Chapter 7
They stayed on at his parents' place for a few days and by New Year's Eve they were back in San Francisco. Jessica had been invited to a party and even though it would be wall to wall lesbians and she'd asked him to go with her, Matt had declined. He had accepted her decision when it came to the two of them, but he wasn't quite prepared to go back to the way things were immediately. Matt bid Jessica and Liam goodbye upon their return from Santa Barbara and was relieved to go home and be alone.
He settled on his couch with a glass of scotch to watch the proceedings on television instead. His neighbor's party was in full swing so in the end he muted the sound and opted for their music and laughter as the evening's soundtrack.
When his doorbell rang for the third time that night he yelled from the couch that he had no more beer to give them - they'd cleaned him out an hour earlier. The chime sounded again and when he finally answered the door Matt found a hesitant-looking Taylor standing there.
His grin was automatic. "New Year's Eve. Really, Wethersby?"
"I wasn't sure you'd be home. Do I need to check if you're alone?" she asked lightly.
"Just me and Sonny Bono."
He held her gaze and neither of them spoke for several moments. Then, with a more demure smile, he stood back to allow her in.
"I just wanted to stop by to see how you're doing."
"You had nothing better to do tonight?"
Taylor shrugged off her coat to reveal a blue cocktail dress. Matt took it from her, giving her a drawn out, appreciative look to show his approval.
"My parents are having a party," she said. "After a couple of hours of my mother trying to fix me up with a CPA, I made my escape."
"Drink?"
"Scotch?"
"What else?" He poured them both a generous glass and handed one to her.
"Are you wearing sweatpants?" she asked incredulously.
"I'm home alone on New Year's Eve watching the best of Dick Clark. You were expecting a tux?"
"Fair enough." She raised her glass in a toast and took a large gulp that burned all the way down. When he raised an eyebrow at her she said, "Did I mention I've been trapped talking to a CPA all night?"
"Refill?"
"Please."
He topped up the drink while she made herself comfortable on his couch.
"How was your Christmas?" she asked politely, already feeling the heady glow from the alcohol.
"Merry," he replied with little enthusiasm. "Yours?"
"Same."
Matt took a seat next to her and they clinked glasses again. Taylor looked around his apartment, hoping he would start a conversation. When he just sat there, watching her, she grew self conscious.
"What?"
His eyes twinkled as he gazed at her. "I'm glad you came by."
She smiled involuntarily. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to see me... If you were still mad."
"Pfft." He dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand.
"It's been ages since we... talked."
"I've missed us... talking," he said.
"Yeah, me too," she admitted sheepishly.
There was a roar of laughter from the neighboring apartment which reminded them both of their poor excuse for a New Year's celebration.
"Must be getting closer to midnight than I thought. Maybe I should head back to the party. I didn't say goodbye to anyone," Taylor said after another long silence. "You could come with me if you like."
"I'm a little underdressed," he replied, indicating his t-shirt, sweats and bare feet.
"Maybe just a little." She sipped the last of her scotch and placed the tumbler on his coffee table next to a half empty bag of pretzels. Taylor felt an unexpected wave of pity for him even though he seemed quite contented to be alone on such a night.
When he made no move to stop her she got up reluctantly and retrieved her coat. Before she had a chance to put it on she heard him clear his throat.
"You could stay... If you want to."
She smothered a smile, ensuring her face was composed when she turned around. "Do you want me to?"
"Do you want me to want you to?" he countered with a grin.
Taylor let out an exasperated breath. "We're not very good at this, are we?"
"Depends the way you look at it," Matt said with a shrug. "Awkward semi-relationships, no. Hot naked sex, yes. I think we should focus on the positives."
This time she did not hide her smile. It spread slowly across her lips as he closed the distance between them.
"Deal," said Taylor.
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By the time January was in full swing they were busy with work again. With Jessica doing well health-wise Matt was able to focus his energies on his caseload. He knew he had lost ground to make up on. Martin Posner had reminded him several times that his billings were down and it had been months since he'd signed any new clients. Matt focused his energies and pumped out the work, allowing little to distract him. Nights with Taylor increased in frequency, and they settled into a strange but satisfactory existence that included plenty of heated arguments when it came to just about any topic they could name, and more passion than either of them thought possible to sustain. The equation was simple: work came first, sex second, and companionship such a distant third it was an overweight marathon runner.
Eli's promotion to junior partner before him was a set back. Jordan had finally announced that the pro bono division would commence operations in the new year and Eli had been appointed to head it up soon after. Not even the revelation that he was dating one of the firm's junior associates put off the appointment. Eli had made sure Jordan knew about his relationship with Maggie, having learned his lesson about keeping secrets from him. Matt congratulated him over the promotion but it was half-hearted at best. The competition to see who would make junior partner first had only ever been on Matt's side - Eli not even aware that he had started a betting pool among the associates several years earlier. To add insult to injury, Matt lost $1000 backing himself.
He was even more determined to shine after that. He was ruthless in his negotiations for clients, writing up multi-million dollar deals that would net the firm a healthy percentage. By March Jordan had started acknowledging him again, after catching him making out with Taylor in the elevator a month before. It might take a while longer for the managing partner to repeat the sort of sentiment he had when Matt requested they drop Jayson Turk as a client, but things were on the up.
Liam had his first birthday and Jessica went overboard with the party planning. She had started back at work and invited everyone from his daycare, so she and Matt spent the day chasing after toddlers in the local park where the party was held. After a couple of hours they were both exhausted and quite content to spend a quiet evening back at her place recovering. They were still as close as ever, with no awkwardness between them after his declaration at Christmas. He learned to be thankful for such mercies.
All in all Matt was contented. He still had a junior partnership position to earn, he had Jessica and Liam in his life, and even he and Taylor were moving slowly towards something that vaguely resembled a workable coexistence.
So he wasn't prepared for the phone call from Jessica a month later to tell him that she'd had a check up and they had found spots on her lungs and in her liver. The cancer was back.