did somebody say mattjosh (snippet)
matt isn’t really sure why he’s at this party. well, technically, he does know–ashley was too anxious to go by herself, and he loves her too much to say no to her big doe eyes, but there isn’t really a reason for him to be here beyond that. most of the people here are the grade above him, at least, and ash is only here for chris.
matt’s here for ash, ash is here for chris, chris is here because he’s josh’s best friend, and josh–josh is really drunk.
matt slumps on the couch, watching josh washington gesticulate wildly. he’s in his element, really, entertaining a crowd. almost everyone is too drunk or high to care that his jokes are getting progressively louder and less clever.
ashley is sitting on the other couch, a respectable distance from chris, and giggling at something he said. matt grins. he can tell that chris puts her at ease.
he looks away from them, and–
–josh is looking right at him. his eyes are, like, super blue. he’s wearing a flannel with light blues in it, too, and–
–matt tears his eyes away, feeling a little warm. mike, emily, and sam are in the kitchen with hannah. mike’s poking through the fridge while emily looks for more drinks and the other girls sit on the counter.
beth and jess pass by from behind him, heading that way too, and matt is in the middle of his mental headcount when he feels someone sit next to him.
matt turns, blinking. he wishes his cup wasn’t empty so he could hide in it. “hey, uh, josh, great party.”
josh grins. “thanks, man. glad you and ashley came.”
he can feel how warm josh is just from sitting next to him. he clears his throat, wiping his hands on his jeans. he can’t explain why he’s so flustered. “i—i think mike is raiding your fridge, if you’re. concerned, about that?”
“nah, he’s fine.” josh looks amused. he plucks the empty cup out of matt’s hand and starts fiddling with it. “so, a little birdie told me you made varsity.”
that surprises a laugh out of matt. “yeah, i did. who’s the birdie?” he didn’t really think josh still kept up with the football team.
“shhh,” josh grins, putting a finger to his lips. “it’s a secret. okay, fine, it was totally beth. are you pumped?”
matt laughs again, and josh’s grin broadens. “yep. totally pumped.”
“damn straight,” josh says in a heavy southern accent. he drops it almost immediately, but his words are still a little slurred. “seriously, man, varsity’s a big deal. you prob’ly worked your ass off. you should be proud.”
matt’s still feeling warm, and he’s running out of excuses for it. he glances at ashley, who is deep in conversation with chris, and drums his fingers on his knee. “hell yeah i did. it’s gonna be a great season.”
josh throws matt’s cup in the air and fumbles the catch, letting it drop to his lap. “guess i gotta make it out to a game, then. show some school spirit. me n’chris can paint our chests, or something.”
matt snorts. “i’d pay to see that.”
josh chuckles, stifling a burp behind his fist, then holding it out for matt to shake. “pleasure doing business with you.”
matt wrinkles his nose, but something about the way josh is looking at him makes him shake his hand anyway. he finds himself smiling. “guess i’ll have to win for you, then.”
josh grins, glancing at the group in the kitchen. he drops the cup in matt’s lap and pats his shoulder. “that’s my guy.”
he stands up and stretches, and matt is steeling himself to watch josh walk away and get his heart to calm down, when–
“–c’mon, mr. varsity, let’s get you a refill.”
“would you rather stay here n’listen to our dates fumble around each other?”
matt looks at ashley again, almost longingly, but she waves him off with sparkling eyes.
great. she had ammunition, now.
the last thing he’d expected from this party.
“i guess not,” matt said, and josh’s grin was so wide matt was reminded of just how drunk he was.
josh stumbled on the way to the kitchen, and matt’s hands flew to his elbow to steady him.
“woah. nice one,” josh muttered, a little dazed.
matt folded his arms. “you’re drunk.”
there was that grin again. “worried about me? don’t be, this is far from my first rodeo.”
matt did some math in his head, then frowned.
