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Finally, after what must have been an eternity, I tied up my sneakers and headed for the door. I expected my dad to bombard me again and remind me that I should be spending time with him and him alone. He didn't, so I left the house and started the car. One last glance at Jake's house let me know my dad was standing on the porch bothering Jake's mom. She was too kind to tell him to go away. Since I was grateful for the distraction, I didn't try to save her from him. Instead, I took off down the street to Matty's.
He only lived a block away; technically, I could have walked there. It would be obvious if I did. Sammy didn't live far, and I always drove to her house, so I wanted Frankie and my dad to assume I went there.
I parked in front of Matty's house and turned off the engine. Taking a deep breath, I flipped down the visor and gave myself one last look in the mirror. My make-up could have been better, but I didn't do a horrible job. The eyeshadow and lipstick were in the correct place, and really, that was all that mattered.
My door flung open.
"Ah!" I screamed.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Matty chuckled. "You know I wanted to pick you up."
"I almost got caught with Jake dropping me off. I didn't want to take any chances." I grabbed my purse and stepped out of the car. "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up." What was the proper etiquette for dating two guys?
"Bring him up all you want. Honestly, I think it's hot that you went on a date with him and now me." Matty shut my car door and walked me to his house.
Heat rushed to my face. "Oh, cool. Um, so where are your parents and sister?"
"Yale. Evie got an early acceptance, so they went to check it out." Matty led me inside.
Candles littered the floor, and soft music filled the air. A table with two settings and even more candles was set up in the dining room. Even though it was summertime, he had the fireplace going. It didn't pour out heat, so I assumed it was only for aesthetic purposes. On the table was also a bouquet of sunflowers, my favorite.
"Wow, Matty, this is gorgeous." I held my hand to my chest.
"This is nothing. I had planned on using Rex's place since he had plans tonight, but since my parents are out of town, I figured this would work." Matty shoved his hands in his pockets.
Rex was the only one to have his own place. He had a bad relationship with his parents, and he was gone the day he turned eighteen. Jake, Matty, and Frankie had planned on moving in with him one day, but they all had their own reasons not to. Jake didn't want to leave his mom alone, Frankie didn't want to leave me alone, and Matty had overbearing, strict parents that he didn't want to disappoint. Even with that, I knew all three helped Rex pay the bills, so he never had to go crawling back home.
"Wait, did you say Yale?" I asked.
"Yeah. Evie is considering forgoing her senior year and attending." Matty shrugged.
"Forgoing? She is thirteen." I had to practically force my mouth shut. The Chens were all incredibly intelligent. I was pretty sure it was a mix of genes and strict parenting.
"Yeah. My parents are considering moving to Connecticut to watch out for her. Since I'll be moving, they don't need to stay here." Matty pulled out a chair for me to sit down.
"They really are all about education." I drove the conversation away for talk of him moving.
"Well, my parents grew up poor. My dad had to drop out of school when he was fourteen to start working. He didn't want that for us. It just so happened they got lucky with two genius kids." Matty flashed his teeth at me. "I'll be right back."
A few moments later, Matty returned to the dining room carrying a tray filled with food. There was asparagus, wet rice, shrimp, and something that looked like meat inside bread. The smells intoxicated my sense and made my mouth water.
"What is all that?" I asked.
"This is mushroom risotto." He pointed to the wet rice. "This is beef Wellington. I cooked it on the medium well side. I know you don't like your steak bloody. Oh, and then a simple shrimp cocktail and some asparagus. Don't worry. There are no carrots."
"Wow, Matty. This is the fanciest meal I have ever seen. How did you learn to cook like this?" I knew he could cook, but this was next-level food.
"I love cooking. My mom taught me some, and the rest I learned from online videos." He dished out the food onto both of our plates.
"Why didn't you become a chef instead of a professor?" I clenched my hands to prevent myself from diving in before he sat down.
"My parents sacrificed everything for me. They would be heartbroken." Matty took a napkin, unfolded it, and placed it in my lap. Then he sat down and did the same.
"Thank you for this." I took a bite of the risotto. It literally melted in my mouth.
Bite after bite, I devoured everything. I couldn't believe I wasn't at a restaurant. It was easily one of my all-time favorite meals. Matty could have become a five-star chef with his own restaurant.
I stopped to take a drink of my water. Matty was sitting across from me, hands clasped, staring at me. I averted my eyes and continued to drink.
