Pucker-Up

Chapter Twelve - Mathew

"Is that so?" I grin and look to Gaby who is staring at me speechlessly. She then stares across to Isabelle who is borderline laughing silently, her smile pressed into a tight line. Isabelle talks again, "I'm just playing around-" I watch as her eyes sort of look past me, before I feel an arm move across my shoulder. Rutger smiles happily, his other hand occupied with Kayleigh holding it. "Hey! you guys must be Maty's secret girlf—" I worriedly clear my throat to interrupt him, not letting him embarrass me even more than he already has. Rutger looks to me with a playful smile, his arm dropping from my shoulders. "Come on big boy, don't leave me guessing and tell me then— actually scrap that," He looks to the girls "Kay and I are hosting a party as celebration for the win, so you guys get the invite too. Come along and we can fully meet there!" His hand lets go of Kayleigh's, who is smiling happily, his arm comfortably moving against the small of her back to hold her close. "I'll see everyone there!" Rutger and Kayleigh wave and wander off. I watch as Isabelle looks to Gaby, clearly letting her make the decision for how the rest of their evening would go. I don't know why I'm really hoping she'll come- I guess it would be nice to talk to her outside of class. Gaby was visibly weighing up their options. "Oh- well Belle and I have to get some stuff done tonight- but you go have fun!" Isabelle looks back to me with a small smile as Gaby says that, sort of seeming disappointed as if she wanted to come along with us. Her eyes adverted off me as Ethan moved to stand on the other side of me. She slightly looked down to her shoes, her cheeks a soft red colour. Gaby looked back to me, her face also a little red. "I'll see you later, Mathew." She smiles a bit, Belle's eyes glancing between Ethan and I momentarily. "Bye- Gaby. and nice to meet you Isabelle." I say as they begin walking away, Ethan and I's eyes following them for a moment, before I looked back to Ethan.

It was quiet as Ethan and I began walking back to where the party was being hosted. It was bitterly cold outside, the brightly moonlit sky shining down on us as we went. "Who are your friends that came along tonight?" Ethan asked, still looking straight ahead into the distance. "Oh- a girl from my class and her friend." I look at him, watching his lips purse slightly. I swear if he is eyeing them off— "They seem nice." He looks to me and nods almost.. approvingly? Not like it's up to him to decide who my friends are anyway... "Thanks, Ethan, for making this awkwardly weird now." I chuckle and elbow his arm playfully. Ethan now seems to smile a bit, taking a deep breath. "We played really well tonight, Maty." I nod in agreement. "You took a real bashing against the wall." I laugh "you good?" Ethan looks to me with a smile "Never been better."

We arrived to Rutger and Kayleigh's apartment, the gentle sound of music echoing from under their door. We knocked and watched as Kayleigh swung the door open, a large smile along her face. "Long time no see! Come on in." She moved from the middle of the doorway, letting Ethan and I inside. There was quite a few people already inside, our teammates with drinks in hands, others swaying with the music which seemed a lot louder now we are inside. Kayleigh closed the door behind us and moved around to talk to us. "You both played well today! Where are your friends, Mathew?" She looked around eagerly, her eyes falling back on my face. I felt my cheeks get warm, shrugging a little as i moved my hand over the back of my neck awkwardly. "They had things planned—" Ethan scoffed and rolled his eyes a little bit. "You keep telling yourself that, buddy." Kayleigh laughed and whacked Ethan's arm. "Stop it, you. I'm sure they will come next time. Oh also, please help yourself to drinks in the fridge- we made everyone one bring their own tonight but we trust you both enough." She smiled and turned on her heel, walking to where Rutger was socialising with our other teammates.
I walked over to the fridge and opened it, taking out a canned 'Sprite' instead of an alcoholic drink. I'm not a big drinker, which I guess is even better for my hockey training. I cracked it open and took a sip, the refreshing coldness sending a buzz through my body. The lights were low, small party lights drifting around the room. I watched as people mingled for a few minutes, moving my hand into my pocket and pulling out my phone. I unlocked it and clicked on Gaby's contact, my thumb hovering over the screen to begin typing.