“Hey,” he says, mischief dancing in his eyes as I slide in.
I’m a little breathless. “Hi.”
His eyes linger, his gaze raking the length of my body as a slow smile creeps across his lips. “You look amazing.”
Heat spreads across my cheeks. “It’s just jeans.”
“Yeah,” he muses, pulling away from the curb. “But it’s you in jeans.”
“Thanks for giving me a ride,” I say, settling into my seat and securing my buckle.
He reaches for my hand, sliding his fingers between mine, resting our hands against my thigh as he runs his thumb along my skin.
“I’m just glad you’re coming.”
A warmth settles in my chest. “Me too.”
We fall into a comfortable silence, his thumb stroking mine as we head to the arena. My stomach does a somersault as hepulls into the parking lot for the players. A sudden nervousness settles over me.
This isn’t weird, right? We’re not together, we’re just friends showing up at the game. It doesn’t mean anything else.
I glance down at his hand still holding mine, resting against my thigh.
I swallow roughly. Yeah, totally doesn’t mean anything.
“Are you okay, Sunny?” he asks as he pulls into a parking spot, putting the car in park and killing the engine. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I turn to look at him, my heart hammering away in my chest. “Are you sure this is okay?”
He tilts his head to the side. “Why wouldn’t it be okay?”
“I don’t know. I know usually it’s family and stuff who come in this way with the players and?—”
“Sunny,” he says softly, his hand squeezing mine. “You’re overthinking it. I promise it’s okay. Lucy is supposed to be coming tonight. I’m sure she’ll sit with you so you’re not alone.”
I wince. I don’t want to be an annoyance or a burden to anyone else. The last thing I want is for Lucy to feel obligated to sit with me.
“If you don’t want to come in, you can just take my car and pick me up later.”
I shake my head immediately, shoving away the negative thoughts. “No, I want to come in.”
“Okay.” He rolls his lips between his teeth. “If you want to leave at any time, you can. No questions asked.”
Relief washes over me at his words. It’s not that I feel uncomfortable… it’s just what he said exactly. I’m overthinking things. Overthinking things because we’ve been sharing a bed and now, he’s holding my hand, pulling up to his game.
But we aren’t together. We aren’t anything.
Matteo gets out of the car, walking over to my side like the gentleman he is. We bypass the players entrance, and he shakes his head at the photographers as we head over to the family entrance instead.
His hand finds the small of my back as he guides me inside and I try my hardest to ignore the flutter in my chest at the small gesture. He pulls out his phone and taps on the screen as we head down the hallway.
The entire arena buzzes with a palpable electrical energy. It’s been so long since I’ve been to a game, I forgot how intoxicating the atmosphere is.
“Lucy is going to meet you by the elevators,” he says after a second, turning down another hall. “She came with Theo and planned on sitting alone in his seats.”
“Oh, perfect,” I smile, glancing at him as we reach another hallway that leads to the dressing rooms to the left and the elevators to the right.
Matteo stops, turning to face me. “Lucy is coming down now.” He glances over his shoulder at me. “I have to head in. You remember which seats?”
