The Making of Matt (Souls of the Knight 3)

I took the bottle of beer he held out for me and set it on the counter until I’d finished washing the saucepans.

“You know, I have a dishwasher.”

“The tomato sauce will stain the plastics in there. Better to do it by hand.”

“How do you even know that? I never knew you were such a…a…housewife.”

“It’s less about being a housewife and more about being an adult who can take care of myself,” I said with a sly grin.

“Well, while you’re busy being an adult, I’m gonna go find us something to watch on TV.”

With a kitchen that once again looked brand new, we spent the next few hours drinking beer, watching movies and comparing the female leads’ tits, grading them from a slight jiggle to extreme bouncy castles. Of course, to be fair to our own sexualities, it seemed only right I convince Matt to compare men’s trouser bulges too, and after a short protest, we did.

“Now that’s an anaconda right there,” Matt said, weighing up Channing Tatum’s crotch in Magic Mike – a movie I had to practically pin him down to watch. “In fact, I think we’re yet to see an earthworm in this movie.”

“You’re really getting the hang of this,” I joked, smiling so wide my jaw ached.

“I think the copious amounts of alcohol we’ve consumed helps.”

“I’ve had fun tonight,” I admitted. “It’s like old times. We’ve been pissing each other off a lot lately.”

“I’ve been pissing you off you mean. I seem to be able to make you lose your shit just by saying hello. What’s the deal with that, huh?”

I was drunk, but not drunk enough to stop me feeling suddenly uncomfortable. Shifting in my seat, I sighed before taking a swig of courage from my bottle of beer.

“Remember at the wedding, when you said you wanted to change? What happened?”

“I’m exactly the same as when we met. That not good enough for you anymore?” Matt chuckled. As usual refusing to take anything seriously. “What do you care if my life has no purpose?”

“Because I do care!” I snapped, straightening my back. “I care about you! I don’t want you to get old and die full of regrets. The only time you leave the house is to get wasted or laid. Don’t you want more from life?”

“I had more. I’m never gonna recreate what I had in the band.”

“That’s bullshit. You’ve got so much money you could use it as toilet paper. You’ve no ties or commitments. You’re in a perfect position to do anything you want with your life. It just seems like such a waste.”

“Wow. This really bothers you doesn’t it?” he said, his mischievous grin turning serious.

“Like I said, I care, that’s all. I want you to be happy and the one-night stands won’t last forever. Neither will your liver.”

“Okay. Let’s do it.”

“Do what?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Find me something to do with my life.” If I scrutinized his face close enough I could almost see the cogs whirring in his mind, forcing his forehead to crease. “So, Kip owns a recording studio, Daz is writing music, Gavin’s buying a freakin’ ranch and Sawyer’s in porn.”

“Any of those interest you?”

“Seeing how porn is actually made totally ruined it for me so that’s out.” Laughing, I almost choked to death on my mouthful of beer. “Being back in the music industry seems like a step back. I think it’d make me miss being in the band even more. So that leaves buying a ranch, and horses scare the shit outta me.”

“Scare you?”

“They’re like dogs but fucking huge. I don’t trust anything alive that’s so much bigger than me.”

I swear only Matthew Carter could see the similarities between a horse and a dog.

“Okay, what else are you good at? Apart from music, fucking and ridiculous statements.”

He opened his mouth to speak but his words caught in his breath when he realized I’d insulted him. I half smiled, content with how easy it was to poke fun at him.

“Drinking.”

“So open a bar? Or a club.”

“Yeah, right. Wait… I could do that. I don’t know shit about running one but I’d just hire someone to take care of all the complicated stuff, right? I could just stand behind the counter luring in the girls.”

Shaking my head, I replied, “No, Matt. That’s pretty much the same as what you do now. This is about change, remember?”

“Then I guess owning a bar is out.”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy a bar, but the point is you should learn to run it. I could teach you. I’ve worked enough bars to know how they run. Even managed a couple. Make it your goal to turn it into a success, don’t just pay someone else to do it for you.”

“I dunno, man. I might just fuck it up.”

“Then you’ll have lost a couple of rolls of toilet paper.” I winked.