Yowzah Oneshot Collection (1)

102(M)2 Mattex

2.

As soon as they got into the taxi, the driver inquired about the destination without bothering to give the passengers as much as a second look through the rearview mirror. It was late, cold and unsurprisingly he just didn't seem interested in anything that didn't resemble his bed and/or a steaming cup of tea.

Alex was about to give him the instructions to where to go when her mobile started ringing. Matt observed her attentively, his eyes never leaving her features. She didn't seem to notice it, too busy fumbling through the contents of her purse while looking for the source of the noise. Her purse wasn't exactly small, and yet the finding of the device showed to be somewhat of a challenge. In order to reach it, Alex quickly decided to empty her purse, which led to the reveal of a series of items that Matt found himself analyzing rather curiously.

There was a tiny makeup kit - which Matt opened and inspected quickly while making faces to the small mirror that it contained -, a small bottle of perfume that he brought to his nose and inhaled deeply. It was floral, summer-ish and luscious, but more importantly, it was Alex in a bottle and Matt felt very tempted to 'borrow' it permanently. He contented himself with spraying the perfume at his wrists filling the taxi with the scent of her.

"No Arthur, I'm sure I don't have it with me. She probably just forgot it at the bar. Would you like us to come back and... Oh, she found it. Okay then, I guess it's settled. No, we're fine. Yes, well..." There was also a small notebook with a leather cover, looking rather worn-out - he was about to open it when Alex took it out of his hands, her attention still mainly focused on the phone call. "We're leaving just now. Good night. Bye."

While continuing his exploration, Matt came across a set of keys, then her wallet - and honestly, how is it possible for someone to look so good even in a driver's license picture? Matt looked like a hobo in his, but that's only because he was late that day and hadn't had the chance to shave properly. Alex, on the other hand, looked absolutely gorgeous not to Matt's surprise.

The last item Matt found was a paper napkin and he still had the wallet in hands when he noticed it.

"That was Arthur. Apparently, Karen thought she had lost her mobile." Alex explained while taking her belongings and putting them back inside her purse. Matt didn't reply though, his eyes still completely focused on the piece of paper that remained in his hands.

The napkin had the logo of the bar that they had just left. That wasn't what was bothering him. The name and the phone number, written in a blue pen and a perfect calligraphy, surprisingly enough, wasn't what was bothering him either.

The fact that she kept it for some reason, now THAT was bothering him. As a matter of fact, THAT was making him very uneasy and Matt could actually feel the sting of anger blooming in his chest, realisation suddenly bursting like a bubble of soap inside his head.

So this was the reason why Alex had rejected him, the real reason.

All night, he had been drinking his sorrows and making up excuses for her actions despite what he had felt - what he knew that both of them had felt on that dance floor. They were co-workers, public figures, he had just ended a relationship, she was sort of recently divorced. When those came up short, he thought of the friend that she was supposed to be on a date with that night. But for some reason, Matt still didn't think that her reaction had anything to do with it.

Maybe because she had deliberately chosen to spend the night with him - and Karen and Arthur -, instead. That being said, there was the age issue - which wasn't an issue for him at all, but he thought maybe it was for her.

Maybe she was scared of getting hurt. Or scared of the strength of her feelings - Matt knew he had been, at least equally scared and excited in a not so insignificant amount. But from all the reasons that Matt had listed in his mind stupid 'Ferdinando' hadn't been part of the picture, not for one moment.