Life-long Friends Pt. 02

"Oh fuck," he muttered, slowly realizing that the buzzing wasn't just in his head. He attempted to pry his eyes open, but it was proving to be difficult.

"What's going on?" Naomi's voice was groggy next to him.

"How quickly can you get some clothes on?" Matt opened his eyes, scanning over the stunning shape of her body next to him, stroking her cheek. She smiled, not opening her eyes.

"I don't wanna," she replied and he sighed. His phone was now buzzing along with his door and he needed to roll out of bed. Naomi would be pretty pissed if he didn't give her sufficient warning.

"Hon, I need to go get the door," he informed her, waiting for a reaction. There was none. "Naomi, do you hear me?"

"Uh-huh. Go get the door," her eyes remained closed.

"That's Seth." No reaction. Matt rolled out of bed, grabbing his boxers off the floor. "You know, Seth, our friend of twenty-plus years. The one who doesn't know that you sleep in my bed when you stay over?"

"I'm just gonna stay here." It wasn't registering with her at all. Shit. This isn't what he had planned to happen this morning. He pulled on his boxers and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

He was supposed to set an alarm and of course, he totally forgot about it because it had been three weeks since he'd last seen Naomi and last night got kinda out of hand. She came over after Thanksgiving dinner at her parents' house and they didn't even make it into the bedroom on the first round. He lifted her up onto the stool at his kitchen island and had her right there, two minutes after she walked in. They did eventually make it into the bedroom, but there was very little sleep happening. And now it was Black Friday and one or more of their friends were figuratively knocking down his door because it has become a long-standing tradition to meet up for breakfast and, weather permitting basketball, on Black Friday.

"I called you like seventeen times, no shit," Seth greeted him when he opened the door. Adam and Schmidt stood right behind him. Matt held the door open for them to come inside. "Jon and Becky are on their way. 'Cause that's a thing now," Seth rolled his eyes. "But I had no idea what you wanted, so you're gonna deal with the Hungryman Platter I got you. And Naomi's MIA, so I shot blind on that one too. Is she even coming?" Seth set the take-out bags on Matt's kitchen counter, looking at him.

"Yeah," he nodded. "She'll be here."

"Matt's got a chick over," Adam announced, a shit-eating grin on his face. Matt swung around to look at his friend, suddenly noticing that Naomi's clothes were still scattered over his floor from last night. Shit. He scratched his head, bending down to pick up the evidence.

"Seriously? You hooked up with someone on Thanksgiving night?" Seth scrunched up his forehead. Matt didn't know what to say to him.

That night when he helped Naomi move, when she tried to convince him to stay, she said it was fine if the other guys knew about them. But they were all adults and it didn't seem appropriate to brag. They all saw each other, but not on any regular basis. Matt lived the closest to their hometown and Schmidt had stayed local too, but the rest were an hour or two away. Jon had only recently moved back to the east coast, after years of living in California, and was barely even in touch during that time. So somehow, months and seasons clicked by without anyone learning of their arrangement. The longer they went without telling their friends, the more difficult it had become to bring up.

"Give me just a minute," he raised a finger to them before taking Naomi's clothes back to the bedroom. The guys shook their heads, smirking. There may have been some commentary about how this was classic Matt.

He shut the door behind himself, looking for pants to pull on. Naomi seemed to have gone back to sleep. The covers were pulled up to her chin and her dark curls have fallen over her face. Matt pulled on a pair of jeans and grabbed a t-shirt from the dresser, sitting down on the bed next to Naomi while putting it on.

"Naomi, I really need you to wake up, hon." He stroked her hair, brushing the curls away from her face. "I need you, out there with me, so we can figure out what the fuck we're saying. You can't just hide in here all morning."

"What are we saying?" She opened one eye looking up at him.

"I don't know! Are we telling them like it is? Just out with it?" Both of her eyes were open now, looking at him in confusion. "Because they know I have someone back here and your clothes were all over the living room, so they are under the impression that I got laid last night."

"You got laid last night," she grinned.

"Yes, I did. Focus, hon." Her face sobered up a bit. She sighed.

"Ok, I'll put on some clothes and go out there." She pulled an arm out from under the covers and rubbed Matt's arm. "We'll just... do the truth thing, I guess. I don't have the mental capacity right now to come up with anything."

