“Uh, thanks,” I say. I can’t say that I remember the last time a guy pulled out a chair for me. Jeremy refused to do things like open doors and pull out chairs, because he said women couldn’t have it both ways.
“You either want to be respected and treated like an equal, or I can treat you like the weaker sex,”he told me one night after an argument.
I obviously wanted to be respected and treated like an equal, but does that necessarily exclude any type of chivalrous behavior? Is it a crime for me to want a guy who will help me put on my coat after dinner?
For the millionth time since breaking up with Jeremy last night, I thank my lucky stars that we’re over.
I take a seat beside Matt and look down at my plate, in a trance.
He’s just being polite, Liza. Don’t get ahead of yourself. It’s not a marriage proposal.
Although, a girl can dream. I wouldn’t mind waking up next to him every morning for the rest of my life. I mean,lookat him.
“I’m Matt,” he says, sticking his hand out.
Disappointment hits hard in my stomach.
He doesn’t remember me.
“Yeah, I know,” I say with a small smile, feeling my cheeks blush. “We’ve actually met before.”
I see Matt’s skin redden under his beard, all the way to the tips of his ears. “Oh, sorry. I—I don’t remember you. You know…college,” he says by way of explanation—as in, he was probably not sober the times I met him?
“It’s okay.” I shrug. “We only saw each other a couple of times, and you might have been hungover for most of them.” I laugh awkwardly, trying to appease him—he doesn’t look too happy with himself right now.
“Right.” He furrows his brow at me. “I was kind of a mess back then.”
Vinny snorts, and it’s only then that I register, since Matt first pulled out my chair, that we are not alone and are actually surrounded by my family. “Kind ofa mess?” He smirks at Matt. “Matt here has the record for mostalmostarrests in our frat.”
Vinny likes to use any opportunity to bring up the glory days. Normally, I ignore him, but this time, I take the bait.
“What do you mean? What constitutes analmostarrest?” I ask, trying not to sound too eager for more information.
Matt scratches the back of his neck and shifts in his seat. “It’s stupid,” he says.
“He’s being humble. It just means that he almost got arrested several times but was able to bullshit himself out of them. I don’t even know how many times you managed to get away with it, but it was impressive. Matt is the shit.” He shakes his head in laughter.
“Shit!” Leo parrots with a huge smile.
“Oh my God, Vinny! What did I say about cursing in front of the kids?” Danielle yells. “I swear to God, this is why the other parents in daycare hate us.” She throws her napkin in frustration on the table. “Youknowthey’re at that age where they repeat everything.”
“Yeah, but it’s like they know to repeatjustthe curse words. It’s so annoying.” Vinny sighs.
I bite my lip, trying not to giggle, but I can’t keep it inside anymore once I hear Matt’s deep, throaty laugh. I look up at him, awestruck. He looks down at me and stops laughing immediately.
Oh, man.
My skin feels hot, like you could melt butter on it.
“Leo, buddy,” I hear my brother say. “You can’t say that word. We talked about this.”
“Shit!Shit! SHIT!” Leo yells, but Matt and I don’t laugh this time, too focused on each other. I look down at my plate, doing my best to avoid eye contact. I’m scared if we keep at it, my skin will burst into flames. From the corner of my eye, though, I see him stare at me. I see his gaze travel from my face, down my neck, over my chest. It’s like laser beams. I can feel the heat of it, andGodit feels great.
“Leo! If you keep this up, then we won’t go to Tom’s Pumpkin Patch after lunch!” Vinny says, sighing heavily.
“Maybe the pumpkin patch isn’t the best idea, huh?” Danielle says over her glass of water. Vinny looks up at her with wide, disappointed eyes. “Don’t give me that face. Clara literally threw up less than an hour ago, Vinny.”
“She’sfine! Look at her!” He points at his daughter, who—to his credit—is looking a little less green than she did only half an hour ago. “Babe, I am adoctor, okay? I think I know more about this than you do.”
