Checkerboard | m.h |

Twenty Two

(A cute Gemma//Matty picture on the side. Enjoy the chapter! Also, I kept writing Max instead of Mark and it pissed me off.)

Songs For This Chapter:

Nicki Minaj- Right By My Side

One Direction - Over Again

One Direction - Right Now

-Matty's POV-

"Hey Gemma," I called from my space on her couch, a ball I'd been tossing falling into my hand as I'd turned to face her. Gemma smiled at me as she entered her apartment, blonde hair riddled with curls and streaks of black.

"Matty," she cooed, and the way she said my name thrilled me, making a lazy grin creep across my lips, "what are you doing here?"

I shrugged. "Had a day off, thought I'd visit you."

Gemma nodded, coming over and seating herself on my lap, arms loosely hanging around my neck. Her nose bumped lightly against mine and her eyes fluttered closed while her fingers traced circles on my cheeks. Suddenly, she stopped, and one eye creeped open as she eyed me. "How'd you get in? I don't remember giving you a key to my apartment."

Her lips were set in a line and her face turned to the side, curiosity lining the skeptical shape of her face. I just grinned and leaned forwards to kiss her lips, but she just shook her head. "You left your spare key in the pocket of your carpet outside your door."

"I never told you that," she sighed, shoulders going slack and her hands shifting downwards to rest on my chest right where my heart would be. My lips twisted into a smirk and I winked.

"When one wants something, they'll find a way to get it," I sang, shrugging as I did so, and leaning upwards to place my lips upon hers. Gemma pursed her lips before sighing and leaning down to do the same. Her fingers ran through my hair, fingers tracing lines right where Andrea had, and I blinked, moving away from Gemma.

"You okay?" the model in front of me asked, and I nodded, forming a smile but it didn't work and only reached just a slight twitch of my lips. Her eyes settled on mine, and wouldn't let me shift mine away from hers. A frown slipped her face, and she furrowed her brows, cocking her head to the side.

"I'm okay, Gemma, really, I am," I sighed, breathing out much too deeply, and her eyes shut, a deeper frown forming.

"I can tell when you're lying to me, Matty. I do happen to know you," she murmured, hands dropping to her sides and her lips pouting outwards slightly. She knew it drove me crazy when she did that, and she knew I adored all of her little antics when she was upset, and it seemed like she did them on purpose, rather than actually letting them happen naturally.

"Gemma," I sighed, bringing a hand up to rub at my eyes with my index and thumb, "why would I be lying to you? There's no point in that, you'll just find out-" and suddenly, it seemed like I was out of my body, watching everything happen, and I saw my voice catch, and the way Gemma was looking at me skeptically and I spoke again, choking out the word anyways.

"Really?" she asked, drawing out the word and raising both eyebrows, head leaning down. I breathed out deeply, but all she did was pat my chest and roll off my lap, "well, at least we have that sorted out. Now, let's rent a movie and make some popcorn, cool?"

"Yeah," I nodded, leaning over and placing a kiss upon her head, "yeah, that's cool."

I might not have noticed it, but my phone slipped out of my pocket and I sighed, getting up to grab my wallet to rent the movie. A little cabinet blocked my view of my girlfriend on the couch, but I opened a few to graze for the popcorn. I stuck the paper bag in her microwave and searched through my jacket for my wallet, hearing the ruffle of Gemma's clothing against her black, leather sofa. Moving out of the kitchen, I padded over to the couch, where Gemma was tapping her phone's screen with a less than impressed look on her face.