First Love

Chapter Nine

Matt's heart was beating so fast it felt as if it were going to leap right out of his chest. So, what; she saw him with Tracey, but nothing happened. Nora didn't know that. This would be a better reason to call her now. Instead of bothering her wondering where she is, Matt now has an excuse to really want to speak to her but it wasn't a good one. He was going to call Nora to explain to her that nothing happened between him and Tracey and that what he saw was a total misunderstanding. She'll understand, won't she? Not a chance. This just might be the last straw between them. Just a few weeks ago Nora was accusing him of being a womanizer and now her intuitions were right only, he couldn't sweet talk his way out of this one. She caught him read handed. Before, Matt was a womanizer and that was all he ever cared about. But now he cares about something else, someone else. In the past he would've taken Tracey and gave her a night she wouldn't forget, but this time was different. This time he was in love with another woman. He fell so deep in love with her he didn't know what to do. And to make matters worse, she didn't even know it and completely hated his guts.

He couldn't call her now. He was drunk. Nora would probably hate him even more if a drunken womanizer tried to express his love to her by calling and harassing her in the middle of the night. It would be pathetic. He didn't call. For the next two days he didn't call. While at work, Matt thought about sending Nora a text over an email so that he'll know if she read it or if she was getting ready to reply since his new iPhone 6 had that capability. But then he thought that would hurt too much if he knew she'd seen or read his text and just didn't reply at all. At least with the email he would have the benefit of the doubt that maybe she didn't check her email, which wouldn't feel so bad. But it would. Just not being able to talk to her entirely was tearing him up inside. He needed her. Nora's enigmatic behavior was driving Matt crazy since he couldn't find her. If he wanted to see her and be with her, and tell her how much he loved her then he was going to have to retrace their very first encounter to unlock her mysterious hiding place.

Nora's store was going to be closed for the weekend due to her participation in her best friend's wedding, so Neil and Kristin were grateful. Keeping busy was supposed to help Nora steer her mind clear if Matt but it was no use. No matter how hard she tried all she thought about was him. Every second of everyday, and even the first thought when we she wakes up is of Matt and that's because he's on her mind before she sleeps and he's in her dreams. She's got it bad. She should be mad at him, but her anger towards him doesn't seem to last very long, even if he thinks so. She missed him even though she hated him.

This wasn't healthy. Nora's mind was doing this back and forth love hate thing that was out of her control, but not entirely. She wanted to be in love with him but he also wanted to hate him. What's a girl to do? "Hey, what are you guys doing on Saturday? Do you want to be my plus ones or plus twos I should say?"

Kristin was flicking through the new Victoria Secret catalog when she finally heard Nora speak for the first time today. She glanced over at Neil who was straightening a dress on one of the mannequins. They didn't quite know how to respond, but Kristin was careful not to mention Matt's name. "Of course! We don't..." She glanced at Neil for reassurance. "Have anything to do. Are you sure you can bring two plus ones?"

Sonia glanced up from the little yellow sticky note she was writing on. "Why not? It's my best friend's wedding. I'm in the wedding. Besides, Matt's no longer my date. I would much more like it if you guys came with me. What do you say?"

"Yay!" Neil was being sarcastic, and then added under his voice, "This should be fun."

He wasn't entirely erased from her mind, but from all of the maid of honor duties she's been tackling she hasn't thought about him once. All of the three bridesmaids including Nora who was the maid of honor were dressed and ready to walk down the aisle with their partners in front of the bride who was taking awfully long in her dressing room. When Nora knocked on the door, she didn't wait for an answer when she heard quiet sobs coming from Melanie. Melanie was trying to dry her eyes when Nora barged in, but her friend was already putting her arms around her and not saying a word. Nora knew she needed not to ask her what was wrong because she already knew; Melanie was having cold feet. It was understandable. It was normal. She knew that everyone would understand, but Nora knew Melanie. She knew that if Melanie backed out now that he would regret not marrying the love of her life when she had the chance. She knew that Melanie wasn't a quitter either. "Alright listen, I'd say we've got a fifteen-minute head start. We can hop in a cab and head to the airport before anyone notices you were gone. Just say the word." Nora also knew that Melanie wasn't rude. Even if she was deciding to walk out on her wedding, she wouldn't leave without explaining herself to everyone.