It didn’t matter, though.

She would never see it, and she would never want him.

It had taken just four short months, and now he was painfully in love.

You got the sweetest eyes to ever look my way. Come save me… Come save me.

Matt lifted his head and looked at Julie while she slept. He pulled away, laying on his side again and resting his head in his hand. If anything had happened to her today…. Maybe he was overreacting, as Celeste had accused him. But seeing Julie out there in the strong ocean, challenging herself to battle the paralyzing cold and the unpredictable waves, had most certainly scared him. More than that, however, he was impressed with her strength. Although her father hurt her—probably more deeply than she explained to Matt—she fought to reclaim control by doing something that was likely scary for her. Her method may have been a bit extreme, and Matt was still angry and shaken up, but he still respected her for it.

For the first time he saw that she was more alone than he thought. Not the way that he was, but still…. He could see it because he knew that lonely people hide secrets more than others.

Celeste had Flat Finn to watch over her, and now Julie had Matt. At least for now. For however long she slept.

Follow the wheel that makes your heart move, ride the wave be gone. Ride the wave be gone, ride the wave be gone, ride the wave be gone….

The Sleepover

Flat-Out Love, Chapters 25/ 26, MPOV

Matt Watkins Of course I’d be happy to give you my opinion because it increases the odds of me being able to say, “I told you so” in the future.

Finn is God What's that mental disorder where you believe that you're the only real person in the world? I'm asking for an imaginary friend.

Julie Seagle says you may call it “plagiarizing from the classics,” but I call it “collaborating with the dead.” (Clearly I’m not into this mid-term project.)

Matt finally took Julie’s friend Dana out on a date. It was the only way to get Julie to stop nagging him, and the more she nagged, the more he saw how useless it was to hold out hope that she might entertain the possibility of anything between the two of them. While he had a nice enough time on the date, it wasn’t until the end of the evening that he saw what a total jackass he really was.

There was nothing wrong with Dana. She was just as great as Julie promised. Pretty, too. It was easy to keep a conversation going with her over dinner, and she made him laugh a few times. He drove her back to her apartment, parked under a streetlamp, and then he kissed her. Slowly. It wasn’t impulsive, but rather his attempt to redirect the constant ache that plagued him. He had to move on. So he kept his eyes closed while he teased her lips with his, and while he touched his tongue to hers. He missed kissing someone. He missed touch and being touched. For twenty minutes he made out with Dana, kissing her, building it slowly, until they were both heated and gasping. He put one hand on the back of her neck and let his fingers move into her hair while he drowned in her and tried to forget. His other hand slid to her back where he delicately lifted the hem of her loose blouse. He traced the line of the top her skirt with one finger, just barely touching her skin and making her pull away to gasp for air. Dana put her hands on his chest, moving over his shirt, soon digging her fingers into him. It had been way too long since anyone had touched him like this. Matt rounded his hand over the curve of her hip, softly putting the palm of his hand against her, then inched up her waist, under her shirt… and up higher, until he was cupping her breast in his hand. She kissed him harder, and Matt responded, curling his fingers around the silk at the top of her bra and ducking his touch under the fabric. Then he was pushing the straps from her shoulders. His mouth moved from hers, and soon he was kissing her neck, working his way lower.

And that’s when he murmured Julie’s name.

It was awful.

Dana was very kind about it, but it was an inexcusable thing to have done, even for a twenty-year-old guy who was in the worst dry spell in the history of dry spells. And this wasn’t him. He wasn’t the guy who slept around, indulging in whatever one-night fling he could. Matt didn’t do that, and he didn’t want that.

With one hand under his chin, Dana lifted his head. “I thought so.”

Matt froze.

She smiled. “You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”

Matt didn’t answer that. He didn’t have to.

“It’s okay, Matt. I’m not upset. You talked about her all through dinner—obsessively so, if I might point out—so I’m not exactly surprised.” She paused and ruffled his hair with her hand. Damn. How could he not have been aware that every topic they’d covered had led him to mention Julie? Dana lifted an eyebrow. “She doesn’t know, does she?”

Matt looked away.

“It’s okay. I won’t tell her, I promise. That’s up to you.”

He slumped back into the driver’s seat and dropped his head. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened there. I shouldn’t have—”

“Stop worrying.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “I knew what was happening. I just thought we’d have some fun. It wasn’t a great idea. We’re both not over other people, and we were trying to forget.”

“Didn’t work out very well for us, did it?” Matt managed to laugh softly.

“It never does. Although there were some damn good moments there.” Dana laughed. “Julie ought to pay more attention.”

Matt looked out the windshield at the empty street. “That’s not going to happen.”

“Give it time. You’re too far gone for this not to work out.”

**********

It was nearly midnight, and Matt and Julie had been talking and listening to music since he dropped off Celeste at Rachel’s house for a sleepover. Only Julie could take his mind off of the fact that his sister was away from home for the night. For the first time. Rachel and her mother seemed nice enough, and Julie was positive that this would be a complete success, so Matt was trying to relax and not think about the possibilities. Flat Finn was folded up and hidden away in Celeste’s bag, but what if one of the other girls found him? Or what if someone made fun of Celeste for… for any myriad of things? His sister’s confidence on the drive over was helpful, though. She was ready for this step, thanks to Julie, so Matt would be ready too.

It was a nice evening. Roger and Erin were away again for the weekend, off enjoying the mid-spring weather, so Matt and Julie had the house to themselves. Hanging out with Julie was always fun, even if it was just a night of friendship.

Julie was wrapping up a phone call, and Matt was pretending not to know that she was pressing Dana for date details via a poorly disguised conversation about a nonexistent study group. That’s what he got for not answering Julie’s probing questions about his date, and he could only hope that Dana didn’t throw him under the bus. Julie did nearly drop the phone at one point, so he could only imagine what she’d heard.

“Sorry,” Julie hung up. “Important stuff about my study group.”

“Sounded like it. I’m going to get something to drink.” Matt stood up. “And how’s Dana?”

“Oh.” Julie looked away, but he saw her blush. “Ahem. She’s fine. Sorry.”

The house phone rang, and Matt left his room to locate the handset. Julie’s interest in his date made it hard to suppress a smile. It didn’t mean that she was on the verge of throwing herself at him in a jealous fit, but he didn’t mind if Dana revealed one or two things to Julie, nor if those things had touched even the smallest jealous nerve.