"Ok," he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'm gonna go back out there. Don't leave me hanging for too long."

The guys were all eating when he went back out there. Seth sat at the counter, Schmidt and Adam were on the sofa with their containers of food. All eyes turned to him when he walked back into the room. Before he had to say anything, the doorbell buzzed again, saving him, and he went to the door to open it. Jon and Becky greeted him before making their way in. They started dating recently, after Jon moved back into the area. Their new relationship didn't receive too much criticism from the group, aside from the fact that Jon was now sleeping with Seth's little sister, which was a bit uncomfortable. But they were quite forthcoming with it from the start, there had been no secrets.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Naomi slip out of the bedroom, while everyone was talking to the new arrivals and sorting through the food in the bags to find their stuff. He just watched her for a moment, his heart rate spiking. She discreetly leaned against the far wall, her hands behind her back, her lower lip drawn in between her teeth. Her dark curls were pulled back in a messy bun at the back of her neck and she wore a pair of sweatpants and a tank top, the kind with the built-in shelf bra. Her feet were bare.

Matt scanned the room, to see if anyone noticed. Schmidt's head was cocked to the side, his eyes wide, switching between him and Naomi. He didn't say anything, but he was definitely on to them.

"Matt, are you gonna come get your food?" Seth called to him from the counter. "I've texted Naomi like half a dozen times and she hasn't gotten back to me yet. I got her chocolate chip pancakes. She used to like that, I hope she still does. Otherwise, I don't know. You guys gotta start answering your damn phones."

Matt walked over to the counter, taking the containers meant for him and Naomi, and walked them into the living room area. Jon and Becky had set themselves up at the counter with Seth and there was no more room there. He set the food down on the coffee table and nodded his head towards it, looking at Naomi.

"Come, sit. I'll get you coffee," he told her. She sucked in a breath before coming to sit on the floor in front of the coffee table.

Matt did another assessment of the room while walking into the kitchen. Everyone's eyes were on Naomi now. It was silent. Adam was grinning wide, Seth looked confused, Jon's expression matched Schmidt's, eyes flitting from Naomi to Matt and back. Becky sat with her mouth open and her eyes wide staring at Naomi.

"Wait, what happened here?" Jon spoke up.

"I think if I'm reading this correctly, Matt banged Naomi last night," Adam spoke up. Naomi's face flushed. Matt poured coffee into mugs.

"Seriously?" Seth looked up at him, brow furrowed. Matt just shrugged in response. "How the fuck did this happen?"

"Well, originally, there was a lot of alcohol involved and it was just a stupid thing that happened, but now it's..." She was looking at him, then shrugged one shoulder, "an arrangement I guess." He would have liked to use the word relationship at this point. It has become an entirely exclusive thing by now.

"An arrangement?" Schmidt jumped in. "Like friends with benefits? Like you are regularly sleeping together?" Naomi nodded.

"Since when?!" Seth's voice sounded demanding. Naomi fidgeted with her plastic fork, looking down at her pancakes.

"Coming up on two years now," Matt answered. There were gasps around the room and Adam guffawed loudly. It's been a year and nine months since he helped Naomi move out of Richard's house, since the night when they started making up their rules.

"You've been secretly screwing each other for nearly two years?!" Seth stood up from the stool, his eyes were saucers.

Matt brought the coffee to Naomi and sat down next to her on the floor, opening up his breakfast. Neither of them said anything in confirmation. They exchanged a quick look. They never really sat around, talking about the amount of time that they've been doing this. Or the fact that they've both completely stopped seeing other people in the past year. Instead, their visits had become so frequent that they sometimes spent several weekends in a row together. Last summer, when Naomi was off from work, he took off a week as well and they drove up to Cape Cod together, stayed at an inn across the road from the beach, ate a boatload of fresh seafood, and screwed like rabbits. It had been the best vacation of his life and almost every one of his co-workers commented afterward on how relaxed and happy he seemed upon his return.

Naomi still called it an arrangement and introduced him as her friend. But who needed labels, right? They had a good thing and what did it matter if she put the word 'boy' in front of the word 'friend' when referring to him?

