Page 3 of Mate Match: Curtis & Jae
His pick wasn’t something I’d heard of before. Not unusual. My parents hadn’t exactly encouraged us to read fantasy growing up. They were nonfiction and biography people. When I was in my teens, I’d discovered a love for graphic novels. I hadn’t looked back since. It took me a moment to look up the book and the animated movie. That was a great choice, judging by the synopsis and reviews. The animation looked beautiful.
Jae
The animation is stunning! I can see why you like it so much.
His reply was fairly instant.
Curtis
Maybe one of our dates could be watching it?
I replied with a broad grin on my face.
Jae
Yeah, I think I’d like that.
Two
Curtis
Gracewaggledmyphonein front of my face, unlocking it. “You’ve got a match!”
My fingers paused on the keyboard. We were in my tiny office, barely big enough for the filing cabinets, wide desk, and three people, though it was enough.
The company I’d started eight years ago had grown from a single person, me, to a crew of twelve. It was a rapidly growing operation thanks to my employees’ hard work ethic and our fair pricing. There were two other supervisors now, each running small teams. We were kept busy and were in constant demand. Sure, part of that was the quality of work. Though I truly believed it was the amount of omegas on staff which set us apart from other home renovation companies in the area. There was one on every team. Grace was on mine, while Marty led another. If anyone asked me, I’d say Grace was the best damn electrician you could find in the state, I’d put money on it.
Marty, my best friend and longest employee, flashed me a look of surprise. “You let her do it?”
“You say let like I had a choice,” I drawled. Hopefully Grace understood it was affectionate. We were still finding our feet with each other, figuring out our growing friendship and what our limits were. I took her signing me up for a dating app as a sign that she was comfortable with me.
She chuckled. “You didn’t! My husband’s brother swears by this one. He was mated within three months! Can you believe it?” Grace lounged back in her seat. She was still a little pale after her last heat. The crew were great with understanding when our omega staff had to take time off for heats. We were pretty evenly spread with alphas, betas, and omegas and most had experience of their parents, siblings, or friends going through heats to be sympathetic. Besides, it was dangerous to have an omega in heat at work, especially with building materials, machinery, and crap. Having been friends with Marty for so long, I knew that from experience.
Hopefully this time, Grace’s heat would stick and they would get their hoped for baby. We’d only have her part time after her baby leave, but it was better than losing her to the competition. She was also free to work more if she chose. We’d play it by ear when the baby arrived. I was thinking positively that there was a baby in there for them because I knew she and her husband wanted it so badly. It was one thing which drew me to her in the interview, her honesty was refreshing. She had straight up told me she and her husband wanted a family, and if that was a problem, not to hire her. I gave her the job on the spot.
“So? Are you interested to see who you’ve been matched with?” Grace asked.
“I know I am. ‘Bout time you went on a date. It’s been like three years since you last had a relationship.” Marty would know. The beta I’d dated hadn’t liked my friend at all. Didn’tget his or his daughter’s place in my life. That made him pretty unlikable in my eyes. We hadn’t lasted long.
“Okay, give me the phone,” I said, fingers reaching out for the device.
The app was already open, though not the notification, Grace had left that for me.
Mate Match
Congratulations, Curtis, we have a rare 94% compatibility match for you. Click here to open your Mate Matched profile.
I opened the profile straight away and nearly closed it again when I saw the guy’s photo. He was much too cute for me, even if the photo was a tad blurry.
Seeing the others waiting expectantly, I read out the profile.
Mate Match profile summary for Jae Lee.
Jae is a male omega of 28. He is currently single, works as an illustrator, does not subscribe to any religion and his ethnicity is described as Asian, specifically Korean.
His likes: Movies, books, art, my cat, time with friends, going out to eat, learning about other cultures.
His dislikes: People who don’t like cats! The party scene.
