and now it's gone. Well, not gone. It'll always be there. But I can't always get to it, either. That's the hardest part of all of this. But this is my home now. I just need to appreciate this place before the next home comes along." I shrug.

"Do you think you'll move again?" She asks me. I stay silent for a second, really thinking about her question.

"I'm not sure. It all kind of depends on what the company does. That, and Melissa. She kind of hates it in Seattle. She wants to go to New York when we open a building out there. I'm leaning towards Florida. I love it in Florida." I tell her.

"So you two are pretty serious?" She asks me. "A little more serious than you make it seem?" She teases gently.

I smile a tight smile, not really sure how to answer this question. I mean, Candace is my ex girlfriend. My very serious ex girlfriend. How do I explain my relationship with another girl to her?

"We are." I tell her honestly. There is no reason I should tip-toe around the subject. Candace and I are friends and friends only. Nothing more, nothing less. "She wants me to ask her to get married." I tell her.

This is the first time I've said the words out loud. They sound fucking ridiculous once I start to think about it a little more. The conversation didn't even go well, I do remember that.

"I just think we need to think about our future together." Melissa says, pacing around the room after yet another fight.

I'm so tired of the fucking fighting.

"I am thinking about our future together, babe. That's why I'm doing this." I try and explain, reaching for her hands. She jerks away instantly.

"No you're not! Matthew, we're getting old. We need to really think about this. About us." She snaps.

"No we aren't." I laugh, which I immediately regret once she throws daggers my way. "I'm sorry, it's not funny. I'm just saying that we aren't getting that old. We're still really young. Too young to be worried about too much." I tell her.