When Matthew parks at the fair, I just stare at him. “Are you serious?”
He smiles at my excited tone. “I am.”
“I’ve never been to a fair! I mean, as a kid, I went, but never as an adult.”
“The beer is cheap and when you pair it with an elephant ear, it’s perfect,” I tell her. “Plus, the ridiculous food is great.”
I laugh and watch as he buys us expensive bracelets so we can ride every single thing offered. I bump his hip. “I’m paying for food.”
“It was my date idea, I’m paying.”
“Sure … for the rides, which you did.” I wink.
Matthew chuckles, but then we’re on rides. We get right on a few of the rides, like the scorpion and the twister. I can see Matthew’s a little pale. I rub his shoulder and tell him I’m tired and need to sit down.
He takes a few breaths and I turn his chin to face me. “You don’t like the spinning rides do you?”
“I get a little nauseous. I try to wait until after doing those to eat.” He gives me a boyish smile.
I pull his arm around me and hug his side while kissing his cheek. “I loved both rides. Thank you.”
“We can do the scrambler next,” He offers.
“You just said you don’t like the ones that spin. I’m not going to ask you to get on one. I can ride alone.”
“And have someone else smushed against you, absolutely not,” He says seriously.
When he meets my eyes, we both end up cracking up. We get on the ride and he insists on being on the outside so I don’t hit the side. And when a young girl’s friend wimps out, he invites her to join us.
I stare at him as he flashes a smile and promises that it’ll be fun and that she doesn’t have to worry since it’s not too intense. On the ride, he isn’t afraid to be louder than she is and she lights up.
I just stare at Matthew until I’m thrown into him and he wraps an arm around me as I squeak. He beams, his eyes squinting. “I’ve got you, beautiful.”
I let go of the bar and throw my hands up, enjoying the rush of wind, the jerking motions of the ride, how unpredictable it seems. When we get off, the girl thanks him and runs up to her friends, bragging about how she was able to handle it even when they couldn’t.
I take Matthew’s hand. “That was really nice, Matthew.”
“Sometimes I’m nice.”
“I think it’s pretty much always.” I lean against him. “Now that we’ve done all the crazy rides, let’s eat.”
I insist on buying the beer, the nachos, the fried Oreos that sound amazing and get us an elephant ear – whatever that is. When it comes out, I realize I’ve always called it a funnel cake. We laugh as we talk together.
“I’m serious, Bella. I really thought that I could be G.I. Joe. Why else would I join the military.”
I nearly choke on my fried Oreo. Matthew rubs my back until I cough out the bit that was stuck. I expect him to be disgusted, but he’s completely worried about me. I wipe my mouth. “I lived. I still have seven lives left.”
“Just seven?”
“Well, I fell out of a tree when I was a kid. One of the boys in the neighborhood swore I couldn’t climb as high as he could, so I had to prove it. But apparently, the top of the tree doesn’t have the most stable branches. I landed on one of the big ones at the bottom, broke my collarbone, fell the rest of the way, and just ended up with a lot of bruises.”
“You love a challenge, don’t you?”
“I like proving people wrong when they make assumptions about me.” I rub the back of my neck as I think of my ex again. “But I realized that sometimes a challenge is there because you’re not supposed to be in the situation.”
“Bad breakup?” Matthew guesses, holding my hand.
“Things started well, but then he wanted me to be someone I wasn’t. when I wouldn’t change completely, he found someone else after two days and then called her a wife less than six months later.”
“He’s the one missing out, Bella.”
“You barely know me, Matthew,” I remind him. “I’ve been working for you guys for a month.”
“And I already know that he fucked up,” He insists. “What does that say about him?”
I smile and lean toward him, pressing my mouth to his. Even Miles only gets kisses in the car after our dates. But Matthew is special. Miles makes me feel beautiful and sexy, but Matthew … it’s like he really sees me.
We go through a haunted house and I jump a few times, but Matthew gets that same pale look when he sees a bunch of blood in one of the scenes. Rather than dealing with it by squeezing him, I walk closer, making one of the workers confused.
I touch the blood and can hear Matthew gasp.
“What did you guys use? This is way better than the Halloween stuff.”
“Um … It’s … it’s blood.” The guy says, trying to stay in character.
I rub it between my fingers. “I’m guessing the cornstarch mixture. I worked a haunted house once. You guys kick ass.”
He beams, then gets back into character. I get Matthew through the rest of the house and kiss him hungrily behind the house. He threads his fingers through my hair, kissing me again and again. I wrap my arms around his neck and press myself against him as I lose myself in the kiss.
He’s not angling for sex or pushing me forward. He’s just happy to kiss me and something about that alone sets him apart from the other guys. I moan and Matthew pulls away.
