Night Owl(5)

I knew what Cal looked like—tall, blond, handsome, lean—but Matt could be a three-hundred-pound basement dweller. Ugh, he probably was. Stereotypes exist for a reason and Matt happened to be an internet-trawling male of an indeterminate age who came inside of five minutes when I told him I had big breasts (and who also had a convenient no pictures rule).

What a depressing line of thought.

I gave my sister a flat look.

"Be useful," I mumbled, "help me look for a hotel."

We stopped at 3:00 a.m. in the Cascades. My sister flung herself onto the motel bed and passed out. I sat in the bathroom and checked my email for the one-hundredth time.

Finally! Two emails from Matt. One was a reply to my post. The other had no subject.

Subject: (no subject)

Sender: Matthew S.

Date: Saturday, June 29, 2013

Time: 2:46 AM

Hi Hannah,

I just sent you a post. How's the move going? You're a brave little bird. And hey, you're invading my state. Small world, right?

I want to say that I hope you don't think less of me after what happened (the bathrobe incident, as I like to call it). I know it was seedy as f*ck. I wouldn't be surprised if you did think less of me. I don't know what to think of myself.

Sorry I was a dick about the picture.

I haven't seen you on Skype so I assume you're on the road. I'm going to break another one of my rules. If you want to call, my number is 303-774-5761.

Matt

* * *

Subject: Seedy as f*ck

Sender: Hannah Catalano

Date: Saturday, June 29, 2013

Time: 3:20 AM

Hey, are you still awake?


* * *

Subject: Re: Seedy as f*ck

Sender: Matthew S.

Date: Saturday, June 29, 2013

Time: 3:21 AM

Yeah. I'm waiting.

Matt

* * *

My breath grew shallow as I read Matt's reply. I'm waiting. How could a guy seem so sexy and confident when he was only words on a screen?

He was waiting. Waiting for me to call. He didn't need to say it; I knew it.

My hands shook as I added Matt to my contacts and called the number.

Panic set in as I listened to the ring.

I'm about to talk to Matt.

I'm about to hear his voice.

I don't even know this guy.

What the hell am I doing?

He could be a psycho stalker.

We shouldn't cross this line.

I can hang up.

I can hang up now.

Yeah, I'm going to h—

"Hannah?"

I swallowed and slid down the bathroom wall.

"Hannah, is that you?"

Matt's cool, clear voice swirled in my ear. It was distantly accented—New Jersey, maybe New York—and a little husky.

He sounded sleepy.

He sounded sexy as hell.

I had the overwhelming urge to ask him to keep saying my name. Hannah, Hannah, Hannah. Help me come. Warmth bloomed between my legs.

"Okay then." He laughed softly. I felt my reason melting at the sound. "We'll play the one-sided conversation game. I'm Matt, it's nice to—" Again, he broke into quiet laughter. His voice was rich with amusement, but not warm. He sounded contemptuous. He sounded ready to laugh at anything, simply for the pleasure of laughing with his silky voice.

I couldn't help but picture the devilish eyes that must have accompanied that voice.

Green eyes, I decided. Dark green, secretive and deep like a forest.

"I was going to say it's nice to meet you," he went on, "but I guess we've technically met online. Now we're meeting on the phone. Maybe..." He trailed off. I heard some shuffling. "God, if this is you trolling me Nate, I swear I'm going to break your f*cking—"

"Hey! Sorry, I—" I scooted over to the bathroom door, opened and closed it, then sat back against the wall. Brilliant. Sorry, I was soaking my underwear while I listened creepily to your voice. "—sorry, yeah. I had to go in the bathroom. My sister is asleep."

Matt was silent for a moment.

"Is that why you're whispering?" he said.

"Yeah. She's really tired. We're at a motel, we just stopped. Pretty sure the wall between this bathroom and her bed is a piece of plywood, so."

"Well... damn. I wanted to hear your voice. I mean, your regular volume voice." He chuckled. "Do you think you could risk a few words? I'll deal with your sister if she wakes up."

I smirked, imagining a conversation between my hotheaded sis and this glib personality.

"I think that would be a bad idea. But, um. Sure. What should I say?"

"With your normal voice? How about, the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."

"Okay." I cleared my throat. I was suddenly painfully self-conscious about my voice. "Um. Okay. The... the quick brown fox—"

Laughter exploded on the line. It was loud and sharp, nearly cruel.

"Oh... my god Hannah." I heard a clatter, then some scuffling. "Oh f*ck. You were really saying it. The quick... brown fox... oh god." Matt dissolved into laughter again.

I glared at my knees.

"What's so f*cking funny?" I whispered.

"Hannah. Hannah, I'm sorry."

I heard him take a few calming breaths.