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Servants took our luggage down to the car,which would also be brought around by servants, and we made our wayto the foyer, where Scott had texted us to meet him.
“I wanted to say goodbye before I left,” hesaid. Surveying my jeans and tank top, he added, “That looks morelike my kid sister.”
Matt winced.
“Hey, man, don’t ask me to dance around theage gap,” Scott warned him. To me, he went on, “I’m in the city.Call me whenever you need someone to remind you where you camefrom.”
“We’ll have you over soon,” Matt promised,and I got a warm little thrill at the “we” in the sentence, the wayit implied “our” residence instead of “his.”
The weirdest things made me go all gooeythese days.
“Mr. Ashe?”
The three of us turned at the sound ofAlan’s voice.
“I apologize for the interruption, but Mrs.Ashe is having her breakfast in the conservatory and asked if shecould speak to you alone before you left.” Alan’s eyes went to me.“I can bring your guest some coffee while she waits?”
“Sure. Tell Mom I’ll be there in a minute.”Matt turned back to Scott, extended his hand, and, the moment theirpalms met, pulled him into a big hug. “I’m going to be lessdistant.”
“Me too.” Scott clapped him hard on theback. “And I’m going to stop being guilty about your mangledleg.”
“I’ll stop being guilty about dating yoursister,” Matt replied.
Scott released him. “Nah. You can stayguilty about that.”
I elbowed him.
“Be careful going home,” I said, standing onmy tiptoes to hug him. “And don’t tell Mom and Dad about all this,okay? I want to break the news gently.”
He tilted his head. “I thought they knew youwere with Matt.”
“Right, but they don’t know I’mwithMatt.” I grimaced. “It’s going to take them a minute to accept theMay/December thing.”
“Oh, god, don’t say that. It makes me soundold,” Matt protested.
Scott laughed. “Weareold. Faceit.”
“See you in the city,” Matt said with afinality that implied he would not, in fact, “face it.”
Scott headed out the door and Matt gesturedto a little seating area in an alcove. “Do you want to hang backhere? I’ll keep it as short as possible.”
“It’s your mom. Say goodbye as long as youwant.” But I wondered why she didn’t want to say goodbye tome.Not that I was some big, special guest; I was her son’sbrand-new girlfriend, who’d randomly tagged along.
Matt kissed my forehead. “I’ll send Alanback with coffee.”
“Sure.” I watched Matt disappear into thehouse and wandered to one of the spindly, probably antique chairsin the alcove and waited, patting my hands on my knees. Elizabethwanted to speak to Matt alone. It was probably super paranoid of meto assume she wanted to talk to him aboutme, but it waswhere my insecure brain immediately went. I’d put in a poorperformance. I hadn’t behaved myself. I hadn’t belonged.
And I hadn’t. Most people didn’t show up asguests to fancy parties and smoke weed on the lawn. Most peopledidn’t sneak off and give their boyfriends head before dinner orhide in someone else’s hedge maze to play orgasm denial games. Andyes, Matt had initiated those things, but I should have held myselfto a higher standard.
Fuck. I’d messed everything up. Elizabethwas probably threatening to cut Matt out of her will if he didn’tbreak up with me.
Calm down. You have no idea what she wantsto tell him. Maybe it’s about his sister’s affair or something.
I glanced over at the doors. Maybe Scotthadn’t driven off, yet. Maybe he could talk me out ofspiraling.
The front doors were heavier than Iexpected; Alan must have been ripped under his stuffy uniform. Ionly exerted my spaghetti arms enough to wriggle outside. Therewere two cars in the driveway, Matt’s and what I assumed wasScott’s, based on the “My other car is the Millennium Falcon”bumper sticker. But Scott wasn’t inside.
I frowned and started off on the sidewalkthat ringed the circular drive, unsure of where he could have gone.Then, I heard voices near a cluster of immaculately manicuredshrubs.