Chapter 187 - Lovebirds

Matt had different thoughts running through his head as he drove his car away from Candy's.

He wasn't sure if he had done the wrong or right thing by walking away from Candy, but this wasn't a movie where he could play the role of being her hero. He didn't want to be with someone with such a horrid past. Even his upbringing wouldn't let him. 

He liked her no doubt, and if her past had nothing to do with being involved with a drug cartel or murder, then he probably would have considered sticking by her regardless of anything else, but now he couldn't. He wasn't sure that he could live with the thought that she had taken such extreme measures which had caused those teenage boys to lose their lives. And the fact that she wasn't feeling remorseful about it, was something he couldn't wrap his head around, especially seeing that she was a mother herself. 

He was going to do his best to help her out of the mess she had gotten herself into, but he was going to do it all from a distance, and not get emotionally involved with her. She had too much emotional baggage and was associated with dangerous people, and he couldn't involve himself with any of that. Not just because of himself, but because of his family too. He knew that getting involved in something like this wouldn't affect just him, but would also be detrimental to his parents and siblings too, and he didn't want to bring trouble to them for any reason whatsoever. 

He remembered the sad smile he had seen on Candy's face when he shook his head and told her that he needed a bit of time to process all she had just told him, "You can't stomach it, can you?" She had asked as if she had been expecting him to run out the door the moment she finished her story.

"I like you, Candace. I really do. But maybe you are right. Maybe I need to really sit back and critically think about all you have said to be sure if I want to be with you," Matt had said as he pushed away from the table ready to leave. Even as he said that they both knew that he wasn't returning. 

"Be honest with me, Matt. You don't want to be with someone like me, do you?" Candy had asked without standing up.

Matt who had been trying not to hurt her feelings sighed, "I do care about you, Candace, but I'm not sure I can get involved with you. Not after everything you just told me," Matt said apologetically, and Candy gave him a nod.

"I understand. I'm glad I told you everything then. You can leave now," Candy said with a small smile, ignoring the tears that had gathered in her eyes. 

She wasn't going to cry. Especially not in front of him. This was exactly what she had wanted. She had wanted him to leave her alone and not put her and her son at risk of being caught. Although she felt hurt that he was leaving so easily, but this was exactly what she wanted, "Goodbye," Candy said as she picked up her cup of tea and took a sip while waiting for Matt to leave. 

Matt had walked over to where she was seated and pecked her cheeks, "Goodbye, Candace," he had said before walking away. 

It wasn't until Candy heard the click of the door as he shut it behind him that the first tear slid down her cheeks. She raised a hand to her cheek and brushed off the tear, "Don't cry, Candy. You did good," she had assured herself as she stood up to clear the table.

****************

"Are you expecting someone?" Sonia asked Bryan curiously when they all heard the sound of the doorbell while they were still shooting the reality show.

"Not exactly," Bryan said as he signaled to Mia to go find out who was at the door. 

Once Mia opened the door, "Hello, Matt!" Mia greeted with a pleasant smile when she saw Matt standing there.

"Hey, Mia! It's been a while!" He greeted politely and then raised a brow when Mia used her hand to motion to him to lower his voice. He turned around, curious to find out why, and then slapped his forehead with his palm when he saw the production crew and remembered that Bryan was still shooting the reality show.

"I totally forgot about the show," Matt whispered apologetically, as he approached the camera crew.

He hadn't known he was headed here until he drove into the garage. Now he just wanted to hang out with Bryan and Sonia and distract himself as he didn't want to dwell on all that had just transpired between himself and Candace. The last thing he wanted was to be around other people who would expect him to make small talk or pretend to be cheerful when all he really wanted was to drink as much alcohol as he could until he was knocked out. He didn't have the energy for small talk right now. 

"Don't worry, I'm sure it's okay," Mia whispered to him as she walked behind him to go join the production team.

"Hey, Matt! Since you're here you can as well make an appearance on the show, right? I'm sure your fans would love to see you," The producer whispered to Matt who quickly shook his head. 

"No, thanks. You're not paying me for it, are you?" Matt asked dryly.

