Luci lay in bed writing her book instead of sleeping. Jason lay beside her, very much the Joey to her Dawson. Every so often, he came by and spent the night. It was just a thing they did now, fitting into each other like a cliché teen drama.

Jason stirred beside her. His hair was over his forehead, eyes flicking behind her eyelids. She thought about their summer, about the many times they had almost kissed but never had. She thought about the final time when she wished they had, but Liz had popped up and ruined everything, starting a screaming match with him in the middle of the party with a red solo cup sloshing in her hand.

Luci replayed the memory of how she had slunk away only to bump into a very high Cyrus, his hand steadying her on the waist, eyes bloodshot. And how he, high as a freaking kite, had kissed her.

And then there was the other guy that night.

Matthew.

Now, that had been something else entirely.

After Cyrus kissed her, he grinned like an idiot, telling her, “That was nice,” and that she tasted like apples. Then, he had walked off, taking another hit of his joint without another word.

Of course, he had done that. It was his nature to momentarily pay attention to her before forgetting her completely. And this was the point of the night, she had been so fed up and stalked upstairs to be alone. Except she wasn’t alone. Hidden in the first bedroom she had walked into was Matthew, sitting on the bed, nursing whatever drink he had in the dark.

He squinted at her as she opened the door before smiling in that friendly way that was still strange to her.

“Oh, hey, Matt.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I was invited.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. Why are you up here?”

“Ugh. I think Jason was about to kiss me, and of course, Liz just happened to see and lost her shit, so now they’re arguing. Then Cyrus kissed me and told me it was nice and that I tasted like apples. So I’m here to escape all that nonsense. Why are you up here?”

“My boyfriend broke up with me.”

Luci stared at him, shocked. She had only met his boyfriend a few weeks ago after they had been dating for a month. Luci had been happy for him. At least one of them had moved on from Cyrus.

“What! Dominic broke up with you? He’s an asshole.”

“Agreed. Apparently, the fact I’m bi bothered him.”

“That’s progressive,” she said sarcastically, sitting beside him on the bed.

“Yeah. Although it sure didn’t help that that bitch Evie told him I lost my virginity to you.” Matthew took a long sip of his drink. Luci winced, putting her drink down on the dresser beside the bed.

“God, I’m so sorry I ever told Liz that. I’m sorry,” she said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“It’s whatever. I mean, I liked the guy, and the sex was great. I mean, the dude gave—”

“Oh, dude! TMI Matt! I know we’re friends, but I do not need to know all the intimate details.”

Matt laughed, lying down on the bed, downing the last of his drink, letting the now-empty cup fall to the floor. “I’m just messing with you.” He let out a heavy sigh. “I am going to miss the sex, though.”

“Ugh, sex. Don’t even get me started. You know I can’t even remember the last time I had sex.”

“Naww, was I your one and only?” he said, teasing her, poking her side. Luci rolled her eyes and thought about it.

“I think you were, actually. I mean, I’ve made out with plenty of guys, but sex? That would be a no. Really, I just masturbate…a lot.”

“We could do it.” He said it all nonchalantly, and Luci began to wonder how drunk he was. But looking at him, he looked as sober as she felt, eyes staring at her in the dark, the only light creeping in from the hallway.

“Be serious,” she said with an eye roll.

“I am. If you want. I’m a little lonely and vulnerable, and you sound sexually frustrated and horny.” He winked at her, sitting back up, leaning a little too close to her.

“I don’t know.”

Then he had kissed her. Not like Cyrus had, sloppily. No, he had kissed her tenderly, cupping the side of her face.

And Luci, she had kissed him back, leaning into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. One thing had led to another, each taking off the other’s clothes in a haphazard mess, leaving them naked, too tangled up together to remember that the light shining on them was coming from the open door.

“Matthew, the door!”

“Shit.” Matthew had jumped off her, slamming the door and locking it shut, causing Luci to giggle as she waited for him to return to her.

Matthew had delicately lying over her, hard pressed against her. He asked her one more time if she was sure, just like he had when they had first been together, and in response, Luci kissed him, opening her legs and pulling him towards her.

It had been hot and sweaty, each one kissing the other, moaning against each other’s mouths. It had been pleasure and pure ecstasy.

But that was the summer, and they both agreed it hadn’t meant anything. But she was horny again.

And there was a half-naked boy in bed with her.

Jason stirred, eyes fluttering open.

“You’re awake?”

“I was writing. Couldn’t sleep.”

“Wanna talk?” he yawned.

She shook her head, biting her lip. “No. Go back to sleep.”

Luci didn’t know what she was doing outside Matthew’s door. And the shock on his face showed he was just as confused as she was.

“Lu, hey. Uh, what’s up?”

“Um, can I come in? Wait, are you alone?”

He offered her a sly grin not dissimilar to Cyrus’s. In the past, that smile used to hold malice within it. Now, it just looked nice. “Yes, and yes.”

