Ch 2— Matthew Cruz is for the girls.

SAMANTHA

The drive to Cruz's residence was hushed, only the constant sigh I made was the only sound one could hear in the car as Matt drove us to his house.

I still couldn't believe I would be living under the same roof as Matthew Cruz, the boy I had been crushing on from the very first day I set my eyes on him.

I had once tried to let him know about my affection for him, but anyone who had eyes to see beyond the surface would know that Matthew Cruz wasn't the type to do love. He was for the girls and everyone knew it, so I kept my feelings locked up and threw the key inside the ocean.

I moved my pinky finger to my mouth and bit down on the tip. Why would my Dad be that wicked to send me to live with a guy like him anyway? “Aargh!”

“You okay?” Matthew asked from the driver's seat, his voice had so much effect on me that I felt my head snap up at the mere sound of his voice.

He was staring at me through the rearview mirror, our eyes met, and there was something about his ocean-blue eyes that seemed to be drowning me each time I looked into his eyes.

I slowly bit on my bottom lip and hastily moved my gaze to the window. I was staring so deep into his eyes that I feared I might die if I did not divert my gaze.

I didn't know I was supposed to say something until Matt spoke up again. “I noticed you've been shifting a lot in your seat, are you uncomfortable in there?” he asked, I could feel him still staring at me through the rearview mirror even though I wasn't looking at him.

“Mind your own business.” I snapped at him, my voice was barely a whisper and I wondered what the fuck took my voice away.

“Listen,” Matt cleared his throat, even though he was sounding just fine. “I know it might sound weird for me to start acting like we're friends, but this is what I was told to do. My Dad sent me to pick you up and instructed me to make sure you feel comfortable,” he added, mumbling the last part and that made it make sense.

Why would Matthew fucking Cruz care about a girl like me if not because he was doing as he was told?

I didn't give any reply and I didn't move my gaze off the window either. I somewhat expected Matt to say more, but he didn't. I never knew we had gotten to Cruz’s residence until the car pulled to a halt.

“We are here,” Matthew announced, just about time I raised my head to check if we were truly at his house.

I had never been to the Cruz’s residence before, the only two times I’d met with Cruz's family was when the family came over to my place for a family dinner; the second time was when the family went for a picnic when I was in 11th grade.

“Do you need help with any of your bags?” Matt asked, pulling me out of my thoughts as he stepped out of the car.

I shook my head even though he was already out of the car and wouldn't be able to see me. I sucked in a sharp breath as I stepped down from the car and watched Matt walk towards the car trunk to fetch my bags.

“No,” I half yelled when Matt opened the car trunk and was about to bring out my pink Rolling Duffel bags. “It’s just two bags, I can manage on my own.” I rushed up to him and snatched my bags off his car trunk.

My heart was hammering hard against my chest as I held tightly onto the bags. I didn't know why I did that but I felt like the girls at school would skin me alive if they heard I had Matthew Cruz carried my bags.

“Okay,” Matt pinched the bridge of his nose, then shrugged off his shoulders. “If you say so,” he added before shutting the car drunk.

He walked past me, his arm slightly brushed against my shoulder and I felt a spark of electricity pass through me. “This way, please.”

“How am I going to survive living under the same roof as Matt?” I grumbled to myself as I started dragging my bags after Matt as we walked towards the house.

The compound of the Cruz was times two our compound in size. The house was surrounded by a well-manicured lawn, dotted with flowers and shrubs. There was a pool at one side, the pool was sparkling blue, set against a backdrop of lush greenery. A white gazebo stands at the edge of the lawn, providing a shady spot to relax.

Just my ideal type of house!

I was still so busy checking out the house that I didn't notice Matt had stopped walking. He cleared his throat and I turned my gaze at his direction to see him staring at me.

“You seemed to be enjoying the view that you didn't hear me calling you.” he chuckled, the corner of his mouth curved in a smirk.

“Oh,” I threw my gaze to the floor, feeling embarrassed that Matt caught me checking his house out.

“Please come in.” he ushered me into their living room by opening the door for me.

I stepped inside, scanning the living room that was decorated in a mint green and beige design.

“Dad and Mom should be home later in the day, let me show you to your room.” Matt offered and I nodded my head once.

I wasn't expecting to meet his parents at home anyway. When it comes to randomly travelling for work, I didn't know which one was worse between his parents and my Dad.

Don't ask me how I knew, Dad usually tell me that whenever I bring up the conversation he travels a lot.

We were walking towards the stairs with Matt leading the way when my gaze shifted to the wall and my eyes landed on a large picture frame of shirtless Matthew. He was standing in the surf, with the water up to his ankle. He was only clad in blue beach shorts, water dripping down from his curly brown hair and down to his bare chest.

He had a finger pressed on his abs, his lips parted slightly and he raised a palm to his face, shielding his ocean-blue eyes from the sunlight.

The picture looked dangerously hot that I felt my thighs pressed together due to the sudden hotness I was feeling under my thighs.

I was still staring at the frame until I felt a palm on my shoulder. I flinched in shock, my soul almost leaving my body as I saw Matt smiling at me with a cocky smirk tugging at his lips.

“What?!” I gasped, feeling my sanity slipping away through the window. It hadn't even been up to two hours with Matt, and I'd already been caught staring at him twice. This was going to be a long stay, and I wasn't sure how I was going to survive it. My heart was pounding, and my mind was racing.

Matt raised an eyebrow, giving me a look that asked if I was still in my right mind. “Your room.” he smiled instead, pointing towards the stairs.

I gulped down nothing, the realisation of what I had gotten myself into finally hit me, and I felt my throat goes dry. Staying with Matt was going to be a disaster, and I could already feel the tension building.