"Hey, sugar!" Sonia waved to Matt from where she was seated on the couch with Bryan, "Come over and say hello," Sonia said with a cheerful smile, leaving the camerawoman with no other choice but to focus on Matt who was now standing alone as the others had quickly moved away from him. 

Seeing how excited Sonia was to see him, he didn't have the heart to turn her down so he walked over to where she was seated with Bryan and dropped on the space between them, "Hey, girlfriend!" He greeted as he pecked both sides of her cheek, earning him a giggle from Sonia, and a glare from Bryan who didn't like the interference.

"I've sorely missed you. What have you been up to?" Sonia asked as she snuggled closer to him with her head on his chest, ignoring the camera that was filming them. It was a reality show anyway, so it wasn't supposed to be scripted.

"Nothing much. Just giving you two lovebirds the space you need to mess around the house," Matt said as he patted Sonia's hair fondly, while Bryan roughly grabbed Matt's arm and pulled him away from Sonia.

"What are you doing, babe?" Sonia asked in amusement since just a moment ago Bryan had refused to talk to her.

"I'm the only one who should be touching you that way," Bryan said irritably, and Matt turned to give Bryan a knowing wink. 

"How the mighty has fallen! You have fallen hard for her, haven't you? Tsk tsk!" Matt said with a shake of his head as though he was disappointed in Bryan, and both Mia and Jeff chuckled as they watched the scene in front of them. Love was something a person could choose to hide and deny as they wanted, but jealousy and possessiveness weren't as easy to hide. 

"Quit teasing my man," Sonia chided Matt with a playful smile as she stood up from Matt's side and went to sit on Bryan's thighs, "I guess you are no longer mad at me?" Sonia asked as she looked into Bryan's face with a wide smile, and he scowled at her. 

He had been sulking all morning and giving her monosyllabic responses until Matt showed up, "I'm still not happy with you," Bryan said stubbornly. He had felt both hurt and disappointed when he asked that they shower together and Sonia had turned him down.

"You are kidding, right?" Sonia had asked with an amused smile when she heard his unexpected request.

"Why would I be kidding? I want to share the shower with you," Bryan had said as he started to take off his shirt. 

"We can't possibly do that. At least not yet," Sonia said with a shake of her head. 

"And why is that? My ankle? I won't stand on it," Bryan had rushed to assure her, and Sonia shook her head. 

"That's not it. I just don't think we are there yet. Sharing the shower is an intimate affair. We can't do that now."

"I don't see why not. Besides, I've seen you stark naked before, so it's not a big deal," Bryan had said, wriggling his brows playfully, and Sonia hit his arm.

"What do you mean it's not a big deal? Are you trying to imply that I don't look attractive?" Sonia had asked in mild annoyance.

"Of course not! I'm just saying that I've seen you naked before, so sharing the shower with you shouldn't be a big deal," Bryan had said as his shirt fell to a heap beside his leg.

"I'm sure you have seen a lot of naked females at some point in your life, and I'm also very positive that you didn't share a bath with them all. I'm not doing this with you. At least not yet," Sonia had stubbornly insisted.

"All those naked ladies I saw were not you. And why can't we do it yet? You have feelings for me, as I do for you, so what's with the chaste modesty now?" Bryan had asked in confusion. 

"Bryan Hank, I'm not sharing the bathroom with you. You said you need to be sure how you feel about me, didn't you? I also need to do that..."

"But that didn't matter last night when we were making out on the couch, did it?" Bryan had cut it.

"Yes, it didn't matter to me then, but I know it mattered enough to you that you had to stop, so now it matters to me too. So you can either wait until I finish using the shower, or you can use the shower in the next bedroom, but you are not getting in here with me, period!" Sonia had said with a stern expression on her face before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door from the inside. 

"Were you lovebirds having a fight?" Matt asked when he noticed the scowl on Bryan's face and the smile on Sonia's face. 

"Your best friend is such a big baby. He had been acting up all morning," Sonia confided in Matt before placing a peck on both sides of Bryan's cheeks, "Cheer up, baby," Sonia said as she kissed Bryan's lips. 

"Aww, what a big baby!" Matt said with a chuckle as he watched them both while wondering if he had made the right decision by walking away from Candy.