“Oh.” Cheyenne chuckled. “Well, Ember was right. And now you know what I do.”
“I just…” He let out a sheepish laugh and shrugged again. “I had this image in my head of you getting a Masters in Women’s Studies or something.”
Cheyenne and Ember let out sharp snorts of surprise.
Their neighbor glanced slowly between them, his smile widening. “And now I have to start all over and replace it with computers and software and...honestly, I don’t know what else is included in all that.”
The halfling’s nose wrinkled when she tried to smile at him. “I’m not sure how I feel about an image of me being in your head.”
“You know what I mean.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Cheyenne handling...all the stuff that goes with your various expertise.”
“We don’t have to get into it right now. Or ever, really. It goes right over most people’s heads.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I’m an exception.” Matthew chuckled. “I mean, I do some stuff with cybersecurity—”
“You what?” Cheyenne lifted her chin and stared at him sidelong. Don’t laugh and point. Might be crossing a line.
“Not like that. I’m on the sales side of things. Networking, handling accounts. That kinda thing.”
Ember let out an exasperated snort and shot her friend a pointed look. “Or he could just go with the actual title and say he owns two cybersecurity firms.”
“Hey, nothing I said was technically wrong.” Matthew grinned down at the fae and shook his head.
The halfling set her hands behind her on the back of the couch. “Just dabbling, huh?”
“I don’t go around telling people unless I’m handing them my business card.”
“I don’t need one of those.” Cheyenne snorted. “If I’m trying to find you, all I gotta do is walk in my front door.”
“Woah!” Ember looked down.
The halfling glanced at her friend and their overly friendly neighbor, then rolled her eyes. “Sorry. I think I’m in ‘stun undergrad students into silence with barbed sarcasm’ mode.”
Which is kinda my go-to mode anyway.
The fae looked at Cheyenne with a resigned expression that said the same thing.
“I can only imagine. And I know I wouldn’t be able to stand up in front of a room of students and try to get anything through their heads, so no offense taken.” Matthew smiled at the halfling and looked genuinely okay about the whole thing.
“All right.” Cheyenne nodded and pulled her cell phone from her back pocket. “Hey, what time was your PT?”
“Oh. Two o’clock.”
“It’s a little after one. Should we get outta here?”
Ember nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m ready to rock the hell out of PT.”
“Anything I can do to help?” Matthew was only asking Ember. He seemed to have forgotten about the bitingly sarcastic Goth chick standing across from him.
“I don’t think so.”
“We got it, Matthew. Thanks for the offer.”
“I’m more than happy to tag along. Help with the chair. Go grab food or whatever while you guys are there. We were just talking about lunch.”
“That’s really awesome of you.” Cheyenne pushed herself away from the back of the couch. Then she clapped her hand on their neighbor’s upper back—hitting his shoulder would’ve been ridiculous with at least a foot between them in height—and guided him toward the front door. “Right now, this is a housemates kinda deal, you know? And we gotta get ready, so thanks for coming over. We’ll see ya later, huh?”
“Yeah. If you need anything, really, guys, I’m right across the hall.”
“Oh, we know. Much appreciated, neighbor.” Cheyenne opened the door and finally removed her hand from his back. “Have an awesome Monday.”
Matthew chuckled and stepped into the hall. “Yeah, you too. Oh, hey. How’d you like the coffee?”
The halfling blinked. “It’s to die for.”
“Ha. Good one. I thought you’d like it.”
“Good taste in coffee, man.” She started to close the door, but Matthew spun and pushed it open again. “Seriously?”
“Sorry.” He stuck his head through the partially open door and grinned at the fae girl watching the whole thing. “Bye, Ember.”
“Yeah, see ya.”
“Yeah. Okay.” Matthew pulled back, nodded quickly at Cheyenne, then stepped all of five feet across the hall and into his apartment.
Cheyenne shut the door all the way and twisted the deadbolt with a jerk. “Are you kidding me with that guy?”
Ember threw her head back and laughed. “He’s a lot.”
“So a lot.” The halfling scrunched her face and closed her eyes. “I can’t believe you spent all day with him yesterday and still let him come back this morning.”
“Come on, Cheyenne. Do you know how hard it is to tell someone, ‘Hey, sorry, I know we live right across the hallway from each other, but I need you to not come over for a full twenty-four hours?’”
“Didn’t sound like that was very hard.”
Ember rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, I don’t have a problem with you.”
“You have a problem with Matthew? ‘Cause I can take care of that.”
The fae stared at her friend. “Please don’t.”
They burst out laughing. “Then what? You’re just gonna let him drive you crazy? And that’s exactly what’ll happen, by the way. He’s the kind of guy who won’t back down until someone gives him a flat-out no. Even then, it probably takes three or four times to get through his head.”
Ember folded her arms and blinked. “You haven’t spent more than ten minutes in the same room with him.”
“I don’t have to, Em. He’s a carbon copy of half the people who used to show up at my mom’s house asking her for advice, endorsements, or a good word put in with whoever. They’re still knocking down her door, and I spent most of my life watching them do it. If Matthew Thomas dabbles in politics, I bet you he at least knows someone who’s been out to see my mom.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Yeah. But hey, if you need someone to be upfront with the guy, let me know. I also spent most of my life watching Bianca Summerlin gracefully put her foot down with no room for
