Breaking Matt - Loving Bad Series (Sample of Published Book)

Chapter 1 - Part 2

What is he doing here? I thought when I noticed the sexy stranger from the cafeteria in my class fifteen minutes later.

I didn't remember seeing him in this class before. Maybe he was new. I allowed myself to watch him silently while he sat a couple of rows in front of me. He wrote something down before he leaned back, keeping his focus on the lecturer.

He was just my type. Hot and confident. It was a lethal combination I had a weakness for. I didn't want a nice guy—I wanted someone who would set me alight and keep me wanting more.

I was already daydreaming about having his strong hands with long slender fingers tightening their hold on my body. My body warmed with want. A few girls gave him a brief smile or a look over their shoulder, making it clear they were interested. He smiled back.

My forehead creased when I felt a moment of jealousy. They were treading on a guy I had already marked for myself.

Courtney gently poked me in the ribs and gave me a questioning look. I smiled and looked to the sexy guy. Her eyes followed mine.

"Nice," she whispered under her breath at me. I nodded slightly in agreement.

I was already coming up with a way to approach him and what I would say. I wasn't really nervous; I was more excited. I enjoyed the chase of getting the guy I wanted.

The rest of the class dragged on, and when it finally came to an end, I felt a jolt of excitement. My eyes were fixed on my target as he put his book away and hitched his backpack over his shoulder. Broad shoulders: another thing I liked.

"Go get him," Courtney said softly from behind me as I walked up to him, not giving any of the other girls who had shown interest in him the chance to make their move.

He turned and stopped when I walked up to him.

"Hi," I said, giving him a wide smile.

"Hi." His voice was strong and calm. Everything about this guy fit in with what I was looking for.

"Are you new?" I asked as we started to walk out of the class side by side.

"Kind of," he said. "I started a month ago."

"I'm Sarah."

"Matthew Weiss." The fleeting look he gave me was enough to make my stomach dip.

There was no way I wouldn't have noticed him if he'd been in my class for the last month. But I let it go.

"You free on Friday?" I asked as I gave him a sideways look.

"Sure," he said. "What do you have in mind?"

There was a thrill of attraction as his eyes briefly met mine. Oh man, this guy was hot. I didn't want to come on too strong because some guys were intimidated by that, so I decided to make a play but keep it light.

"There's a party on campus on Friday," I said. I told him where it was going to be. He nodded.

"Are you going to be there?" he asked, coming to a stop to give me his full attention.

I faced him. "Probably." The directness of his eyes made me swallow.

He got his phone out of the back pocket of his faded jeans and looked expectantly at me. I gave him my number. His fingers brushed over the keys as he programmed my number in.

"I'll see you there," he said before he walked away, leaving me slightly surprised at his sudden departure. I watched with growing interest as he disappeared down the passageway.

Usually guys gave me their number, not the other way around. This one wasn't needy like Ryan. He was just what I wanted, and he would be enough to drive home to Ryan that I wasn't available anymore. It was a sure thing to get him to back off.

"And?" The voice of my friend brought me back from my thoughts.

"I really like him," I said.

"You and every other girl with a pulse," she remarked.

I shrugged. What I wanted I got—and I wanted Matthew. There wasn't any other option.

"I think he's interested," I said, still remembering the way he had looked at me. It was enough to make me combust on the spot.

"He took your number," she said with a one-armed shrug, like she considered it to be a good sign.

Leaving it at that, we walked out the front entrance.

"Ryan alert," Courtney whispered beside me. It only took me a few moments to find his familiar form on the pathway I usually walked to go home.

"Crap," I mumbled, looking around quickly to find another way home.

"I'll distract him," Courtney said with determination. "You can sneak around to the side."

"I'll call you later," I told her before I slinked away quickly. I wasn't in the mood for another run-in with my ex.

I caught a brief glimpse of Courtney strolling up to him confidently. She flicked her honey-blond hair effortlessly as she focused her hazel eyes on my ex. She had his full attention while I hurried around the side of the building.

By the time I got home I was more than annoyed. Ryan was backing me into a corner and I didn't like it one bit. I couldn't continue like this. Something needed to happen for him to back away.

I rubbed the back of my neck as I kicked off my shoes and sat down on the sofa. I closed my eyes for a moment as I relaxed, putting my feet up on the small coffee table.

My phone started to ring and I opened an eye to glare at my bag. It continued to ring and I got up to fish my phone out of it.

"Hi, Mom," I answered, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. I adored my mother. She wasn't just a parent to me—she was also my best friend.

"Hi, sweetheart," she said, and the sound of her voice washed over me like a protective blanket easing all my worries.

"What's up?" I asked. We usually spoke first thing in the morning. She rarely phoned me in the afternoon.

"Nothing. Why? Can't your mom call you in the afternoon?"

There was something up. I could tell by the faintest sharpness to the tone of her voice. We shared everything. Why was she keeping something from me?

My mind ran wild with possible reasons.

"You know I love talking to you anytime," I told her cautiously. There were so many times I was grateful she was my mother. It made up for the lack of closeness I had with my father. He was the head of the family and issued orders like a drill sergeant.

My mother always explained his shortcomings on the fact he'd been raised in a family where there hadn't been a lot of affection or emotion. It wasn't something I could imagine and I felt sorry it had stunted my father emotionally.

"I just wanted to find out how your day went," she said. She was lying—I could hear it in her voice. There was an edge of worry that most people wouldn't pick up on but I knew my mom too well to fall for it.

Was she calling to make sure I was okay? Was there a reason I wouldn't be? There was a part of me that wanted to know, but there was also the part that didn't. Ignorance was bliss.

There had been so many times there had been a threat that had never actually materialized. So many times I had been worried and scared of something that had never happened. I wasn't going to allow that to happen again.

So I let it go and didn't directly ask her what was going on. Instead, I walked around the room talking to my mom about what she'd been up to and what color she had decided to repaint the house.

I didn't tell her too much about my day other than the college work I was busy with. It was the ideal opportunity to mention Ryan, but I stopped myself. It would just stress her out more and I didn't want her to worry. Besides, I wasn't convinced he was anything other than an annoying ex-boyfriend who was struggling to get the message that I wasn't interested in him anymore. I didn't believe for one moment he would harm me.