I turned to leave and Sophia called my name again. Now she was smiling at me.
“Dress nicely on Friday, OK?” she winked, reminding me of Julia.
I nodded and gave her a wave good-bye.
Dress nicely?
I needed help with that, and not the kind my mother would give. And Brian knew as little about clothes as I did. That really only left one person. Oh, God.
I had to enlist Matt’s help.
Chapter 18
When it came to women, I didn’t know anyone with more experience than my brother. Getting him involved would probably result in relentless teasing and probing questions, but I needed his assistance now and I was willing to endure his ridicule if it meant getting a chance to win Julia back. Desperate times did indeed call for desperate measures.
The next afternoon I sent him a text and asked if I could come by the bar later and he answered almost immediately that he was already there having a drink. I rolled my eyes and glanced at my watch. It wasn’t even close to happy hour, but since I was miserable, I decided that it didn’t matter.
“Holy shit, bro. What happened to you?” Matt asked when I walked into the bar half an hour later.
“Is it that obvious?” I asked wearily as I flopped down across from him.
“Uh, yeah. You look like hell.”
I knew he was right. My clothes were wrinkled and I hadn’t shaved since Saturday morning. I didn’t think I had ever looked this unkempt in my life. Scrubbing my face with my hands, I discovered that I wasn’t even wearing my glasses. I hadn’t even noticed since I hadn’t actually done any work to speak of that day.
“Do you…want a drink?” he asked.
I nodded and he went to the bar, throwing another worried glance at me. I tried to decide how to ask him for his help. I couldn’t just come out and tell him about the depth of my feelings for Julia. It was much better if he believed that it was just a casual sex thing that I had managed to ruin, since that was within his area of expertise. Matt came back and handed me a glass full of some amber-colored liquid. I took a sip and coughed.
“That’s awful,” I choked out.
Matt chuckled a little across from me. “It’s bourbon. I thought you could use something a little stronger than beer.”
I pushed the glass away and sighed.
“So…are you going to tell me what’s going on?” he asked.
I raised my head to look at him.
My life would be so much easier if I was like Matt. Carefree and happy all the time.
“I’m in love,” I blurted out.
Oh no. There goes the plan.
Matt’s eyes widened before he broke into a huge grin. “Well, congratulations, man!” he boomed.
He’s happy about this?
“I guess you and the teacher really hit it off, then?”
Oh. Of course he would think that.
“No, it’s, um…it’s not Lily,” I said quietly, averting my eyes.
“Not Lily?” I heard him ask. There was a long pause as I waited for him to put the pieces together. “No fucking way!” he exclaimed.
My secret was out.
I looked up and he leaned forward. “Your student?” he whispered conspiratorially. “The hot, annoying one?”
I nodded and took another sip of the awful drink.
“You’re in love with…what’s her name? Ms. Wilde?”
“Julia,” I whispered.
“Julia,” he mused. “Well, what’s the problem?”
I gave him an incredulous look.
“Well, apart from her being your student, of course,” he added with a grin.
I shook my head and looked down again. I was nowhere near done with the revelations.
“Look, Stephen,” I heard him say. “This doesn’t have to be a bad thing. She’s only your student for a few more weeks and then you can just ask her out, right?”
“No, she won’t go out with me,” I said, forcing myself to meet his gaze.
“Why not? I’d say she’s into you based on everything you’ve told me and what I’ve seen myself.”
“Matt, I…I…”
Just tell him already!
“I…I slept with her,” I finally whispered.
“No way! Really? When?”
“Um, the past few weeks,” I admitted.
“I knew it!” he exclaimed. “I fucking knew it!”
“You did?”
“Well, no, I didn’t know, but I knew something was going on with you. You’ve been acting different lately.”
I couldn’t deny that. Being with Julia had changed me.
“Bro!” he exclaimed with unmasked pride. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“Yeah, neither did I,” I mumbled.
Matt’s eyes were burning with curiosity. “When did this happen?” he asked. “How did this happen?”