I walk past him, hitting him in the stomach. “You fucking wish.”
He closes the door and walks to me, draping his arm over my shoulders, pulling me close to him. Once he presses the button, he wraps both arms around me. “Give me a kiss.”
“You mean, can you kiss me, please?” I reword it for him, glaring.
“Give me a kiss,” he says again, my eyes glaring more. “Either you give me one or I take it.” My hands are on his hips. “Okay,” he says, leaning down and taking the kiss he wanted. The only time we stop is when the elevator dings. “See,” he says, pulling my hand into his.
“Oaf,” I say under my breath.
When we get to the lobby, I see his mother and Cooper. “Hey, you two,” Parker says, going to Matthew and giving him a hug. She surprises me by coming and giving me one, too. “Karrie, you look beautiful.”
I smile at her while she turns to Matthew. “Clean the shine off your lips. Cooper saw some press outside.”
“Fuck,” Matthew says, wiping his mouth. “Let’s go before they call more.”
I drop his hand and he looks at me. “I’m about done with this,” he says, walking out after Cooper, who just watched the whole thing.
“Oh, ignore him, he was never very good when you told him no.” She smiles at me and grabs my arm to walk out. “He also hates secrets.”
I nod my head, taking it all in. I get into the truck that Cooper has rented, sitting in the back with Matthew, who is already sitting there, staring out the window at the press. His glasses block out his eyes. His hand goes to grab mine the minute I buckle in.
We don’t say anything to each other as we drive to the rink. “I can’t wait to get back on the ice here,” Cooper says while we drive into the parking lot. “It’s been forever.” He parks the car, jumping out, not waiting for us.
Parker laughs in the front seat. “He’s been up since six-thirty,” she says, getting out of the car, following him inside.
“Hey, guys,” she greets everyone as she goes to Cooper’s side. “Who are these guys?” she asks Lauren, looking down at what must be her two kids.
“These are my children,” Lauren says, smiling at her. “This is Gabe, who, believe or not, never stops talking.” She hugs him sideways. “And this is my girl, Rachel.”
“She’s a beauty.” Parker smiles at them.
“We need to talk tonight,” Matthew tells me while his mother and Lauren exchange small talk.
Rachel leaves Lauren’s side to go tap Matthew’s leg. He stops talking to me and smiles at her before squatting down in front of her.
“Hey there, princess.” The way his voice goes soft for her makes my heart burst and my stomach flutter. I’m sure my ovaries just exploded.
“Will you be my boyfriend?” Rachel asks him while Lauren gasps out loud and Austin, who has joined the conversation now, groans beside her.
“Um,” Matthew mumbles.
“Rachel, what are you doing?” Lauren questions, going to her.
“Well, Auntie Kay has Noah as her boyfriend, and you have asshat.”
Cooper bursts out laughing. She looks at Austin and smiles.
“Sorry, Asstin. So I want one, too, and I want him.” Rachel points her thumb at Matthew, who is in stitches.
“I would really, really like to be your boyfriend, but Karrie is my girlfriend, and it wouldn’t be fair to her.” He looks up at me.
“Oh, that’s totally okay. I give him to you,” I tell Rachel. “No take backs, either.”
Cooper and Parker are now laughing even harder.
Matthew stands up and glares at me. “I’ll show you no take backs later.” His tone is fierce, but I look at him and then down at my nails. “Can’t. I’m busy.”
“You’re busy, huh?” he mocks me. “Really? With no phone, no car, no purse, no wallet?” He smiles at me. My hands go into a fist.
“Matthew,” Parker whispers. “You didn’t.”
“He must have lost the handcuffs,” Cooper chimes in. “Okay, why don’t we go get ready to skate?”
“How about the girls go out for cupcakes and coffee?” Lauren asks us.
“Is Noah coming?” Cooper asks about their other friend while walking to the rooms in the back.
“I would love to go for coffee,” I tell them. “You guys can be my getaway.”
“You can run, but know that I’ll always catch your ass and drag you back,” Matthew warns with a wink, then turns, and jogs into the back.
“That man is a…” I stutter. “He’s a…he’s a…”
“He’s an asshat,” Rachel helps me out, smiling at her mom and then Parker and me, making everyone laugh.
“Okay, babe.” Austin kisses Lauren. “Come back, and for the love of God, whatever you do, make sure you bring Karrie back with you.”
Lauren looks at me. I’m sure I resemble those cartoon characters that are about to blow steam out of their ears. Before I actually yell out my frustration, Parker comes up to me. “Honey, I’m so, so sorry.” With that, we all head out to go have chocolate cupcakes and coffee.