Begin Again

Chapter 20

I slept over at his apartment that night. Nothing happened. We just lay down side by side and slept. I turned to my side and looked at the man lying down beside me. "Good morning, boyfriend," I said, grinning slightly.

"Good morning, girlfriend," he replied with a smirk.

I looked at the time. It was already eight o'clock. "Oh, damn, we overslept by an hour. We must've forgotten to set the alarm. Thank God our paper's in the afternoon," I laughed.

I got out of bed and Matteo followed suit. He hugged me from behind and murmured, "What does my girlfriend want for breakfast?"

"Why do you keep calling me 'girlfriend'?" I asked.

"Why? Don't you like it? I'm just so proud to have you as my girlfriend, Grey. Is there anything wrong with that?" he asked, pouting.

I blushed. "No, not at all," I laughed. "Then, why do you still call me Grey? Why don't you call me Alexia or Lexie like my friends do? I mean, you're now my boyfriend and calling me by my last name isn't exactly... intimate. It's actually kind of rude."

"But it's very intimate to me," he replied. "Everyone calls you Alexia or Lexie. I'm the only one calling you Grey. I refuse to call you Lexie because that's what that son of a bitch calls you and I don't want you to think of him when I call you."

"Whoa, language," I chuckled. "I banned Derek from calling me Lexie so that's that, though I don't think he's going to listen. Anyway, when I start my internship, everyone's going to call me Grey like what Bailey calls Meredith. It won't be exclusive to you anymore."

"Ooh, that makes it even better. When people call you Grey, you'll instantly think of me. Actually, I hope I'll be the one in charge of you during your internship. That way, it'll still be kind of exclusive. You're Grey at work and at home," he said.

I rolled my eyes affectionately. "Don't you think of Meredith Grey when you call me Grey?"

He smirked. "No, I only think of you, the real Lexie Grey."

Trying my best to hide my silly grin, I shook my head and said, "Go make breakfast for us, Matteo. Pancakes would be nice."

"Coming right up! Chef Matteo at your service. He is here to serve you and only you," he replied before walking into the kitchen. In no time, I could smell the delicious scent of pancakes, making my mouth water. I'm not going to lie. He would make a good chef.

We spent the next few hours studying. Physics notes were scattered all over the dining table. The plates were stacked in the basin, left unwashed. I got even more anxious as the clock hands ticked closer to the time my paper was starting. No matter how prepared you are, you are bound to feel nervous.

"You need to calm down," Matteo laughed.

"And to think I was the one telling you that all the time three months ago," I muttered, skimming through my notes. He waved his hand in front of my face and I murmured, "Don't disturb me, Matteo. I'm trying to study here."

He stood up and walked towards me. Out of the blue, he pulled my chair away from the table. Thanks to my quick reflexes, I swiftly balanced myself so that I won't fall onto the ground and possibly injure my tailbone.

"That was dangerous," I remarked, frowning.

"I know," he replied. "Now that I've distracted you from studying, let's stop. You can go meet up with your weird friends at the residence halls. I know you haven't visited them there for a very long time."

I agreed to his proposal. It's true that I haven't gone to their apartment for a very long time. To be fair, they stay at Alumni Hall which is further from school than where I stay. They're in two different directions!

I looked at the time and saw that it was still early. I guess I can afford the travelling time. I went home, showered and changed into new attire. I felt more comfortable. With that, we left for my best friends' apartment.

Talia, Erica and Zenia stay in the same apartment. The rent is quite expensive but they have scholarships so it's not a big deal. I'm so lucky that I have my aunt paying for my expenses and even renting out an apartment to me for free. I don't have to worry about rent.

I knocked on their door and tapped my foot as I waited for a response. As the door opened, I announced, "Hey, girls! Look who's here."

"Lexie!" Talia squealed and hugged me. She sighed dramatically, "It's been so long since you came to visit. Welcome in!" She waved her hands, beckoning me to enter. She must've only noticed Matteo now because she said, "Oh, hi, Matteo. Come in!"

We went into their apartment. It looked as neat as ever except there were notes sprawled all over the floor. Zenia was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed as she read her notes while Erica was lying on the floor on her stomach.

That's... an interesting sight.

"So this is how a dormitory in Alumni Hall looks like," Matteo commented. "I've never been to one before. It looks neater than I thought."

"Of course, it's a place for us to study," Erica replied.

"We simply don't have the time and energy to mess up the apartment," Zenia laughed.

As Erica, Zenia and Matteo chattered about dormitories and the other residence halls NYU offers, Talia pulled me aside. She whispered, "Why is Matteo Knight with you? He seems to be following you everywhere."

I raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with that? I'm literally his only friend."

"Come on, spill the tea. Are you two dating already?" she asked.

"Yes, we are. I'm not going to keep this from my best friend. I planned to tell all of you when he's not around," I replied with a shrug.

She waved her arms in excitement and hugged me. "Oh my God, see? You two are meant to be!" she exclaimed, trying her best to keep down her volume. "If you two ever get married, Erica, Zenia and I are going to be your bridesmaids."

I rolled my eyes and waved her off. "That's for sure. But I don't intend to get married so soon. Maybe I'll do that after I get my Doctor of Medicine and perhaps after I complete my residency. I'm sure Matteo would want that too."

"Aw, you'll be thirty by then," she replied, pouting.

"I'll still be as pretty in a white dress," I deadpanned. "Besides, that's not definite. We'll just go with the flow. We literally just started dating! Why are we talking about marriage? Oh my God, Talia!"

She giggled. Patting my back, she said, "All the best for the paper later... and your relationship with Matteo Knight. You're reliving your aunt's fairy tale!"

I shrugged. I can't believe it's happening. I'm Matteo's girlfriend. Stop thinking about this, Alexia. You have more important things to think of like your physics paper later and getting your Doctor of Medicine! "Yeah, we should head out."

Matteo walked towards me, grinning. "Your friends aren't that weird after all."

"See, making new friends isn't so hard," I chuckled and he pinched my nose. I can picture my three best friends squealing internally. "Enough! Since there's nothing much to do here, let's head to school. We can study with Kevin and Gina."

With that, we scurried off to school, casually avoiding the topic of Matteo and me dating. The physics paper awaits!