Page 29 of Matched (LSU #5)

“ S o you’re the infamous Charlie.”

I straightened up from my position crouched on the floor, stacking pint glasses beneath the bar counter, to find a guy with blue hair grinning at me.

“Jonas?” I guessed, and he nodded. “Nice to finally meet you. I owe you a thanks for getting me this job.”

“You don’t need to thank me for that. I was hoping we’d meet before this, but our shifts never seemed to line up.

” He paused, gesturing around us, where staff members were decorating the student union for the beach-themed party night.

“Not until today. I think they called everyone in. It’s going to be a busy one. ”

“Yeah. Hey, are you any good at blowing up inflatables? They want us to put some behind the bar.”

Jonas sighed. “Of course they do. Go on, then. Let’s make this look as tacky as possible.”

I laughed, handing him some of the items that had been piled up on the bar counter, and together, we got to work.

When we were finished, the shelves and optics behind the bar were draped with tropical-print flags and several fake palm branches, and an inflatable flamingo and an inflatable pineapple bracketed either end.

“Jerry.” Jonas pointed at the flamingo before turning to jab his finger at the pineapple. “And Bob.”

“Bob the pineapple?”

“Yep.”

“I think he needs sunglasses,” I decided, grabbing one of the pairs of giant sunglasses with garish fluorescent frames that we were apparently supposed to be wearing.

We managed to prop the sunglasses on the pineapple and then made the executive decision to “lose” the other pairs so we wouldn’t be forced to wear them.

As the doors opened and students began piling inside, Jonas leaned over to me. “Have you heard fromNate?”

I shook my head. “No, but I’ve been getting regular updates. They’re into extra time now. It’s one-all, so they have to play another thirty minutes because it’s a cup semi-final.”

Jonas winced. “It’s lucky they booked a hotel close to the football ground. They’re gonna be so tired when they’re finished.”

“I know.” Slipping my phone out of my pocket for what was probably the fiftieth time since I’d arrived at work, I scrolled through my message thread with Elliot, who had been texting me regular updates. He’d sent me photos, too, including a zoomed-in action shot of Nate kicking the ball.

“Is that Nate?” Jonas peered over my shoulder.

“Yeah.” Pocketing my phone again, I turned to the front of the bar, taking my first order of the evening.

I worked on autopilot, my thoughts a hundred and fifty miles away, with my uni team fighting for their place in the cup final on the pitch, and one particular defender who lived in my head rent-free.

“Nate talks about you a lot, you know,” Jonas murmured when he shuffled past me, measuring shots of vodka from the optics. A wide smile stretched across my face, and something inside me warmed, thinking of the fact that he’d actually spoken about me to his best friend.

Four hours later, I was on my break and finally able to check my phone again.

The student union had ended up being so busy that I hadn’t even had a chance to stop and catch my breath, let alone use my phone.

Bypassing the messages from Elliot, I hit the notification that told me I had a new message from Nate.

Nate:

Thanks for the good luck message. We won! 2-1! Not sure when you’ll get to see this because I know work will be busy but I’ll speak to you before we go to sleep

I quickly tapped out a reply.

Me:

CONGRATULATIONS! I knew you’d do it! On my break now. It’s been too busy to even check my phone. If you’re already asleep by the time my shift finishes don’t worry. We can make up for it by celebrating after you get back tomorrow. Whenever you’re free. I don’t have any work

After I’d waited for a couple of minutes with no response, not even a read notification, I switched to Elliot’s messages, catching up with his commentary on everything that had happened in extra time.

Levi had scored the winning goal, and from the sound of it, they were now all out celebrating in a pub near their hotel.

I wished I were there. I wished I were with Nate. One thing was for sure. I wasn’t going to miss the cup final for anything.

Jonas nudged me, jerking his head to the right. “Can you serve the customer at the end of the bar?”

My brows rose. “That’s Mia’s end. Or are we swapping?”

“Just do it. Quick.” He nudged me again, and I moved. We were too busy to stand around.

“What can I get—” The words died in my throat as I took in the person standing across from me, resting his elbows on the bar counter, with tired eyes and a huge smile. “ Nate ? What— How— What are you doing here?”

His smile widened. “I wanted to celebrate my win.”

“B—but you. Your team. You just left?”

“Yeah. I left as soon as we were finished in the changing rooms. Got in my car and drove straight home, then I came here.”

I wanted to kiss him so badly . Fuck it, you only lived once. Moving to the corner of the bar, I ducked under the flap and beckoned him into the dark corner of the room with me, sliding my mouth across his in a kiss that was far too quick.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I murmured when we parted.

“How could I celebrate my win without you, Charlie B?” He reached out and squeezed my hand. “What time do you finish your shift? I heard from Ander that your house might be empty, with all your housemates in Cardiff.”

“I’ve got another hour to go. Are you okay with waiting around, or are you too tired? If you wanna nap or anything, I can give you my keys, and you can go and wait in my room.”

His eyes went all soft, and it gave me butterflies. “Thanks, but I’m okay. Get back to work. I’ll be over here waiting.”

“Okay.” After giving him another quick kiss, I ducked back under the bar flap and then poured a pint of Coke with plenty of ice.

Sliding it across the bar to Nate, I mouthed, On the house , and he shot me a grateful look.

Smiling to myself, I watched him down it as I served a group of guys from the hockey team.

My final hour passed quickly with Nate there, and before I knew it, I was stepping out into the fresh air with Jonas and Nate in tow. I felt for the staff who were working the final hours and had to deal with the aftermath.

Jonas leaned back against the wall with a sigh. “That was a killer shift. I never do more than four hours in one go.”

“Me too. I’m dead on my feet.” Glancing over at Nate, I amended my statement. “Not totally dead. I have some energy reserves left.”

“Energy reserves.” Nate snorted, and Jonas laughed.

“Want me to go to Jada’s tonight so you two can do whatever it is you do? No, I don’t want details.”

Nate gave his housemate the middle finger. “Hey, dickhead. None of that. Charlie’s housemates are all in Cardiff, so you don’t have to exile yourself.”

“I see.” Jonas paused for a minute. “Mate. You drove back here straight after the match. A match where you played, what was it, half an hour of extra time? It must’ve taken you a while to drive back.”

“It took about three and a half hours, I think. Maybe a bit more.” Nate shrugged as if it were no big deal, and it hit me all over again.

He’d played two hours of football, which in itself was exhausting, and then he’d driven approximately a hundred and fifty miles so he could see me , instead of celebrating with the rest of his team.

Jonas’ gaze grew sharp as he eyed Nate. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but he remained silent.

Maybe it was because I was there. I was about to offer the two of them some privacy when he blinked, his expression smoothing out.

“Alright. I’m gonna go and shower this bar off and then pass out in my bed. You two have fun.”

He disappeared with a wave, and I was left alone with Nate. Our eyes met, and he swallowed hard, his throat working. “Let’s go back to yours before I lose what’s left of my control and do something inadvisable to you up against this wall.”

Fucking hell. His words went straight to my dick, and I bit back a groan. “Yeah. Let’s go. Now.”