Oh, here we go again

When I came in from my date with Greg, Matt was sitting on the sofa, his laptop and Cumulus’ big head resting on his lap. He was in shorts and a tee shirt, his stocking feet resting on an ottoman. He looked gorgeous, and comfortable, as if he belonged there. I leaned against the doorway and smiled at him.
“Oh hey.” He said, sounding tired. He rubbed his eyes. “I didn’t hear you come in. Gosh, what time is it?”
“Little before eleven.” I said. “Whatcha doin?” I crossed the room to sit on the other end of the couch from him, curling my legs underneath me.
“Entering these evaluations into the system. Sandy wants to be totally ready in case we get investigated. He looked at me again, his eyes lingering. “You look nice.”
I blushed. “Thanks. And leave it to Big Momma to leave someone else to clean up her mess.”
“How was your date?” He said, pushing his laptop closed. I heard the ding on an IM, but he ignored it. Cumulus lifted his head, and upon seeing me, abandoned Matt’s lap for mine.
“It was good. He didn’t kiss me goodnight though, which I thought was strange.”
Matt shrugged. “I don’t kiss till the third date.”
I laughed. “Seriously?” He nodded. “I didn’t know guys had rules!”
Matt laughed too. “Well, I can’t speak for all of them, but I think the first kiss is the best, and it’s a lot better when there’s some build up. I don’t know though, maybe he’s just a chicken. Where’d you guys go?”
“A carnival in Circleville.” I smiled. “I almost died on some coasters.”
“I can’t ride coasters.” He said, picking up his laptop again.
“Scared?” I teased, smiling.
“No, I mean. I don’t know. I’ve never ridden one. I have a heart condition, I’m not allowed to ride them.”
“Oh my gosh.” I said, honestly shocked.
“It’s not a big deal, really. My mom died of it.”
“Really?” I asked. “That must have been tough.”
“Eh. More so for my little sister than me. I’ve kind of dealt with it. She blames herself.”
“Why would she blame herself?”
“Well. Mom died giving birth to her. She wasn’t supposed to have another baby, but Mom wanted one. My sister has some handicaps because of it. Mom died before they could get her out. But still, she’s totally amazing.”
“She sounds like it. I’m still sorry though, that you guys had to go through that.”
He shrugged. “Everyone has their own issues. You either got to get over it or spend your life lugging them around.”
I sat in silence for a few minutes, and then got out my own laptop from the side table. I checked my email, and smiled.
“Hey Matt, got any plans for this weekend?”
“No, why?” He answered.
“Keep Sunday open.” I said, smiling.

Friday we usually tried to have free days for the kids. All the after-school groups got together in the gym and had controlled chaos. Most of the kids ended up playing kickball, and usually the group workers sat on the bleachers, supervising and cheering, but the week had been so stressful, I decided to blow off some steam. I kicked off my shoes, and played. The kids loved it, and so did I.

Greg did take me out that night, I skipped his show, as good as it was, it was starting to get a little boring, and I didn’t want to burn out with it. He came and got me, and we went for a late dinner, at one of my favorite places. TGI Fridays wasn’t gormet, but it was good. After an amazing meal (is there anyone on this planet who doesn’t love Jack Daniels sauce?) we headed over to catch a movie. Greg lifted the arm of the seat so he could snuggle close to me, and kept his arm around me the whole time, but didn’t once kiss me. After the movie we went back to the club and danced for a little bit, and then he brought me home. Again, he walked me to the door, and I invited him in, but he declined. Again I expected a kiss, and again, he hugged me, kissed me on the forehead, and left. I knew he liked me, why else would he keep asking me out? But my mind was baffled as to what was taking him so long to kiss me. I sent out all the signals that I wanted to be kissed, I flirted, looked at his lips, licked my lips, but still, nothing. I know I’m a modern day woman, and I could always suck it up and just kiss him, but… I didn’t want to do it like that. I wanted our first kiss to be the traditional boy kisses girl kiss. And I was growing tired of waiting for it.

