Beast of Burden
Matt still hadnât asked me out on an official date yet, but that was okay. I was really only kidding when I brought it upâwe didnât need a date to make things real between us. We wanted to be together, so we were together. It was hard finding the time to be togetherâaloneâoutside of work with our busy schedules, but we made it work. I just didnât want him to feel like I was suffocating him too much.
Sprawled out on top of him on his couch, I giggled as I ran my hands through his curls to mess them up. It really annoyed him, but not really, so I was definitely having some fun. âStop fussing,â I sighed playfully as I stretched his hair between my fingers, but after softened the blow by kissing his cheek a few times.
Nothing about the fact that she hadnât ended things over text before suprised because I knew what kind of person she was, but I really wasnât expecting her to come out and say she liked him. âWow, okay.â I nodded and bit down a humorless chuckle. âYeah, I see that now,â I thought aloud and sighed deeply.
Would I have felt better if she didnât have someone else pretty recently? Yeah, but I hadnât given her much of choice at the time so I couldnât be mad about that. I had an issue with it being one of the reasons why she hadnât blown him off yet, though. âMaybe you should take him up on the offer then,â I proposed casually.
I... I didnât think itâd be a surprise that I had liked Ezra. I mean, we had a lot of fun together when we talked and danced at that nightclub in Hawaii, Matt knew that. Heâd looked over at us every so often so I knew he could see me laughing and smiling a lot around Ezra. And obviously I liked him enough to go out on a date with him when we came back... Not sure why Matt sounded so offended, especially since I made it clear that it was in the past.
What was he implying? My eyes widened because there was no way I was going to go out on a date with him. If Matt and I werenât together, then Iâd consider it, but Iâd never do that to Matt. It wasnât fair to Ezra, either. His casual tone of voice is what really threw me off, and I was sure it was clear by the hurt expression on my features. âMatt, please. Listen to yourself.â
I figured she had enough fun with him to go out with him a second time, but I didnât realize she liked him enough to actually tell me she liked him with a straight face. It just didnât feel like it was in the past when Ezra didnât know about us and still thought it was a good idea to ask her out on dates.
Feeling my frustration go down a few notches at the hurt look on her face, I took a moment to collect myself and think twice about whatever came out of my mouth next. âI donât know, Jayma. If you want to end things in person that badly, why donât you just get it over with?â I guess that was the point I was really trying to make. Was she just gonna keep going back and forth with him over text in the meantime?
Honestly, if Matt hadnât ever told me about his feelings for me... Iâd probably be dating Ezra right now, not him. Not that I would rather have that, because that wasnât true at all. Iâd choose Matt a million times over without a second thought, that was never a question. Nobody would ever make me as happy as Matt, and Iâd never love anyone the way I loved him, but I knew Iâd liked Ezra enough to have a good thing going with him.
But that didnât matter now because Matt was the one for me, and we were finally able to be happy together as a real couple. From what heâd said earlier, I thought he meant that I should go out on a date with Ezra, which was offensive and hurtful. So when he clarified, or maybe changed his answer and made it sound better, who knows, I wasnât as hurt. Yeah, that wasnât a bad idea... Itâd suck seeing his face as I broke the news to him, but Iâd rather do that than ghost him. Iâd been ghosted before and it was really shitty. âYeah, maybe.â
It didnât even matter now because things worked out and we were happy, but I knew how different the circumstances would be right now if I hadnât spoken up when I didâvery recently at thatâso this was a little too close for comfort, despite the fact that I knew we both wanted the same things. Iâd just rather him be out of the picture.
If had to meet up with him, Iâd live. She could handle it whatever way she wanted and I had to respect that. âIâm sorry. I shouldnât have said it like that...â I apologized sincerely when I saw how hurt she was and pressed my lips to her temple for a few moments. I needed to drug tested if I ever seriously suggested she even think about going out with someone else.
I avoided eye contact with him after his proposal a minute ago, although now I had moved off of him and was sitting at the edge of the couch. What he said really hurt, even though I was trying not to show it. I just wish heâd trust me instead of getting all caveman-y and jealous on me. Iâd never do anything to purposefully upset him, so it kind of felt like he thought little of me in that regard and I didnât like it.
Pursing my lips together when he kissed my forehead, I nodded but stayed quiet. He was right, he shouldnât have said it like that, but it was fine. After exhaling a sigh, I stood up and smoothed my clothes over once I caught sight of what time it was. It was almost time to get back to work, and I was kind of glad to focus my mind on something else.
My whole being kind of deflated when she moved away, but I actually couldnât blame her. I canât believe I got worked up like that. Then again, Iâd be lying if I said I didnât get jealous easily. Now I just felt bad about it. Giving her some space after she nodded, I sat up next to her and rested my arms on my thighs.
Quietly, I glanced up at her as she stood, and even though I knew she had to get back to work, it still bummed me out, but I understood why she wasnât too pleased with me. Sighing quietly, I bit down on my lip and broke the silence. âIâll see you later,â I said a little dismally. I hoped we see each other, anyway.














