Matt and I both laugh at that. “Well, thank you...” Matt says.
“Did you see my mom? Was she looking for me? I wasn’t supposed to eat sweets before my meal.”
Matt shrugs. “I didn’t see her.”
Calvin gets up from his stool and walks slowly backward toward a door on the other side of the kitchen. “You guys didn’t see me.” As soon as Matt and I both nod in agreement, he yells. “Thank you for the cupcake, April. See you next season, Matt.”
I wave at him, and as soon as he’s gone, Matt takes the stool right next to me. “So why you hiding out in here?”
I don’t look at him. I can’t. I feel like I’ve already gawked at him across the room, and Violet, Callie, and the other moms all noticed. I’m looking at my fingers, the serving platters set out on the island—heck, I’m looking everywhere but at Matt. “I’m not hiding out. I was letting you do your thing.”
He cups my chin in his hand and raises it up so I’m looking at him. “I want you with me.”
I shake my head and try to pull away. “No, really, it’s fine. Go do your thing. I can entertain myself.”
“I want you with me. I asked you to come with me because I knew if you did, I’d have the prettiest woman here on my arm. You can’t begrudge me that.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Whatever.”
He stands up, put his hands on my knees, and slides them up until they’re resting on my thighs. My body instantly gravitates to him, and I lean forward. “I’m not joking, April. I want to be with you.”
I’m hesitant but finally get up. A part of me is scared, but the other part of me knows that I’ve promised myself I’d never let a man make me small again. “Fine, I’ll go, but you have to promise me one thing.”
His answer is immediate. He puts an arm around my shoulder and tucks me against him. “Anything.”
I smirk at him, wondering if after what I have to say he’s going to make some excuse of why we should leave or something else. “You can’t get mad when your friends like me better than you. I’m sort of known as being the life of the party. I’m going to go out there and be me. I’m not holding back.”
I’m not trying to scare him off. I’m being honest. Sometimes—well, according to my ex—I can be a lot. I just want to be me, but I still feel like I should warn him. “I wouldn’t want you to. I like you... just the way you are.”
He definitely knows the right things to say. I walk with him into the other room. You can do this, April. I give myself a mental pep talk, and it must work because time flies. We’ve walked around the room, talking to people. He’s introduced me to so many people there’s no way I’ll remember all their names. But probably the best part is being there with Matt. He never once acts as if I’m not good enough. If anything, he hangs on every word I say. He asks me questions, drawing me into the conversations. And the whole time, he has his hands on me. At first, I’m embarrassed. I’ve never been big on public displays of affection, but with Matt, it just feels good, and damn, I want to feel good.
We’re standing at the back of the room, watching the party happen. It’s a typical chaotic three-year-old’s birthday party. There are way more adults than kids, but Little B doesn’t seem to care. He’s loving being the center of attention. Matt is rubbing my back, and his hand slides lower and lower until he’s rubbing his palm over my ass.
I bite my lip to hold in the whimper. He leans in, and I inhale his masculine scent. Damn, he even smells fine. I know he used my fruity bodywash, but all I smell is sexy man. His breath hits my cheek. “You about ready to get out of here?”
I can’t look at him because if I do, he’s going to know exactly what I’m thinking. It’s what I’ve been thinking all day. Him inside me. So instead, I nod, eyes forward.
He presses his lips to my neck, and this time there’s no holding it in. I moan softly and then try to cover it up with a cough.
Matt laughs, enjoying that he knows what he does to me.
We’re about to go when Brody waves him over. He looks at me. “Wanna come?”
I cross my arms over my chest so he doesn’t see the way my nipples perk up at just his dirty talk. That kiss on the neck surely didn’t help matters either.
I know he means more than just going with him to talk to Brody, but I act like I don’t have a clue. “No, you go ahead. I’ll be right here. I need to say bye to Violet anyway.”