Summary: Matt and Adder spend the day together and get to know each other better.
A cheerful ping! wakes Adder from a deep, dreamless sleep. She groans, fumbling for her phone and looking at it sleepily. It’s only 7:30 in the morning, she has the day off, and she really wanted to sleep in.
She opens her messages, still half asleep and yawning. Adder smiles as she sees a text from Matt, rolling to her back and propping herself up on her pillows to read it.
I know we have the day off, but I was thinking we could have breakfast and run some lines?
Her thumbs fly over the screen as she answers.
Good morning to you too. 😉 Tempting…but my bed is pretty comfortable…
Good morning. 🙂 I have French toast. Really good coffee. And I’ve been told I’m fun to hang out with.
Adder laughs, climbing out of bed and heading to the shower.
Only for the French toast, Rodriguez…give me an hour.
Adder expects to find a chef in Matt’s kitchen when she arrives, but much to her surprise, Matt is at the stove, stacking French toast when he greets her.
“You cook?” she asks, sliding on to a barstool.
A wry smile crosses his face. “Not really. But I have a talent for French toast.”
He hands her a plate and a mug of coffee and sits on the barstool next to her.
“Oh my god,” Adder mumbles through a mouthful of French toast and syrup.
“Good?”
“So good,” she says, spearing another bite on her fork.
Once she takes the bite, she narrows her eyes and points her fork at Matt, who halts with a bite of French toast halfway to his mouth. “What?”
“You’ve been holding out on me,” she says. “What else can you make?”
Matt laughs. “Trust me. This is about it. On a good day I can make a mean bowl of cereal.”
Adder grins, taking another bite. When they’re done, she insists on clearing their plates away. “You cooked. It’s only fair.”
Matt watches her in amusement as she washes the plates and silverware and stacks them next to the sink.
They head for his living room when she’s done, the sun filtering in through the windows and warming the room. Adder smirks as they settle on one of the plush couches and Matt tells her the scene he was thinking of running through.
“Really, Matt? The scene where Macy and Hooper first kiss?”
“It’s a very important and emotional scene,” Matt insists, but he’s grinning.
“Sure it is,” she laughs.
She teases him, but they run the lines up until the kiss a few times, until she’s so immersed in the role that when they do finally kiss, it’s as Macy and Hooper.
It’s something she’s always loved about acting, that feeling of finally letting go and becoming someone else. They easily flow into the lines that come after the kiss, flirting heavily, and she smirks, sauntering up the stairs as Matt follows her. When they get to his bedroom, Matt grins and says, “End scene.”
“Well?” Adder asks, wondering what he thought.
Matt shakes his head. “I know I’ve said it before and it sounds cliché, but seriously, Adder. You’re a natural at this. You’ll be in those leading roles before you know it.”
“Don’t jinx me!” she tells him, then takes a moment to glance around his bedroom. It’s simply decorated, but warm and inviting. She likes that for all his wealth and all the things he could have, Matt still drives a Toyota and his bedroom looks like it could belong to any 20-something year old guy. Except for the view.
“Oh wow,” she breathes, making her way to his balcony and looking out over the skyline. “I don’t think I’d ever get tired of that view.”
Matt comes up next to her, his shoulder bumping hers. “I haven’t yet. It’s something.”
Adder rests her head against his shoulder, smiling as he wraps an arm around her waist.
“Well, I’d say we have that scene down,” Adder says after a minute, and Matt chuckles.
“Yes, I think we’ll incur less of Markus’ wrath now,” he replies.
They head back downstairs, getting more coffee and settling back on his couch. Adder curls against one end, tucking her toes between the cushions and watching him over the rim of her mug as she takes a sip.
“Tell me something about you,” she says.
“Like what?” Matt asks, looking a little surprised.
“Anything. Like…what’s one of your fears?”
Matt thinks for a minute, setting his mug down on the end table and leaning back into the couch. “You can’t repeat this,” he says, and her curiosity is piqued as his cheeks turn faintly pink.
“Pinky swear,” she says solemnly, holding her hand out.
