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"You need to talk to her. To let her explain—"
"You know," he laughs dryly, "the challenge was fun when I was trying to get your attention. But now that I have you, it's getting really old."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I furiously snap.
"It means," he raises a dark eyebrow, "stop fighting me. Stop nagging me. It's unattractive and immature."
"You know what? You're an asswipe," I spit at him.
"Why don't you go calm down, Jenny?" He rolls his eyes. "Get a cup of hot chocolate and sip it through a straw. Wouldn't want you to burn your tongue again."
"Don't," my eyes widen in anger. "Don't you dare make fun of me. I'm only trying to help you."
"I didn't ask for your help," he retorts.
My eyes prick with hurt, frustrated tears. "When you want to have a grown-up conversation, let me know."
"That's funny," he smirks, "coming from you."
I want to pull my hair out. Slap his face. Get through to him somehow.
Instead, I grab my bag and leave him and his pigheadedness behind.
When I see Matt still lounging in the brown leather chair in the coffee shop, I stop in front of him. "He's hopeless," I cry, wiping the tears off my face with the back of my hand. "And I need ice cream. Let's go."
—
I stab the white plastic spoon through my chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. The spoon breaks and I huff in agitation.
"Let me," Matt cautiously stands and walks back over to the counter, asks for another spoon.
When he returns, I thank him.
"He's just," I close my eyes, take a deep breath, "he's infuriating, Matt. He won't even listen to me. He just shut me down and told me I was immature." Matt takes a bite of his strawberry ice cream but doesn't say anything. I continue, "I'm worried about him. He doesn't seem upset. Not even a little."
Matt reaches out a hand and pats mine before quickly pulling it back to his side of the table. "He's stubborn, Jen. You can't make him do something he doesn't want to do."
"I just don't get why he won't do it for..."
But I don't finish the sentence. Because Kyle making amends with his mom for me still doesn't solve the real issue. It doesn't fix their relationship or give either of them closure.
"You really love him, don't you?" Matt sighs.
My eyes swim with unshed tears. "I do." I do, I do, I do.
Matt's familiar brown eyes soften. "I'm sorry I kissed you. I thought, maybe, he was just a rebound. Someone you were using to get over me. But I should have known better. You guys have always had this weird tension. Like you've wanted to rip each other's heads off. I guess, after this morning," his face reddens, "it wasn't that. It was, well, you get what I'm saying."
I rub my neck awkwardly. "Yeah." It was always sexual tension.
We both sit in uncomfortable silence for a few charged moments.
"When we first moved in next door to you," Matt shifts in his seat, angles his body closer to mine. "Kyle asked to tag along to play basketball with us one afternoon. He's always liked baseball better, never gave basketball the time of day. I teased him and told him he only wanted to come because you were going to be there. He kept denying it and ended up staying home." He chews on his lip, mulling over something. "I've been thinking lately. If I had invited him to play with us, we could have all been friends. And if we had, I probably wouldn't have made so many stupid mistakes. And you guys would have found your way to each other sooner."
"That's very sweet of you to say," I give him a watery smile, "but I think things worked out the way they were supposed to."
The corner of Matt's lips turn up. "They did, didn't they? Do you want to see Audra's latest ultrasound picture?"
"Of course I do," I reply.