Saturday, Kellie came in for the day, so I tried to give Matt the run of the house. I ran errands, and ended up placing one of the puppies. I had a potential home for another one of the puppies, but they had to cancel our visit today, and rescheduled for the following week. I was excited that I was finding them homes, but sad to see them go. I also placed the call to Nancy and started the process of adopting Cumulus myself. I was glad he was the one I ended up with. He was the biggest of the puppies, but also the sweetest. He was a gentle, clumsy giant. I had half expected Kellie to spend the night, but her car wasn’t there when I finally came home, and while I thought maybe she and Matt had gone out, the windows were open and the lights were on, I knew Matt wouldn’t leave the house open like that. I thought it was kind of pointless for her to come for the day, but I also admired her for her dedication to her relationship and to Matt.
Matt however, was in a bad mood when I got home. He answered me in either grunts or nods, and ignored me all together when I asked where Kellie was. I left well enough alone, and hoped he’d be in a better mood for the surprise I had planned for tomorrow.
I woke early, and Matt was still asleep. I let the two dogs outside, and then went for my run. I showered, and then decided that Matt had slept long enough, and it was time we got this show on the road. I opened the door, and smiled, seeing his feet hanging over the side of the bed. I stifled a giggle, then jumped on his bed.
“Wakie-wakie eggs and bakie!” I yelled.
“Ugh. Go away.” Matt moaned, jokingly.
“Now, now Matt, play nice.” I said, stretching out on my stomach next to him.
“Oh I’ll play nice.” He said, sitting up and smacking me in the head with a pillow.
I squealed. “Oh, it’s on now, buster.” I rose to my knees, getting smacked a couple more times in the process, but landing some of my own hits as well. We smacked each other for a few minutes, laughing, and I finally collapsed in a heap on his bed.
“Alright, alright.” I said, breathless. “I’m done.” My side ached from laughing so much.
Matt slammed down next to me, jostling me slightly. He propped himself up on his arm, looking down at me.
“So why did you wake me up at the butt crack of dawn again?” He asked, smiling.
“It’s not the butt crack of dawn, it’s eight-thirty, and we need to get a move on! I have a whole day of fun planned for us, and you’re wasting it laying around here.” I poked him in his side. “Lazy bones.”
“Oh I got your lazy bones.” And it started all over again, only this time Matt wasn’t using a pillow to attack me, but his fingers. I laughed until I cried, squirming all around the bed. Finally Matt stopped.
“OK! OK! You win!” I said, still laughing although he was no longer touching me. He looked down at me again, and gently brushed a hair away from my forehead. I couldn’t tear myself away from his eyes, they were so blue, I felt as If I was drowning in them. I felt myself become breathless again, this time it had nothing to do with laughing.
I swallowed hard, and cleared my throat, my mind blank, trying to think of something, anything to say.
“How was your visit with Kellie?” I blurted out.
I watched him flinch, and then his face was composed. He fell back on his back and sighed.
“It was OK. We’re fighting a lot. She thinks I’m ignoring her, but honestly I’m just crazy busy. This job means a lot to me, and I want to do my best. She doesn’t get it.”
“Yeah. A lot of people think that you can only be ambitious about your job is if you’re going to make a lot of money from it. It’s hard for some people to see why you’d put a lot of hours in, and not really get a monetary reward from it.” I paused, and then added “not many people work because they feel passionate about their careers. They work for the money. I can’t blame them for that, it’s hard sometimes, but I feel like it’s worth it.”
“I do too.” He said.
I patted his leg. “C’mon, let’s get a move on. I’ll make breakfast, you go shower.”
He got up with a groan, and stiffly walked over to his dresser, pulling out clothes, and heading to the bathroom. I waited until he was gone before I let out a groan of frustration. My life seemed to be full of guys that I couldn’t have. I forced myself to get up, and made a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs, bagels, and orange juice. Matt and I ate quickly, leaving the dogs outside while we ate, and then shut them in the crate and left the house.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Matt asked as we climbed into my car.
“Uh-uh.” I said, smiling. “All I’m gonna tell you is that this is one of my most favorite spots in the world, and it’s a total must-see if you come to Columbus. And after, I’m going to take you to one of the best places to eat in Columbus.”
“C’mon, just tell me.” Matt whined.
“Nope.” I said, shaking my head. “A surprise isn’t a surprise if I tell you where we’re going.”
Matt gave up then, leaning back into the seat to pout. I watched him, from the corner of my eyes, noticing how his blue tee-shirt brought out the blue in his eyes. I wondered if he did that on purpose, and then I wondered if he flirted with me on purpose. I quickly shook off those thoughts though, knowing it was dangerous territory. I flicked on the radio, and re-focused my attention on driving.