“You’re fearless.”
“I did work in a haunted house. Once you see how it works, it’s not nearly as scary. And I didn’t like seeing you so pale.”
He blushes and we get through the rest of the carnival. He wins me a stuffed animal and I win him a shot glass, because I don’t want to be outdone. We’re still laughing in the car at how mad the clown got when I dunked him and how Matthew corrected his insults by targeting the grammar and talking to him like he was an angry student in Matthew’s classroom.
When we get back to my place, I show him where to park and we crash on the couch together. I ask if he likes Chinese food, then surprise him by ordering for us both. Matthew just shakes his head at me. “You’re something else, Bella. You know that?”
“I’ve been called plenty of things.”
“It’s wonderful. I like how determined you are, how ambitious you are, and how you take control of situations. You don’t really fight; you just say what you mean and then you’re done with it.”
“I like how you shame people for bad insults.” I giggle. “And how determined you are to treat me well. Even though …”
His face drops a little. “I know. You’re not mine. We’re sharing you.”
I snuggle closer to him and kiss his jaw. “I’m all yours right now, Matthew. I have been since you picked me up.”
He sighs and kisses me slowly. We make out on the couch like overeager teenagers. I wrap a leg around him as He caresses my side. I gasp, getting dizzy from lack of oxygen, and laugh softly. “I’d be happy to pass out kissing you, Matthew.”
“Am I too heavy?” He gets up quickly and makes sure I’m okay.
I just roll my eyes. We eat dinner while watching a movie on Netflix, laughing together and talking whenever the movie reminds us of a story. This might just be the best date I’ve ever been on.
Matthew’s so genuine, so entirely and completely himself. He never pretends and it makes me do the same. When I sniff at the end of the movie, Matthew doesn’t laugh at me, he brushes my tears from my cheeks and I realize he’s crying too. I wipe his eyes and he snorts.
“I’m pitiful.”
“It’s cute. You should show your emotions when you feel them.”
Just like that, his mouth is on mine again. We make out, but then Matthew picks me up. “Where’s your room.”
“Too good for the couch?”
“You’re too good for the couch.” He corrects.
I point him to the bedroom and he carries me to the bed. Matthew strips me slowly, then caresses me slowly. He purrs compliments against my skin as he explores my naked body with his mouth and hands.
He takes his time, making every bit of me oversensitive as he layers me with affection. I pull off his t-shirt and stroke over his gorgeous body. Every plane of soft muscle. He’s toned rather than bulky, but the lean muscle works on him. His warm, silky skin is hairless which is amazing.
We spend so much time just touching and kissing each other, I almost forget that sex is an option. But Matthew spreads my legs and licks my slit. I gasp and run my fingers through his thick blonde hair. His deep blue eyes focus on me as he laps and sucks my clit.
Pushing two fingers inside me nearly pushes me over the edge. My back arches and I give myself over to Matthew entirely. I don’t worry about being sexy, about putting on a show, about any of that. I just enjoy his mouth and fingers and let out breathy moans and squirm against him until I come.
Matthew climbs up my body, kissing and licking across my skin until I’m trembling from even the more innocent touches. He kisses the hollow under my ear. “I want to make you feel good, Bella. You work so hard pleasing so many people.”
“I like being useful.” I pant.
“And you are. But I’m going to worship you, just like you deserve.”
I groan as he slowly guides his cock inside me. My eyes flutter. The head of his cock is perfect in a way I never thought was possible. I mean, I’ve always liked sex, but with Matthew, I like his dick too. It’s weird to think, something I’d never say, but hot damn is he just … perfect.
Matthew cups the back of my head and kisses me hungrily as he slowly rocks into me again and again. I wrap a leg around him and savor our one-on-one time. I’ve wanted this, just him since I met him. And I’m finally getting more than I even fantasized he’d be.
“You feel so good.” I pant.
“You’re pure heaven.” He says against my lips.
We both moan and I encourage him to go faster, harder. But Matthew never gets extra dirty. He doesn’t have to be kinky, doesn’t have to bark orders. He just tells me whatever he thinks: how beautiful I am when I come, how lucky he is to be with me, how much he likes me.
After three rounds – including one in the shower – we just lay in bed. Matthew watches me as I doodle across his chest with my finger. We don’t have to talk. He just strokes my back and runs his fingers through my hair while I try to figure out what I’m going to do with myself now.
I like Matthew. The other guys are fun and sexy, but Matthew is so much more. He’s so open, so compatible with me. I really think we’d make each other happy and it’s not like I can have all these guys forever. But Matthew … I could have a real future with him.
If that’s even an option after things end with the others.
