ADJOURNMENT || benny watts x reader

chapter thirteen

When you woke, it was the afternoon. Your head was stuffy, groggy, but not at the same level it'd been after you'd beaten Harmon at a chess board. You downed the water you'd remembered to leave yourself by your bed, as your body started to feel more alive with every drop.

You got up, making certain to check the floor for any chess champion's lying around, when the sudden realisation of last night hit you like a freight train—

You'd kissed Benny Watts.

Or, he'd kissed you. Or you'd kissed each other.

You remembered when Monte's had gone dark, when he'd pulled you towards him just before the clock had struck midnight, placing his lips upon yours with a ferocity as demanding as the Sicilian Defence.

You even remembered thinking about that very morning and how you'd react after the image of the champion, face to face, lips to lips, was etched into every corner of your mind. You tried to halt the anxiety from eating you alive, but it was almost too much to bear as your heartbeat increased rapidly, making your entire body throb.

"Fuck," You let out, trying to expel the fluttering butterflies that were bombarding the sides of your gut. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck—,"

You stopped when the shrill sound of your phone ringing blasted your ear drums. You turned to it, imagining it was on fire, blazing away and about to burn your apartment down if you didn't pick it up—but you were also terrified that you had a feeling you knew who was calling.

Nevertheless, you willed yourself to stroll over and pick it up, swallowing down your nerves as you placed it to your ear. "Hello?" You let out, hearing the coarseness of your voice.

"Wow—you sound rough," You immediately relaxed at the sound of Matt's voice.

"I feel it, too," You chuckled, taking a seat on the floor and resting against the windowsill. "How're you doing yourself?"

"This pounding headache is only a sign of the masses of fun we had last night, so I think I'll survive," The way his voice went silent made your stomach drop. You took in the white, static noise from the phone, just praying that he wouldn't bring it up—"Have you spoken to Benny today?"

Fuck.

"Uh, no. I haven't. I just woke up, actually," You fiddled with the phone cord, desperately trying to cling on to your logical self and not be dropped into the pit that had opened up in your gut.

"Y/N," Matt began, half seriously, half in a comforting tone. "Are you freaking out, right now?"

"What gave you that impression?" You replied with a hint of sarcasm. Matt only chuckled gently.

"Intuition. Or, the fact that I know you," You could sense his reassuring smile from the other end of the line. It only made you want to cry, just a little bit. "What's said on this phone call, dies at the end of it, okay?"

"Are you trying to therapy me?" You let out jokingly, trying to change the tone of the call away from something deep.

"I'm trying to get you to open up. You're trying to stall the inevitable."

You paused, frowning. "The inevitable?"

"Spilling your guts on the floor after a long back and forth," Matt replied simply.

"God—you do know me, don't you?" You raised a palm to your forehead as you took in a few deep breaths. Matt's voice was comforting, gentle. After spending a month with him at his mother's cabin, you knew him exponentially more and, evidently, he knew you more too.