Page 4 of Mate Match: Curtis & Jae
Jae’s personal statement:
I think I’m pretty easy-going and open to new experiences. I’m looking for a male alpha for a long-term, monogamous relationship.
My ideal alpha is one who wants to protect omega rights, would prefer a cozy night in over one at aclub, and is prepared to playfully argue anime ships with me.
“Korean?” Grace mused. “Is he hot?”
Turning my phone, I showed both of them the picture. Grace whistled low. “Damn,” Marty remarked.
“Outta my league.”
Grace leaned over to smack my face lightly. “None of that. You’re cute and one hell of a catch.” Marty fist bumped her in agreement.
“What she said,” Marty added. “I know Tag did a number on your confidence, but you’ve got so much going for you. Jae would be lucky to end up with an alpha like you.”
“Does this mean you’re looking to date again?” Grace wondered, leaning into Marty. They’d struck up such a great friendship in the months she’d been working with us.
My best friend hesitated. He’d been single aside from a few short-term things since he’d gotten pregnant in his early twenties. Marty had met an alpha who wanted to take him through his heat. What he hadn’t wanted was the child he’d created with Marty, leaving the omega to raise their daughter alone. Marty had discovered he was pregnant too late to do anything about it, though he’d said he would have kept the baby, no matter how difficult raising her alone was.
“Not yet. Let’s get Curtis mated off first, alright? Then we can think about an alpha to handle all this.” He pointed a finger at himself with a grin.
“Have you two never thought—” Grace began.
“No,” I said along with Marty. “I love him, but no. He’s my best friend. We just wouldn’t work like that.”
“What he said,” Marty agreed.
“Okay, whatever. A match this high is amazing! Are you going to message him?”
“Yeah, just not with you two underfoot.”
“Guess that’s our cue to leave.” Marty grinned, showing there were no hard feelings.
Once they both left the office, I took my time over my message. I hoped Jae would like my profile and reply. Butterflies fluttered in my gut at the thought of meeting him. There was just something about his profile that appealed to me.
Somehow, I was still surprised when he replied to me, going in with a difficult question straight off the bat. Figuring out the answer took me a little while, especially since I had a couple of calls to take. I worried Jae would think I wasn’t interested.
When he liked my answer and my fishing for a date, I felt spurred on. Was it silly to feel a connection to this virtual stranger?
We shot back and forth with the basics about our families and jobs. Not all that much information outside of what was in the profile honestly. It took me an hour of back and forth before I dared ask him out to dinner. The force of my smile hurt my cheeks! I couldn’t remember smiling so wide.
“I’ve got a good feeling, Mama,” I said to her picture.
Even though we had a date set up, we still messaged back and forth for a while.
Curtis
Favorite Color? Mine is green. Like grass or leaves. We don’t do landscaping, but I like seeing the yards when they get people in to make them nice. I really should get mine done properly.
Jae
You own a house? I’ve got an apartment. I’d love a place to grow some vegetables! My favorite color is blue. What’s your favorite season? I like spring when everything is growing.
Curtis
Yeah, I was really lucky with this place and renovated it myself in between jobs when I was starting out. Fall is my favorite. The colors are pretty. I should ask if you have any allergies or foods you don’t like, so I can make a reservation for our date.
He was gone for a long time. I worried I’d put him off. I had the feeling I was going to be on edge until our date, stressing about putting him off me before we could meet properly. Then I reminded myself I had a lot going for me, like my friends had said. Tag getting into my head and ruining things couldn’t be allowed to happen.