Matt shakes his head, smiling, and hooks his pinky with hers.
“You could really ruin my tough guy reputation if you tell anyone,” he insists with a little laugh.
“Hey. We pinky swore. Can’t break that,” Adder replies.
“I can’t believe I’m admitting this,” Matt laughs, then sighs loudly and mumbles, “I’m afraid of mice.”
Adder stares at him. “Mice? As in the adorable twitchy-nosed creatures who befriended Cinderella?”
“They are not adorable,” Matt insists. “They’re creepy. They bite. They…”
He trails off as he notices Adder biting her lip to keep from laughing.
“I can’t believe you’re laughing at me,” he says, trying to hide a smile, and that makes her laughter bubble over before she can stop it.
“I’m sorry! It’s just…I thought you’d say failure or having naked photos of you leaked online or something,” Adder gasps through her laughter.
Matt snorts out a laugh. “I never take naked photos of myself. And failure…” He shrugs. “Anyone can fail at any time. I just try not to worry about it.”
“Hmm,” Adder says. “That makes sense.”
She takes another sip of coffee, still giggling quietly.
“Alright, Markovic,” Matt says, nudging her. “Your turn.”
“What, a fear?”
He nods, raising his eyebrows expectantly.
“Spiders,” she says with finality, shuddering a little.
“Spiders? Like the tiny little creature who saved Wilbur’s life in Charlotte’s Web?” Matt teases her.
Adder scowls playfully, poking his side. “They’re the worst. They have too many legs and they move too fast and some of them are huge,” she says emphatically.
Matt laughs, shaking his head. “So should I expect late night calls if there’s a spider in your apartment?”
“Probably,” Adder says, leaning into him as he slides an arm around her waist and tugs her closer.
Matt tilts his head down, a half-smile on his face. She sets her mug down and curls against his side, his fingers tracing over the material of her shirt, until he cups her face in his hand and tilts her chin up. His eyes roam over her face, then meet hers.
“What?” she asks softly.
“Nothing. I just…I really like you, Adder.”
He sounds so sincere, looks so intent and almost…vulnerable, that any fleeting worries she had about why Matt would be interested in her, fly out the window.
“I like you, too,” she murmurs. “You. Not just Matt Rodriguez, the actor. But…you.”
She feels the sudden need for him to know this, because she really does like him. It has nothing to do with his fame or his wealth (though she‘d be lying if she didn’t say his good looks partly drew her to him). He’s nice and funny and more genuine and down to earth than she ever would have expected.
Matt traces his thumb lightly over her bottom lip, then cranes his head down and brushes his mouth over hers. Adder sighs, slipping a hand into his hair as her eyes drift closed briefly at the feel of his lips on hers. His fingers trail down her side again, then wrap around her back. Matt groans low in his throat when she slides into his lap, wanting him closer. Her arms loop around his neck, his hands resting on her hips.
She sucks in a breath as he kisses down her neck, his lips feather light against her skin. Adder can feel his racing heart under her palm as she glides a hand down his chest. He says her name in a quiet murmur as she presses closer to him, his lips finding hers again in a desperate, messy kiss. When they pull apart to catch their breath, she giggles a little, an unintentional sound that slips out.
Matt looks half-concerned, half-amused as he says, “I’m not sure how to take you laughing after I kiss you.”
Adder shakes her head, trying to find the words to explain it. “It’s not anything bad,” she reassures him. “I’m just thinking I’m dreaming this. Or maybe hallucinating.”
Matt lightly pinches her arm, then presses his lips to the spot when she frowns at him. “You feel pretty real to me,” he says, a teasing glint in his eyes.
“Did you just pinch me?” she asks in mock dismay.
“Only to prove a point,” he insists.
“Which was?”
His expression turns a little more serious, his dark eyes flicking back over hers as he cups her face in his hands, slipping his fingers into her hair. “I’m very real. This is real.”
Matt kisses her so softly that she wonders if she imagined it. “I’m right here,” he murmurs, brushing his lips against hers again.
“I think I believe you now,” Adder says dazedly, and he smiles as he kisses her again.