"So how does it work when you are like... out at a bar? You guys still have your no-cockblocking rule?" Adam recalled. Man, that seemed like it was a lifetime ago. They didn't go out to bars these days with the intention of leaving with anyone other than each other. Naomi shook her head.

"No, we just don't go out together with the intention of meeting other people," she explained. Adam nodded.

"Ok, but say if you're dating other people, do you tell the guy you're dating 'hey, I have this arrangement with a friend?' Or do you just not see Matt if you're dating another guy?" Seth asked. The question seemed directed at Naomi, so Matt refrained from jumping in, spearing home fries onto his fork. Her eyes moved, thinking, she stared off somewhere into space.

"They're not seeing other people," Schmidt announced. Perceptive bastard. His eyes were shifting between the two of them, waiting for either Matt or Naomi to argue with him. Neither of them did. "They are basically in a serious, committed relationship with each other, pretending like it's just about sex. I bet you guys keep stuff at each other's places so that you don't have to pack it every week when you go back and forth."

"They're not denying it," Becky observed, a giddy smile on her face.

There was nothing to deny. Matt's bathroom was full of Naomi's stuff. She kept a full-size bottle of her tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner at his place, deodorant, toothbrush, hairbrush, lotion. He had coffee creamer in his fridge, even though he drank his black. He had his stuff at her place too. He accidentally left one of his shirts behind, months ago, an old, faded Fordham shirt that had been worn thin and soft with frequent wear and washing and it was now Naomi's favorite shirt to sleep in. She wasn't giving it back.

"I don't understand, why is this a secret though?" Jon narrowed his eyes.

"That was me. That wasn't Matt," Naomi admitted. Everyone's eyes turned to her waiting, expectantly, for more. "It's just..." she waved a hand in the air. "Insecurities and stuff. That there would be jokes at my expense and... advice to Matt to not get involved with me." Matt watched Seth as he sighed, running both hands through his hair, looking up at the ceiling.

"I don't get it." Schmidt shook his head. "Why would we joke about you? That you can do better than this lanky, spindly beanpole? Cause you can Naomi, seriously, but that's not really about you." Matt smirked.

"Naomi, I would never have told Matt not to get involved with you. If anything, I know first hand what the attraction is," Seth looked right at her. "I get it, it's a little weird when you've... done stuff with two guys who are good friends..."

"Three." She cut in. Seth, Jon, and Schmidt exchanged looks. "Adam." She reminded them.

"Adam?!" Schmidt's eyebrows went up. "That doesn't even count. That was like... kissing practice." Naomi cracked a smile.

"Practice makes perfect," Adam looked right at Matt, winking. "You're welcome."

They all managed a laugh at that.

"Anyway, like I said, I understand the draw and I wouldn't have told him not to date you," Seth continued, addressing Naomi. "You're adults and this isn't college and whatever drama happened between us, over a decade ago, doesn't mean that you can't have a successful long-distance relationship now. I mean, obviously, you're doing it, right?"

They were very much doing it, with absolutely no drama at all. Was it actually going to be these guys, their childhood friends, who were finally going to convince Naomi that this thing between them was serious?

"Just cut the crap and call it what it is," Schmidt imparted his wisdom as the only married member of their group. "You are serious about each other, you have a relationship. Good for you."

****

On the one hand, it was liberating to be out with it and not sneak around behind their friends' backs. It wasn't an incredibly difficult feat, since they lived far enough apart these days that there were long stretches of time between seeing each other, but it still felt like a relief. She and Matt were in a relationship. A serious, adult relationship. In the back of her head, she knew that to be true, but she hadn't let herself believe it or say it out loud before. Now it was out there. Matt was her boyfriend.

"I'm exhausted," Naomi announced, plopping down on Matt's couch with her jacket and sneakers still on. They went out for their annual Black Friday basketball game and then ended up at Seth and Becky's parents' house for leftovers. It was evening when they finally got back to Matt's after what had been an extremely emotional day. Admitting to the seriousness of this thing between her and Matt had taken a lot out of Naomi.

"Let's go take a shower," Matt suggested, nodding towards the bathroom. That was far from a terrible idea.