Luci smiled back, making her way back in. Two weeks. She had given herself two weeks to think about what she was about to do.

“So, what’s up?”

Luci spun around in her heels, watching him lean against the door, arms crossed. Fingers wrapped together behind her back, she bit the bottom of her lip, finally noticing that Matthew was shirtless. He wasn’t muscular per se, but he was lean and firm after years of soccer and sailing. It made him…not unattractive.

“I have a proposition for you.”

“Oh? What?”

“Okay. Okay, look. I don’t, like, want a relationship. I just…it’s not something I want right now. And, okay, so I mean, I’m tired of playing with myself at the end of the night, and I was—”

“Okay.”

Luci stopped talking and stared at him. “Okay?” Now, she was confused and muddled up her perfectly planned speech.

“Yeah. I don’t want a relationship either. Not in the mood. So let’s fuck.”

“Oh! Um, okay. I thought—I had this whole speech planned.”

He tilted his head to the side. “Yeah, I could tell. But I just spent the whole morning watching porn because I’m as sexually frustrated as you feel. And I, too, am tired of playing with myself. So yeah, let’s do it.”

Luci blinked, still shocked. “No strings?”

Matthew rolled his eyes. “Geez, you’re such a girl—or guy. Here, let me spell it out for you.” He jerked off the wall, took one step towards her, and then kissed her, one hand wrapped behind her neck, the other pulling her body close to his. Luci opened her mouth and moaned against him.

“I can come by,” he said, pulling away, making her ache. “I have my own car, you know.”

“Details later, Matt.” With that, she kicked off her wedge heels and ran up the stairs towards his room, Matthew close at her heels.

She barely made it in before he was behind her, spinning her around, his hands under her dress, his mouth on hers, pressing her up against the door.

Neither of them wasted any time. Arms wrapped around his neck, he picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist, hands fumbling to undo the button on his shorts.

Her head hit the door hard when he went inside her, making her back arch. But she didn’t care. She just cared about how it felt, how he felt inside her, how every thrust made her quiver against him.

Eventually, they made it to the bed, undressed, their bodies tangled together, lips finding each other. Luci dug her nails into his back, listening to him grunt as she moaned, biting her lips to keep from screaming out as he moved faster and faster, harder and harder. Until he finally finished, his own body shaking against hers.

He cursed loudly, pulling himself from her. Matthew stared down at him, forehead slick with sweat.

“Matthew—”

“Shh,” he said, kissing her neck, kissing her body in one trail until his head was settled between her legs. Back arched, fingers wrapped in his hair, Luci let him finish her off.

Matthew watched Luci get dressed, her skin glowing. He wanted to pull her back into bed and spend the day there, undoing her. When the doorbell rang, Luci turned to look at him, putting her glasses back on and opening her mouth to say something.

“Oh shit,” said Matthew, jumping out of the bed, “I forgot Cyrus was coming over.”

“What? Oh my god, oh my god,” she spun to face the mirror on the wall above his dresser, combing her fingers through her black hair.

“You look fine,” he said, pulling his boxers and scanning the floor for his shorts and a clean shirt.

“Fine? Just fine?”

Matthew rolled his eyes at her, pulling a soccer jersey over his head. “Fine. You look gorgeous. Cyrus won’t be able to keep his eyes off you. Better?”

She smiled, giving him a little harumph, before spinning around again, looking at her reflection. “Much better. But wait, how are we going to explain me?”

The doorbell rang again, and Matthew swore. “We’d better get down there before he gets suspicious. I’ll get the door, just go downstairs and load Mortal Kombat on the PlayStation. You like that game, don’t you?”

“I fucking love it, thank you very much. Mileena is my girl.”

“Great. You came over to play. That’s the story. Now come on!” He ran down the stairs, splitting up on the ground floor, Lucita running towards the living room. Just like Luci, he didn’t want Cyrus to know the real reason she had been here, not after last year. He was a shit friend, he knew that, but he was a guy all the same.

“Hey man!” he exclaimed, throwing open the door.

“What took you so long?” said Cyrus, walking in.

“Me!” Cyrus stopped on the threshold and stared at Luci. Luci, in her white dress covered in butterflies, the dress she wore when she wanted to impress. She stood in the doorway to the living room, feet bare. “Hey, Cy! Sorry, I was kicking his ass at Mortal Kombat.”

Matthew marveled at the ease with which the lie had rolled off her tongue. “You were not,” he added, shutting the door.

“I totally was. It was a flawless victory.” She lowered her voice to mimic the dramatics of the game, making him grin even wider. Sometimes, he forgot what a nerd she was.

Cyrus just stared between them, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Knowing what he knew, he hated the idea of them being alone together. But they were friends, so why wouldn’t they hang out?

“Anyway, let’s raid the kitchen, man.” Matthew patted him on the shoulder before walking ahead of him towards Luci. Luci just stared at him in the way that always set his skin on fire. In a way that reminded him of how much he wanted her.

In the way that made him remember he was such an idiot.

 

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