Boss Nanny Ch. 04

The bartender came back and made a show of lighting the drinks on fire. Matt had to admit, it was pretty cool. The best part was when Al managed to play Girl on Fire while he did it. The whole group lost their shit. Even Kase had to laugh. Funniest thing they'd ever witnessed.

They sat in their VIP section; watching the club goers, drinking, laughing, and having a good time. Matt saw Seamus here and there. Talking to employees, sitting at the bar, shaking hands with other patrons. Other patrons. Not them. Not Matt. He tried not to get weird about it but he couldn't help but feel angered about it.

This was Seamus' club but they were friends and Matt would like to have a drink with the owner during this monumental birthday. Instead, he was drinking alone, well not alone, but kind of. Matt tossed back the rest of his drink and held it up so Al could see he needed a refresher.

Matt was well on his way to being drunk.

Jay showed up late with a couple others and sat down next to Matt. "We meet again."

"You missed Kase's big girl on fire moment."

"Yes, well, I heard there's a video."

"Everyone knows the live performance is always better."

Jay laughed and motioned Al for two drinks. Al was quick. Either that or Matt was drunker than he thought and time was no longer relavent. Jay handed him a new drink even though he was still holding his old one.

"Happy birthday," Jay raised his glass and Matt cheered to that. "Also, you look hot. Let's dance." The football player quickly knocked his drink back and held his hand out. Matt looked at both drinks then at Jay. What was he supposed to do?

"Drink them."

"But there's two."

"Yeah? Merry twenty-first."

Matt drank them. The thing about being drunk is the alcohol goes down a lot easier. He barely made a face though his gut knew two at a time was a terrible idea.

Jay was a good dancer—very respectable. Matt thought Jay might try to dance dirty with him and was surprisingly disappointed when he didn't. They'd been dancing for a while when Matt noticed Seamus was finally sitting with his friends. That was irritating. Now that Matt wasn't there, Seamus decides to show up?

Seamus must've sensed Matt was thinking about him because he looked his way and gave him a chin nod. A chin nod. Matt gave him a chin nod back. Whatever that meant.

Seamus frowned.

Matt rolled his eyes.

Those drinks were really hitting him.

Jay was looking at Seamus. "He's cute."

Then the group joined them on the dance floor. They were all dancing when Matt looked around, confused.

"Where's Jay?"

"Let's not bite the hand that feeds us."

When Matt asked what he meant, Kase shrugged.

Matt frowned. "Okay, keep your secrets."

Kase was a good dresser and could do hair but couldn't dance to save his life. Neither could Matt, not when he was well on his way to three-sheets. Minus the glazed over look in Hilary's eyes, she was holding her shit together quite well.

Then he saw it.

"Noo," Matt's words were slow with alcohol. "Oh no."

Seamus was standing near the bar with Jay. They each had a drink, talking. Kase and Hilary looked at Seamus, then at each other, then at Matt.

"Why's that 'noo, oh no'?"

"Seamus is my—"

"Yeah?" Hilary pressed.

Matt frowned. "Jay thinks he's cute."

"That's not so bad," Hilary laughed. "Most people would say he's smoking hot."

"Did you know Seamus is gay?"

Hilary frowned. "Well, that's depressing."

Kase patted her shoulder and laughed. "You never stood a chance. Do you like him, Matt?"

Matt was too busy watching Seamus smile as Jay flirted shamelessly. "That's not even his real smile," he mumbled then left the dance floor and headed toward the bar.

Jay was the first to spot Matt. "There's the birthday boy," he said, smiley as ever. "Let's get you another drink."

Matt felt Seamus' scrutiny. He couldn't stand without swaying and his eyes were glossed over. If given a new drink, he probably couldn't hold it without spilling.

"Are you sure you want another one?" Seamus asked when he was done casting his silent judgement.

Matt wasn't sure. He was drunk enough to not care but he also knew tomorrow would only get worse with every drink. Was it worth it? Not likely. The two he slammed some time earlier were still slowly bulldozing him over.

"Probably not."

"One more," Jay pressed. He probably thought it made him look cool—impressing Seamus by buying Matt another drink even though Seamus was the one paying for it all.

Seamus looked at Matt, silently asking what he wanted. Matt took the drink.

"Matt's one of the birthday boys," Jay explained, unaware that Matt and Seamus knew each other. Matt waited to see what Seamus would say but he only smiled, more genuine than the one he gave Jay earlier, but still.

A moment later Seamus tapped the bar with his knuckle. "Alright," he said. "You two have a nice night."

Matt wasn't sure what was going on or why he felt like Seamus was giving him the brush off, but it hurt his feelings. Alcohol always made him more sensitive, he knew it, which is why he excused himself. Even drunk, Matt knew he didn't want to do or say anything he'd regret. Like cry. Though it wouldn't be the first time.

