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“So what do you think?”
Matt and Karen were sitting on his couch, eating Thai food and discussing their latest case. They had had a lot of nights like this recently. Nelson, Murdock, and Page was gaining more and more clients, and they had recently moved into a new office. It was great news for the firm, but it had also meant a lot more work.
And that work usually ended up being done on Matt’s couch before he headed out for the night to beat up criminals.
“I think we are going to win this case for sure,” Karen said.
“I like your confidence,” Matt said, taking another bite. They had been talking so much that the food was beginning to get cold.
Karen smiled. It was so nice, sitting here with Matt. Their friendship had been growing stronger, and she loved working with Matt and Foggy again. Of course, there was a part of her that wanted more than just friendship with Matt, but she wasn’t sure if that was a good idea, especially after what happened last time.
The lights flickered for a moment, and Karen looked out the window and realized that the light snow that had been falling when she came over to Matt’s apartment had turned into quite a storm. Karen had been so focused on the case—and, if she wanted to be honest with herself, on Matt—that she hadn’t noticed how bad the winter storm had gotten.
“Wow, it’s really coming down out there,” Karen said.
“Yeah, it is,” Matt said. “Maybe you should stay here until the storm dies down.”
Before Karen could respond, the lights flickered and then went out.
Karen frowned. “I wonder if it’s out for everybody in the building.”
Matt cocked his head to the side. “It is. Nobody on the block has electricity.”
“Well, it will be hard to do anything more on the case tonight with the electricity out,” Karen said.
“I’m sure we could come up with something else to do,” Matt said. “I mean, if you agree that you should stay here until the storm dies down.”
Karen’s mind had immediately went to a place she hadn’t intended when thinking about things she could do with Matt on this cold winter night, and she blushed. “Yeah, um, we could talk about something else.”
“Right. I’m sure there are plenty of things we can talk about.”
“Yeah, we hardly get any time to talk about anything other than our cases, since we’re so busy and all. Which is great. I’m really glad that our new firm is doing so well.”
“Me, too,” Matt said.
They were silent for a few moments. Karen’s mind had gone back to the time they were sitting on the couch discussing Frank Castle’s case and Matt had mentioned being there all night. Would she be here all night? Of course, thinking back to that night also brought Karen’s mind back to the mess their short-lived relationship became shortly after that. And that was exactly why Karen needed to push the pictures of making out with Matt on the couch and then heading to the bedroom out of her head. She needed another topic.
“The wedding,” Karen said. “We should talk about Foggy and Marci’s wedding.”
“Right. The wedding," Matt said. "Wow, that’s only 6 weeks away. You know, I’m starting to get a little nervous about being best man. What if I do something wrong and ruin Foggy’s wedding?”
Karen smiled. “You won’t. Well, as long as you show up. Just make sure you don’t have anything else going on that day.”
“I will definitely make sure my schedule is clear. I’m never going to let Foggy down again. Or you.”
“Well, you seem to be doing a much better job of balancing your lawyer life and vigilante life now,” Karen said.
“I’m trying,” Matt said. “You know how terrible I feel about everything that happened before, right? And, you know, for not telling you and Foggy that I was alive?”
“Yeah, that was pretty bad,” Karen said. “You’ve done a good job of making it up to us, though.”
“And I’m going to keep making it up to you,” Matt said. “Oh, speaking of which…”
Matt got up and walked across the room. He came back with an envelope and handed it to Karen.
“What’s this?” Karen asked.
“It’s the rest of the rent that I owe you. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you doing that for me. You never gave up on me. I would have lost my apartment if it wasn’t for you. And that’s not the only thing I would have lost.”
“Oh … um, you’re welcome.”
Karen looked down at the envelope in her hand. Matt really had been working hard to make everything up to her and Foggy.
Karen and Matt were finally being honest with each other. Things were so different now than when they were when things had fallen apart before.
Karen set the envelope down and looked back up at Matt. The only light in the room was coming from the billboard, and she found herself moving closer so that she could see his face better. Soon they were sitting just inches from each other, and the air felt electric. Matt reached up and stroked Karen’s cheek. Then they both leaned in, and their lips met softly.
After a few moments, the sweet kiss became more urgent. Karen wrapped her arms tightly around Matt’s neck. She felt like she couldn’t get enough of him.
Then the lights came back on, and Karen reluctantly pulled away. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts.
“We don’t want to rush things,” she said breathlessly.
Matt nodded. “Yeah, it would probably be best to take things slow.”
“It’s tempting, though,” Karen said with a smile.
Matt smiled back. “Very tempting. So … you’re willing to try this again? As long as we take things slow?”
“Yeah, I think this is worth another shot,” Karen said with a smile.
Matt smiled back, and all Karen could think was how much she loved his smile and how much she wanted to kiss him again.
But there would be time for that later. It was best to take things slow for now.
“So … would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night, at our favorite Indian restaurant?” Matt asked.
“Definitely,” Karen said. “It’s a date. It looks like the storm has ended now, so I should probably get going. After all, we have a big case tomorrow.”
“And our date tomorrow night,” Matt said with a smile.
“Yes, I can’t wait,” Karen said, and she gave him a quick kiss.
As Karen headed out of the building and looked at the snow on the ground, she couldn’t help but feel grateful for this winter storm.