Roomie (Matt Sturniolo)

38

"I can't believe you have been married for a month"

"Neither can I" you told Olivia, as you poured tea for you both, but you wanted to say, "I can't believe you and Jackson are still married" it had only been thirty minutes, but you wanted this to be over. None of you wanted to set up a play date for the dogs, but if you didn't, the dogs would run away again.

"Are you doing anything special tonight?" She asked, looking at her phone. Not that you were complaining. You didn't want to have this conversation. Watching your dog running around was more entertaining.

"Just a dinner. It's our tradition" you smiled and sipped your tea.

"How's it going with the CEO life?" She asked, glancing up from her phone. "When are you two going to move into a big house and have babies?"

"Not..anytime soon" you laughed nervously, trying not to think of not being able to get pregnant. Thank you, Olivia, for rubbing salt into the wound.

"I haven't seen him in awhile, I guess he's busy, huh?"

"Yeah, he is. It's basically starting over again when they moved to company to Boston"

Olivia bit her lip and nodded to show that she was impressed. "You guys still hook up, right?"

You froze. You hadn't thought much about it until Olivia brought it up and you realised you hadn't hooked up for a while. Matt always stayed at work late, and when he came home, you were asleep.

"Not as often, but we do" you said, hoping your answer was good enough. But Olivia didn't give you peace.

"So you're that couple"

"That couple?"

Olivia nodded and smirked. "Yeah, the couple who was passionate about each other, but grew apart after the honeymoon"

"We aren't that couple!"

"Trust me, you are. Normally it takes years for the fire to burn out, but you've been together since college, so it would die faster" Olivia's laugh was driving you crazy. "When you stop hooking up, it's over. One day you'll go into his office and see him with his assistant"

"Hey!" You pointed your finger at her and she raised both hands in defence. "What did I say about saying stuff like that about Matt?"

"Sorry, chill!" Olivia scoffed.

You couldn't stop thinking about what Olivia said. Except for the part about Matt cheating, the rest was true. What if you were that couple? What if you were growing apart? You didn't eat that.

"Are you guys going to try for a baby?"

You glared and Olivia. "No"

"Good. My second cousin and her husband were trying for a year, and she discovered she can't get pregnant. He wanted a kid of his own so bad so he lost interest in the sex"

"Matt's not like that" you shook your head.

"Men are like that. Even the nice ones" she told you. "Take advantage of this anniversary night, if you don't want to be that couple"

You never though you'd take advice from Olivia of all people. But now you were considering it.

~

Matt was exhausted.

He'd been living on coffee and his random headaches were killing him. He assumed he needed a break and told himself the weekend was coming. He knew weekends meant nothing when he worked from home anyway

The two things that kept him going were the love for the company and you. He had a picture of you on his desk. People may say he was obsessed with you, but so what? You were the reason he'd gotten this far.

"Come in" he said, putting the picture down as his assistant entered the office

"Mr Cole replied to my email. He said he'd get you an appointment tomorrow with PR"

Matt stood up, looking thrilled. "They said they're schedule was full?"

She smiled. "Jason knows everyone"

Matt sighed and nodded. "We're doing better" he mumbled, mostly to himself but loud enough for her to hear.

"Yes, we are" She said, turning to leave. But he stopped her.

"Holly"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you" he said, smiling. "I know it's a struggle to work with someone who doesn't know what he's doing, but-"

"No" he shook his head. "I prefer you to your father. You're a better boss" Holly whispered, glancing at the door. Seeing that face, made Matt laugh. He thanked her again and watched her walk out.

~

You hadn't felt this nervous in a long time. The last one was when you planned a birthday party for him, only for him to break your heart the same night. Tonight was going to be different.

You set up a table of food and lit some candles. You put some lingerie on he bought for you and a silk robe. You stared at your reflection and pulled some faces that you thought were attractive. You wanted tonight to be perfect.

Now that everything was ready, you sat at the table, trying to decide how you'd act when he walked in. You came up with some ideas and your heart was pounding.

The more you waited, the more impatient you became. Thirty minutes seemed like an hour. When the food was getting cold, you couldn't take it anymore, so you sent him a text to ask where he was.

Matt: shit. I forgot to tell you.

Matt: I'm having dinner with Jason and Olivia to celebrate our new deal

You were hoping this was a prank. But the next message crushed your hope.

Matt: I'm sorry, don't be mad. Want some food?

No, you didn't want food. You cooked a whole meal for the two of them. You only wanted him. Taking a deep breath, you blew out the candles and replied to him.

You: I already ate. Have fun

Matt: love you

You left him on seen and poured yourself a drink.