Chapter Text
He had been driving you crazy. His tall, slim figure… The soft chocolate color of his eyes… The award-winning smile… It was hard to focus.
Being a film student was never an easy path, you knew that from the beginning. First, getting into a decent film school was hard enough, but then you were stuck with the reality that you needed an internship. Something that didn’t pay much but would look damn good on a resume. You had to work under someone with a name that spoke for itself. And that name was Matthew Patrick.
You were smart enough to know that the future of film was on the internet. The true power of web series hadn’t really been established yet, but the world was slowly moving in that direction, with Netflix having original series and films. Now youtube was producing full-length television shows, and you knew your calling. But to get on one of those projects, you had to know somebody.
Your father worked for a major TV station in it’s advertising department, specifically in internet marketing. He introduced you to Matt after a particularly interesting meeting where Matt showcased how to use Youtube and other streaming sites properly to get the most value. Matt was in need of a new editor, as one of his teammates was getting married and would be busy for the majority of the summer. Bingo, new job.
But that wasn’t the problem.
Matt was an eligible bachelor in his late 20s, with a good sense of humor, a contagious laugh, and a fashion sense. He often had coffee with you over discussing projects and would invite you to join him to test out new games. A lot of the work you did at home, but he found it was easier to give you notes and teach you new techniques face-to-face. You rented out a small apartment in LA for the summer, and the two of you saw each other every day during the week, even if it was just for coffee and a quick run-down on what he and his fellow theorists needed.
You had spend so much time blushing and hiding your eyes from his stare that you were getting tired of it. You thought by now you would have gotten over it… But somehow things had just gotten worse.
The night had gotten late, and it was so goddamn hot in California. Who in the right mind wanted to live here during the summer? Oh, yeah. You. You were stripped down to a tank top and shorts, finishing the last round of edits on a video. Matt and you had split a pizza a few hours ago, and he had gone to shower to get the sweat off. The night was going to be a long one if this video was going to be up tomorrow.
You rose from the couch and stretched, rubbing your eyes. You needed iced coffee. Now. Navigating your way into the kitchen, you started up the coffeemaker, content to pour it over a large pitcher of ice. You’d need the caffeine. You heard footsteps coming down the stairs and paid it no mind. He’d keep working on his scripts-
“Hey, Y/N. Oh, thank God, coffee.” You saw a hand reach over your shoulder, grab a cup out of the cupboard and fill it with ice water. You followed it to a shirtless Matt, hair still wet, downing the glass. “Ugh, hot showers are the worst during summer.”
You bit your lip and turned back to the counter. “Um, uh, yeah. Completely.”
He paused. “Oh. OH. Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” You turned back in curiousity. “I just kind of… It’s almost a billion degrees, and I just thought… If this makes you uncomfortable, I completely understand.”
You paused and shook your head. In honesty, it was his house. The man could do whatever he wanted. And… It wasn’t like you didn’t like the view. “No, no. It’s fine. You’re right, it’s too hot for that.”
He sighed in relief. “Good, as long as you’re okay with it.”
The pair of you talked for a while until the coffee brewed and iced, then sat back down on the couch to work. Editing took a while, but you found a spot where you were stuck.
“Matt? Which screengrab do you like better?” You were going to crop it and edit it into his theory, but he was such a derp in both.
Matt scooted closer, a hand behind you and his thigh touching yours. His face was only about a foot from yours and his bit at his lips as he scanned both pictures. You couldn’t not look at him. He eventually nodded and pointed at one of them, but paused when he turned his head to look at you.
“...You okay?” he inquired, eyebrows furrowing.
You swallowed and looked away, not daring to move your head much. “Uh, yeah. F-fine.”
“What?” He cocked an eyebrow. “I got something in my teeth or something?” He flashed a grin at this, almost laughing at his own joke.
You blushed at his teasing, shaking your head and biting your lip. “Uh, n-no. No, you’re fine.” He nodded, backing off. He went back to his computer, but you noticed he didn’t type anything. He stared at it, expression deep in thought. You did your best to bury yourself in work, but noticed that he laughed quietly to himself after a minute.
An hour later and the video was set to render. You knew you shouldn’t leave until it was done to actually watch it before it uploaded, but it was hard not to stare at Matt as he typed. He noticed after a few minutes that the audio from your computer had stopped and you had begun to text on your phone.
“All done, Y/N?” Matt set his laptop on the coffee table beside yours, watching you.
“Uh, yeah. Just has to render before the final watch through.” You were proud of how smooth that sounded.
“Good. Hey, do you mind if I try out a new theory on you? It’ll only take a second.” He gave you his best boyish smile and you nodded, tempted to roll your eyes. “Oh, good.” He knelt on the couch next to you, smiling. “Okay, so I’m trying to prove that this girl in a game is crushing on this guy. Gives her motive to help him, right?”
You nod, listening intently.
“See, she blushes and stutters and won’t look him in the eye most of the time. And when she sees him shirtless, that behavior gets even worse. She definitely likes him, right?”
You nod again, shrugging. “Well, yeah. That’s usually what people do when they like someone.”
Matt cocked his head to one side. “See, this is where the theory falls apart. If they were alone, why wouldn’t she make a move? Kiss him or something?”
“Maybe she wants him to kiss her,” you explained, turning to face him more. “Like, she doesn’t know he likes her, so she’d feel weird making a move.”
“Oh, so she wants him to kiss her?” His confused frown slowly turned into a devilish smirk. He slowly came closer, grinning playfully. “What if he wants to kiss her too? Should he?” Inches from your lips, he paused and dropped his voice to a whisper. “What happens next?”