Getting Over Matt

25 - "Are you and Nathan in a relationship?"

Chapter 25 - "Are you and Nathan in a relationship?"

"I wouldn't read too much into what Lucy said," Jess told me over lunch when I'd filled her in on yesterday's events. "I'd put money on the fact she's making it up to get to you." 

"Kat didn't exactly jump to my defence," I said. "She keeps going on about how sorry she is...but then Lucy says stuff like that and Kat just keeps her mouth shut." 

"In fairness, you've made it pretty clear that you're not gonna forgive her," Jess reminded me. "Lucy and Kara are her only friends now. She won't want to screw that up for herself, otherwise she'll have nobody." 

I shrugged in agreement; Jess had a point. Katrina knew that her friendship with me was over, and it was sensible of her not to risk burning all of her other bridges too.  

"So how are things with you and Alex?" I asked her. 

I'd spent a lot of time recently burdening Jess with my problems. Hopefully she realised I was there for her, too.

"They're good," she replied casually.  

"Have you talked about university yet?" 

"Not exactly, but I know he wants to do long-distance." 

"How do you know that?" I asked, sawing a chip in half before placing it into my mouth.  

"Because, well..." she faded away, looking awkward. "Well, we were talking about you and Matt...you know, when you told me he didn't want to do long-distance?" 

"Yeah..." I said slowly. "Jess, I don't mind you talking to Alex about me. You don't have to feel guilty." 

She shot me an apologetic smile regardless. Jess was a naturally nice person; she didn't like upsetting people and often went out of her way to avoid it. I'd fully expected her to talk to Alex about me—after all, I talked about her to Nathan—but she still felt guilty, as though she was worrying about betraying my trust.  

"Well, anyway," she continued. "Alex was saying what an idiot Matt was. He said there's no harm in trying long-distance. People in serious relationships shouldn't just give up." 

"Okay..." I said slowly, realising where this was going.  

"And then he said he could never break up with me without at least trying long-distance. He'd forever regret it." 

"That's because he's madly in love with you," I stated.  

"Oh, please," she scoffed. She was shaking her head but there was something reserved about it, as though she didn't find my statement completely ridiculous.

"It's so obvious," I told her. "And it's obvious you love him, too. Have you said it to each other yet?" I took her silence as a yes. "Jess! You so have! Why didn't you tell me?" 

"Because I knew you'd react like this," she admitted.  

"So, who said it first?" 

"He did," she replied, staring into her food to avoid looking at me.  

This was another classic example of Jess feeling awkward when it came to discussing how good her relationship was. She always liked to play it down, and I suspected it was due to her own insecurities and wanting to protect herself in case the relationship failed.  

"And then I said it back," she continued. "I'm surprised Nathan hasn't told you he loves you yet." 

"We've only been going out a few days," I reminded her with a short laugh. "And we're not in middle school anymore, so there's no obligation to confess our love after only being together for two days."