"God, if I can peel myself off the sofa." Matt's grin turned wicked at those words. He came over to the sofa, scooped Naomi up into his arms, and carried her into the bathroom. She clasped her hands around his neck, holding on for dear life. "Geez Matt, you can't do that!"

"Why not? I'm doing it."

"I'm too heavy for this!" He stopped her, still in his arms, by bending over to cover her mouth with his and kissing her deeply.

"Nope. That appears to be entirely untrue," he told her when he pulled away.

He set her down to sit on top of the closed toilet lid and undressed her, untying her shoes and removing her jacket and every other piece of clothing she had on. He turned on the shower, letting the water warm up while he stripped off his own clothes. Naomi stood up, putting her hand under the stream of water, checking the temperature, then got into the tub. Matt joined her, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her naked body in against his and leaning down to kiss her.

"I've had this song in my head all afternoon," he told her, tipping her head beneath the shower stream to wet her hair, gently collecting it, pulling all the strands back. "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend by the Ramones." She smiled.

"That's a good one." She let Matt turn her around and work the shampoo into her hair. It felt amazing when he massaged her scalp. This wasn't the first time they did this. Matt definitely had a thing for washing her and she was absolutely willing to go with it.

"So... relationship, labels, all that stuff... we're doing it?" Matt turned her around to face him again, tugging her head back underneath the water to rinse out the shampoo. Naomi's heart picked up the pace.

"Yeah," she spoke quietly, her eyes closed against the water trickling down over her face. Matt's lips came down to hers, kissing her softly, then following down her jaw and her neck while his fingers worked the soap out of her hair under the stream.

"I haven't wanted to be with anyone but you in a really long time, Naomi," Matt admitted. She wiped the water away from her eyes and looked up at him. The expression on his face was sincere and caring, but she didn't need to see it to believe him. In a way, she's known it for as long as he felt that way.

"Me neither," she reached her arms up around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. He brought her in against his body, connecting them skin to skin. She could feel his erection resting against her belly. They had never been able to make sex work in the shower because of their height difference, but it definitely served as excellent foreplay. She let out a tiny moan when their lips disconnected and Matt turned her around to put conditioner in her hair.

"It feels like we are jumping right into the middle of this right away, you know? Like, did we have a first date or should we go on one?" Matt asked, his fingers massaging again.

"I don't know," Naomi giggled. "Honestly, it doesn't really matter that much to me."

"Wow, I've really scored with you, huh. No need for any public declarations or fancy dates, just... TV and take out and sex, and you're all set. Ultra low maintenance. Every guy's wet dream." Naomi laughed again. He swept her hair over one of her shoulders and kissed her neck and shoulder. She tipped her head to the side, inviting the kisses. He pulled her closer to himself, her back to his front, reaching his arms around the front to grasp her breasts in both of his hands, kneading them, twisting the nipples. He knew exactly how to touch her, what she liked. She hardly ever had to give him direction, he could read her body, figure out exactly what she needed.

He pulled away, putting body wash into his hands and returning to her to soap up her body. He worked his way from the top down, over her shoulders, her chest, down to her breasts, meticulously covering every centimeter of them in suds. Down over her belly and hips, between her thighs. His fingers worked on rubbing slowly through her folds and over her clit, lingering there a bit longer, then he moved his hands to her ass, soaping up the smooth skin of her ass and pressing his fingers between the cheeks to rub slow circles over the tightly puckered hole. Naomi's eyes had fallen shut, simmering in the sensations his hands were producing. Everything felt perfect. He moved further down her thighs and calves, bending down behind her for a better reach. She yelped with surprise when he bit her, right on the fleshy part of her ass. She was surprised, but she certainly didn't hate it.

He turned her around, moving her towards the stream of water, tipping her head back with a pull on her hair, rinsing the conditioner and soap off of her.

"You missed your calling, going with the whole accounting thing. You should have gone into business doing this. It makes me never want to take a shower alone again." Matt was laughing heartily, his fingers working through Naomi's hair.

"Umm... I don't know how to take that, hon. Are you telling me that I should have become a male escort or a shampoo boy?"

"I don't even know what I'm fucking saying. This, what you're doing, it's just so damn good." Her eyes were still closed, enjoying his touch.