"Hey Zoe..." I stepped downstairs. "Can I sleep over at Theo's tonight?"

"Why are you asking permission tonight and not the past few days?" She looked up from her phone, giving me a mysterious look like she was trying to read me.

"You're not going to fuck him, are you?"

"Zoe, no! Drop this act with Theo, please. You know we've been friends for years with no romance whatsoever."

She kept her serious face for a few seconds, waiting for me to crack, which I tried my hardest not to. "I'll come back first thing tomorrow and we can have a girls weekend while you're off work."

"Okay. I've made dinner though so you can eat here."

"Sure."

I sat down as she served our plates, thinking about Matt and Theodore.

Matt officially likes me. And, I just told Theo I'd stop talking to him. That's so mean - I could really hurt him. What am I doing?

"What's on your mind?"

I sighed, "Imagine you were talking to someone, but your best friend didn't like them, what would you do?"

I don't know why I'm using metaphors, she clearly knows who's who in this scenario.

"Matt and Theo work together, and Matt told Theo he likes me, but Theo doesn't like Matt and he doesn't think it's a good idea. But I don't want to lose Theo over a boy I've been talking to for a week and I don't want to hurt Matt's feelings."

"God, it's tough having everyone in love with you, huh?"

"Shut up and help me."

"You're going to kill me but- Theo works with him, he knows him. He also knows you, better than anyone. If he doesn't think he's right then maybe he's not the one. But you should go with your gut, and I don't think you'll ever lose Theodore, he's been with you through everything."

"I knew you'd say that. See, I told Theo I'd stop talking to him..."

"You told him or you promised him over one of your hot chocolate rituals?"

"You're no help whatsoever." I laughed at her. "I said 'I'll stop talking to him'."

"Don't be mean though, just distance yourself, or friend zone him - then he'll stop talking to you."

"Wise words, thanks."

"What are sisters for?"

"How about you, any hot men at work?"

"Well... there is this new guy, he works in the bar downstairs - I'll show you a pic..."

She pulled out her phone and began typing before zooming into an image.

"Blue jumper."

"Damn." I admired the boy in the group picture. He looks about Zoe's age, maybe older. He had curly light brown hair that was short at the sides, and a bit of stubble, with a toothy smile and bright blue eyes. I attempted to scroll and soon realised how she found this picture.

"Did you stalk his mother's Facebook?!"

"It's his auntie's..."

"Oh my god, Zoe."

"Shut up." She snatched the phone back, "Anyways, he's like 6 foot 3 at least, I passed him the other day on my way to break and he said 'hi', and then last night I bumped into him, literally, and he spilled a beer on me-"

"So you fancy someone because they spilled a drink on you?"

"No wait- he was like 'I'm so sorry, let me help you clean up', and I was all like 'no it's fine' because he obvi' had to get someone a new drink, so he was like 'I'll come find you straight after um...' so I told him my name and he said 'I'm Spencer'."

"Well... did he?"

"No, but he left me a note with Sandra at the front desk."

She pulled a piece of paper out of her phone case.

Sorry for earlier, maybe I can buy you a drink to make up for the one I spilled?

Spence

She flipped it over to show his phone number. "Do I text him or wait a bit?"

"Text him tonight! You're off this weekend..."

"Okay fine, what do I say?"

"Just be like 'hey it's Zoe' or something simple, let him carry the conversation, see if he's willing to put in effort."

"Good, that's a good idea."

*Hey, this is Zoe...*

"Smiley or winky face? Is it too soon for winky face?"

"Too soon, smiley first, winky after you make plans."

"Okay."

*Hey, this is Zoe :)*

"Sent!"

"Ok good, I'm going to grab some clothes for tonight, I'll be back."

*

I was tucking clothes into my gear bag when Zoe shouted. "Cami, is Theo coming over to pick you up?"

"No... why?"

"Someone's at the door."

I dropped my bag and hurried down the stairs, fixing my hood to hide my bruises before opening the door as Zoe sat eagerly on the kitchen counter.

I unlocked the door, opening it to see Matthew. "Uh, hi."

He stood before me in his work pants and black hoodie, taking down his hood before he spoke to me.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I stepped outside, closing the door so he can't see Zoe but leaving a gap open so her nosey-ass can hear us.

"I um, I was passing on my way home from work and wanted to talk to you."

"Sure- what's up?"

"Are you free tonight?"

"Im sorry... I promised Zoe we'd have a girls' night tonight..."

"Oh ok, no problem, I'll let you get back to that..."

He seemed nervous and deep down I think I know why he really came, and although my excuse was enough to end the conversation he did come all the way here and I don't want to be rude...

"She can wait a minute, didn't you want to talk first?"

We sat on the patio steps. "I would invite you in but she's kinda nosey and the place is a mess." I giggled.

"Don't worry, I won't be long." He stuffed his hand in his pockets and ran the other through his hair.

I waited for him to speak first, planning ways to reply before he even told me anything. We ended up staring at each other, waiting for someone to open their mouth.

I giggled awkwardly, not knowing what to do. His eyes flicked around, from each of my eyes to my lips, down to our hands and back up again. "Matt w-"

He took advantage of my parted lips and grabbed my cheek, pulling my face towards his. His lips locked with mine, sucking hard but smooth. His hand left his pocket and moved to my waist as I lent further forward to meet him.

My body froze but my lips didn't stop. My skin coated in goosebumps under his touch and I eased into it, kissing him back stronger.

The voices in my head were arguing with each other, knowing I should stop but not wanting to. It wasn't until Theo's voice popped in that I pulled away.

My face stayed rested in his hands and our faces centimetres apart as we exhaled on each other. "Matt..."

"I've wanted to do that for way too long." He smiled.

"I've got a lot on my mind at the moment, I'm not sure I'm ready for anything - and I'm still getting to know you..."

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything right now, I just wanted to let you know."

"Thank you." I smiled.

"I'll let you get back to girls' night." His hands left my body. "Sorry for interrupting."

"Don't be." We stood up, "Goodnight Matthew."

"Goodnight." I gave him a hug, hoping he can feel the platonic meaning behind it. "See you later."

I waved as he got into his car, slipping back into the house and leaning my back on the door as I shut it behind me.

"Someone's in trouble..." Zoe sang.

"What the fuck just happened?!"