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Tonight was the first time she and Matt had visited the Promise House since returning from Hawaii a week earlier. It was also the first time they’d been here together. Liza hadn’t meant to stay away so long, but she found it difficult to split her free time. Every second she and Matt weren’t at work, they were at her place. Or more specifically, in her bed.
Control wasn’t something either of them seemed to possess anymore. Liza, queen of lackluster dating, had never approached a relationship with an all-in attitude before. But there was no denying she was one gazillion percent dedicated to taking this thing between her and Matt all the way to the finish line.
And while he hadn’t said anything beyond his desire to date her and only her, she couldn’t help but feel like Matt was as fully committed as she was. Her evidence was the fact he had toiletries in her bathroom, his own side of the bed, his favorite beer in her fridge, and not one, not two, but three suits hanging in her closet. For God’s sake, he walked around her place barefoot these days, which she realized shouldn’t be such a turn-on, but it totally was.
“Celebrate now,” Matt taunted, “but just remember, I get first pick next time for teams.” He waved his thumb over his shoulder at his team behind him. “And we’re taking Liza.”
Matt’s current team—who were, for the most part, his permanent team, all cheered, while Devonte groaned.
Liza had come to know Devonte well enough to understand that the hustler was already trying to work an angle, to come up with a way to make sure she remained on his team. “I was thinking since our teams don’t change that much, we should just stick with who we got. Maybe come up with team names, make T-shirts and shit like that.”
Matt shook his head. “Nope. Variety is the spice of life.”
Devonte frowned, probably trying to figure out what the hell Matt was talking about. “Come on, man. You can’t steal my best player.”
This was her first time participating in Devonte and Matt’s pickup game. Typically, her time spent shooting hoops here was during her occasional one-on-one games with Devonte after she finished tutoring Ashley.
Liza grinned. “Yeah, Matt. You can’t steal his best player.”
While the games were all in good fun, she could see losing tweaked her competitive boyfriend—she was calling Matt her boyfriend in her head—and right before her very eyes, she watched as the cutthroat businessman emerged. “I can and I will steal you. We’re not changing the rules just because you joined the game, Moretti.”
She laughed, then rolled her eyes. “Russo is a sore loser, Devonte. Looks like we’re going to have to soothe his wounded pride next time.”
Devonte didn’t seem as willing to concede, but when Arnold placed a hand on the young boy’s shoulder, reminding him about some conversation the two of them apparently had about good sportsmanship, he begrudgingly backed down.
Arnold and Johnnie had returned home from Hawaii a couple of days ago. They’d remained on the islands for a few days following their wedding—a short honeymoon—then returned to Philadelphia as they’d both needed to get back to work. Liza had been somewhat surprised when Arnold told her he was taking a full two-week vacation for the wedding ceremony and honeymoon because the man practically lived at Promise House, working way more hours than he should.
She and Matt had gone out to dinner with the newlyweds last night because, as Johnnie said, the cupboards were bare and neither of them had the energy to shop and cook after their long flight home. After a lovely meal at the restaurant, she and Matt had returned to her apartment where Matt had bent her over the side of her bed and fucked her to within an inch of her life. She’d loved every second of it. Then they’d crawled under the covers, talking for nearly an hour. That was when she had learned about his amateur boxing and when she shared that she had played forward on the girls’ basketball team in high school. Matt had immediately suggested she join him at Promise House for his rematch with Devonte.
She suspected he was regretting that invite now.
“You ready to head out?” Matt asked, slipping his sweaty arm over her shoulder playfully. She tried to escape, proclaiming he stunk, but he just tightened his grip, to the amusement of the kids in the gym.
“I guess we better before Arnold has to pay someone to come in here and fumigate,” she teased, holding her nose.
Matt ruffled her hair and the two of them said their goodbyes, promising to return early next week for another game.
Once they were on the sidewalk, Matt took her hand and led her to his car. He’d picked her up at her place after work so that they could both change out of their professional attire and into their shorts and T-shirts. Neither of them bothered putting their sweatshirts on for the quick walk from the building to the car, letting the brisk winter air cool them off.
“That was fun,” Liza said, once they were on the road.
“I think Devonte has a crush on you.”
Liza shook her head, giggling. “That’s funny because I think he has one on you.”
Matt rolled his eyes. “Devonte likes my money. He’s asked me on more than one occasion how he can score a lot of guap so he can be drippin’ like me. I swear talking to Devonte is like talking to Gage and his friends, except instead of nerd-speak, it’s Gen-Z slang. It sounds like English, but it might as well be spoken in pig Latin for all I understand.”
“I feel your pain with Devonte. I’ve gotten really good at using context clues to piece together the shit he says. It’s sort of depressing because I keep wondering when in the hell I got old,” she admitted.
Matt laughed, something she’d noticed he was doing more and more often. “I’ve got nearly a decade on you. Trust me, you’re not old.”
“Seven years is not a decade,” she pointed out, though it wasn’t even that much. Matt had just turned thirty-seven in late November, while she was only a month away from thirty-one.
She looked around and realized Matt had missed his turn. “Wait. My apartment is that way.” She pointed behind her.
“I’m aware. We’re going to spend tonight at my place.”
Liza’s brows rose. “What? You’re letting me into the inner sanctum?” While she was attempting to make light of it, she knew without Matt saying so that him inviting her back to his penthouse was a big deal.
