Paying Up

Courtney and Matt were just finishing breakfast; when Courtney looked over at Matt and grinned, "Time to pay up."

"Oui, Oui. I suppose so." Matt agreed.

The two got rid of their trash and made their way to the parking lot, where Matt's motorcycle awaited them. They got on, securing their helmets, and headed over to the east parking lot, which had a few cars but was pretty much empty. Perfect for this.

Last night, the two had played glow-in-the-dark volleyball. They were both pretty good at it and it ended up with Courtney beating Matt two games to one. So, he lost and in the process lost the bet he had made her. So, now was time to pay up. He'd let her drive his beloved motorcycle in the parking lot for a few minutes. He had picked the east parking lot because he didn't know about the skateboarding area and didn't think anyone would see them. It wasn't that he wanted to keep anything about him and Courtney a secret it was more he wanted an open area and some alone time with her.

After a few pointers, as his bike was a custom job, she took off and went around. While he was sure she could do more on a bike; she seemed to be having fun but not doing anything too crazy as it wasn't her bike. He was, kind of grateful, for that. So, the time flew by and she parked the bike.

He reached into his pocket and touched something, letting the metal fall between his fingers. Now was a good time or so he thought. "I wanted to talk to you about something," Matt said.

"Sure," Courtney responded as the two went to sit on the bench.

"I was wondering... well, you know." Matt, much unlike himself, was having a hard time just saying what he wanted to. He took a breath and tried again. "The back-to-school dance is coming up and I was wondering if you'd go with me to it."

Courtney looked surprised, she swallowed and didn't say anything for a moment. "I...I can't."

"Are you going with someone else?" If so he would just back off.

"No...I just can't." Courtney closed her eyes for a moment. "You should really go with someone else."

"I don't understand." Matt didn't want to pressure her, he wasn't trying to do that but her response confused him.

"I can't talk about it." With that, she stood up. "I should get back to help with the sets. I ....I'm very sorry." Courtney walked away back towards where the theater kids would be getting things ready.

Matt had no idea what had just happened. He thought she liked him; well, it seemed still like she did. What did she mean by she 'can't.' He was confused and not sure what to do next. So, with nothing to be done about it at the moment, he got on his motorcycle and went to the other part of the beach so he could also help the musical theater kids.