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“I ruined one friendship this way before.” Matt shook his head. “You mean too much to me to risk it.”
“But you did…want to kiss me.” He might die of embarrassment if Matt said no.
“Yeah. Which is the crazy thing. I don’t really understand what’s happening with me.Am Igay? Now? All of a sudden? I never thought so, and now, here you are, and I want—I’m…really confused.” Matt rubbed his hand over his heart. “I don’t want to screw things up between us. Not like I did with Patty.”
A hundred arguments sprang to Robby’s lips, like how the deepest love could come from friendship or how love was better with someone you really knew and trusted, but Matt had to come to those conclusions on his own.
“Okay.” He shrugged with a nonchalance he didn’t feel. “We’ll stay friends, but in the meantime, those questions you have? About who you are and what you want? You owe yourself the answers.”
He stood, then turned off the TV and the overhead bulb. Only a thin beam from the light below the microwave illuminated the rough planes of Matt’s face. “It’s late. Get some rest. You’ve got a big day ahead of you.”
Chapter NINE
Matt
Matt woke up with a fuzzy head, and it took a minute to figure out the source of the obnoxious beeping somewhere nearby. He traced it to a small digital clock on the coffee table. Eight o’clock. A handwritten note rested beside it.
Had to step out for some errands. I hope the alarm worked okay. Didn’t want you to be late for your shift. Hit me up later if you feel like playing.
–R
Late for—oh, shit. His heart raced. He couldn’t lose this job. What time was it again?
Eight-oh-one.
Oh yeah. He had a couple of hours to run home, shower, and change. Sending a silent thanks to his friend, he lurched off the sofa and foraged for his shoes.
Hopefully, he hadn’t made too much of a fool of himself last night. The kiss he’d shared with Robby had been a shock to his senses. He wanted to take out the memory and examine it from every angle, but there was no time for it now. If he was going to make it to work to open up, he needed to hustle.
A hasty shower at his apartment and two microwaved scrambled eggs later, he was unlocking the front door of the bar with ten minutes to spare. He made quick work of setting up the cash register and prepping the bar.
Customers arrived in a slow trickle. A couple with matching blond hair and dark jeans around eleven. Three or four frat guys just before noon. By two o’clock, though, a dozen twenty-somethings were kicking back with their beers. Matt stayed poised—on the ready to serve their refills and collect his tips as each bottle ran dry.
He was so intent on anticipating their needs, he didn’t see Patty until she parked herself on the stool directly in front of where he stood at the bar.
She looked happier, more relaxed than he’d seen her in a long time. The braids gone from her hair, a headband pulled her short twists away from her face. A hint of makeup gave a slight blush to her cheeks. And best of all, her eyes twinkled with her small smile.
“When I dropped off Jimmy with your mama, she told me you were tending bar, but I thought she was pulling my leg.” She looked him up and down. “Never in a million years did I think I’d see the day Matt York worked in a bar.”
“What are you doing here, Patty?” He kept his voice mild. The last thing he needed was to cause a scene and drive away his paying customers.
Delving her hand in her purse, Patty dug out a five-dollar bill and slid it across the bar. “Bud Light. And keep the change.”
He stifled the urge to point out she should be saving her money to get a better apartment. It wouldn’t do any good. Instead, he reached under the bar for her drink and popped open the top before swapping the bottle for the fiver.
She took a long pull from her beer, her shoulders swaying slightly to the Rhianna song piping from the overhead speakers. “You look like you sucked on a lemon. Buck up, Matty. You’re always worried about when you’ll get to see Jimmy. At least you know you can pick him up from your mom when you get off.”
True. Even if he did have to fit play time around shifts at the bar.
“I miss you.” She sighed. “Can’t we just be in the same place for a little while?”
Matt glanced around the room. No one was looking for a drink. “I’m working, but if you can respect that, you can stay.”
She surprised him by nodding and ordering a hamburger. He watched the room using the high mounted mirrors while he stepped into the back and dropped a pre-made burger on the griddle. The patty was thin, and by the time he had the bun and chips in the basket, it was done all the way through.
Stuffing the bottles of ketchup and mustard under his arm, he grabbed the food and placed it in front of her. She ate as he filled a few drink orders.
He leaned against the bar in front of her when he was done.