He made it all the way across the club and was about to sit down when someone pulled his elbow, detouring him away from the couch like a child. The sudden change caused him to stumble. When he righted himself, he was standing face to face with Seamus.

"You're mad," Seamus stated. "Really drunk and really mad."

Matt threw his hands up. "It's my twenty-first birthday. Sue me."

"Okay," Seamus pushed Matt onto a barstool. "Now I know why you're drunk. Tell me why you're mad."

"I'm not mad." Matt looked at Seamus. "Glare at me all you want. I'm not mad. I'm—" Shit, Matt could feel the emotions tingling up his chest and down his limbs like a tidal wave. "I asked if you would hangout tonight and you said no. Whatever. I get it. But then I see you hangin' out at our table when I'm not there. You're hangin' out with everyone. You're hangin' out with Jay. But you're not hanging out with me."

"Matt, this is all for you," he gestured at the club, the VIP table, Al, and all their guests. "I just want you and your friends to have fun."

"This—" Matt gestured back at the club and the VIP table and the people. "Not my friends. I have three friends. Two are busy celebrating their birthday, and you. And you're not hangin' out with me." Matt wiped his face; he was starting to cry. Fucking alcohol.

If there was a god, Matt wouldn't remember this part in the morning.

"Okay," Seamus held out his hand. "Let's hangout."

Matt crossed his arms over his chest. "No, you're just doing this because I'm crying."

Seamus laughed. "Well, yes, that is an incentive. You crying makes me very uncomfortable and I'll do just about anything to make it stop. But I hang out with you every day, so obviously crying isn't the only reason. Now, c'mon, let's go hangout."

Matt stood and Seamus put a hand on his lower back to steady him. Matt felt awkward when they got back to the table. He was sure people could tell he'd been crying. Why else would they be looking at him the way they were. Then there was Seamus, and he felt uncomfortable around him now. He'd practically forced Seamus's hand with guilt. But as they sat on the sofa, Matt felt himself calming down.

At one point he caught Hilary's eye. Matt's thigh was pressed against Seamus', whose arm was slung over the couch behind him. Even though Matt was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, the position could be considered intimate. She pointedly looked between the two, as if reiterating the earlier question, the one that had been left unanswered.

Did he like Seamus?

He looked over his shoulder. Seamus was in a conversation with two of Kase's teammates. Seamus looked at Matt and smiled. It wasn't the fake one he gave Jay earlier. No, this smile was the reason he knew the other smile was fake.

Whatever Hilary saw on his face satisfied her. She gave him a kind smile and went back to what she was doing.

Seamus humored Matt and stayed near him for the rest of the evening. Or what Matt could remember of it. It didn't take long before the scales tipped against Matt's favor. He couldn't remember the details but he cried some more. Over something trivial he was sure. Then Seamus drove him home.

****

Matt's mother was a very beautiful woman with dirty blonde hair and the softest brown eyes. Despite how his parents' relationship ended, his father always admitted to her beauty. She was also the life of the party. She had the kind of personality that attracted people from miles around. No matter who you asked, she was memorable.

Any of those would've been great qualities to inherit.

The thing that sucked about being made from the cloth of two people is that you don't get to decide what fibers come from who. Matt was eighty percent his father. It wasn't a bad thing, his dad was an attractive man with soft brown hair and blue eyes with an average build, just like Matt. He was outgoing, likable, and far more practical and sensible than his mom, just like Matt.

The one thing Matt inherited from his mother was her emotional intolerance to alcohol. Whoopie.

No one knew who Matt would be when he drank. Would he be fun and outgoing? Honest and blunt to a fault? Or would he end up with the emotional stability of a hormonal teenager who 'just doesn't understand why life is sooo unfairrrrr'. It was a gamble, truly, which was why he rarely drank. The night of his birthday he'd drawn the 'just don't understand why life is sooo unfairrrrrr' card. At least his mom could dodge a hangover. Matt wasn't so lucky.

He ended up sleeping next to Seamus' toilet bowl. Neither his dad nor Aidan deserved to be subjected to such a grotesque scene. It was better to suffer in silence. No one to judge him when he wretched into the toilet or to laugh every time he winced at the sunlight.

It wasn't all bad. Matt got to see Seamus in nothing but boxer briefs as he helped Matt recover; a glass of water here, a piece of toast there. It was embarrassing to say the least but Seamus never once made him feel like the fool he was.

It was almost dinner time when Matt peeled himself off the floor and got dressed so Seamus could drive him home.

"You sure you got this?" The Irishman asked as he parked outside Matt's house. "I can walk you in."

"You've done enough" Matt took a deep breath to stop his stomach from rolling. "Thanks for everything."

Seamus was still parked out front when Matt shut the door. Brad was on the couch with a sleeping Aidan. One look and his dad pointed him to his room.

"Go sleep," he chuckled.

Matt needed no pressuring. The night had gone so wrong. Drinks that caught on fire should've been a warning sign.

God, being twenty-one was shit.