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Piper
Thanks to Matthewstalling me this morning I was fifteen minutes late getting to the high school to help Vanessa set up. Lucky for me everyone has come to expect me to be tardy, so not a single one of the ladies batted an eyelash about it. In Vanessa’s case, she was so preoccupied with all the last minute details for the party that I don’t think she would have noticed an elephant run through the gym unless it got in the way!
Since I work at George’s and he was kind enough to provide all the food and booze, Vanessa put me in charge of setting up the buffet and drink tables. While George himself was running the bar. I’m absolutely thankful that I don’t have to try to do this around that bitch Betty, who has been increasingly nasty to me since I refused to give her Matthew’s number. In this aspect alone I’m dreading this evening. I swear if she tries anything I’m going to lose my mind and punch her in the fucking face. Maybe if there was some definition to my relationship, if you could call it that, with him I wouldn’t be so easily riled up about another woman chasing after him. Though, there was what he said this morning…
Remembering how he said I belonged to him, that all of me was his, makes me tingle from the inside out with a contagious warmth. There’s no doubt in my mind that officially being Matthew Pierce’s woman is what I want. When I’m with him I come alive, I feel whole and full, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually, too. Not knowing for sure whether or not he feels the same way is hard for me to deal with, but I’m so afraid of the answer I haven’t been able to even ask the question.
This back and forth follows me through the day, moving from one task to another to help Vanessa in whatever way she sees fit. By the time we get everything done and stand together in the center of the gym marveling at the decorations, the tables overflowing with food and the makeshift platform where the band is setting up, I’m dead tired. If I thought I could get away from it, I’d sneak back home and sleep. At least until Matthew got home, then I’m sure he’d wake me for another fuck, which I sure as hell wouldn’t say no to.
But, a voice inside me whispers cruelly, what if goes home with someone else?
Oh no. No, no. I push that thought as far away from me as I possibly can. There’s no way he could be interested in anyone else, could he? I can’t be the only one of us feeling this way. Fate has tortured me enough, has tortured him enough. We deserve to be happy and being with Matthew makes me happy! That’s it, that’s the end of it, I firmly tell myself. I’m not going to worry anymore tonight. Tomorrow I’ll bite the bullet, summon my courage and initiate the long overdue conversation of “where we’re at” with Matthew. Until then I’m going to have fun!
Lucky for me I manage to loosen up and stop worrying after a single cup of Vanessa’s famous, spiked fruit punch. The dash of alcohol takes the edge off my nerves just in time for the party to begin. The local band, a group of seniors, open things up with the Metallica song “Broken, Beat and Scarred” which is Matthew’s favorite.
I’m not the least bit surprised at the massive turn out of people. Vanessa might have been the master mind behind the whole thing and the one coordinating and planning, but just about all the staple businesses in Holden donated services in Matthew’s honor. Cake from the local bakery, food and alcohol from George’s, even being given use of the gym was part of the snowball effect. Vanessa was going to pay for everything herself, but when she approached the vendors they offered to help at no cost as their way of thanking Matthew for his bravery and perseverance. Once word started to get around, as it does in a small town, just about everyone ended up pitching in.
As I’m watching the party grow and unfold, fully appreciating the joy of living in a close knit town, Matthew sneaks up beside me. “You look gorgeous tonight,” he grins. “Why hasn’t anyone asked you to dance?”
I snort and raise my eyebrow at him. “I think you’re confusing this with prom.”
He chuckles. “I wish prom was this awesome. The band was shit, the punch wasn’t spiked and you weren’t going to let me bone you in the locker room like you will in ten minutes.”
“Oh please,” I elbow him playfully. “I’m sure you found someone else to bone. If not in the locker room then any one of a thousand other places in this school.”
He leans closer for a brief second to whisper, “maybe, but nobody as good as you.”
I flush a light pink, my knees feeling a little weak. Matthew knows he got to me, that much is clear when he flashes me an impish grin over his shoulder as he struts away. That smooth shit, pausing near me just long enough to get me worked up and then flitting off. If it wouldn’t cause one hell of a scene I would shout something sexual after him, but the last thing I need is to be booed out of town to the chanting jeer of, “whore! Whore! Whore!” when everyone finds out I’ve been fucking my stepbrother.
Muttering under my breath I raise my cup to my lips only to find that it’s empty. Before I can go to get a refill, Vanessa’s amplified voice draws my focus to the makeshift stage. She’s managed to drag a very reluctant Matthew up beside her and gotten the band to pause in between songs. Once she has the attention of everyone in the gym she launches in a very touching, heartfelt speech about how much she loves this town, how lucky and blessed she is to have her son back and how her thoughts are with the other soldiers still serving overseas. It really is beautiful, but after hearing it five times in the bathroom I’m pretty much immune to the sentiment at this point. When she’s finally done she turns the floor over to Matthew.
I can tell right away he’s not doing well. It’s a subtle tension in his shoulders and neck, a tension he carries when he’s on edge. I smile in spite of myself, recalling the first time I noticed this detail was earlier in the week when he was crazy hot for me after I worked a double shift. Now though I know it’s a bad sign and I start to weave my way toward the front of the crowd, wanting him to know I’m here for him.
