Page 30 of Mate Matched: Xavier & Brady
Half an hour later, I was ready to quit. Con talked and talked about his pickup basketball games, his soccer league, and the occasional baseball game he played. There was no wonder he was single if all he did was play sports with his alpha buddies. He made it quite clear that he would not invite me along if we continued dating.
By the time we finished our main courses, I was ready to go home. I called for the check.
“Want to split it?” Con asked, staring at the bill in the middle of the table.
Unsurprised, I gave a strained smile. “Sure.”
“Hey,” an all too familiar voice said from behind me. “Why don’t I pay for your dinner? I think Brady still wants dessert.”
“Who are you?” Conrad’s face flushed with anger, and perhaps some embarrassment as he took in the other alpha.
“Just an old friend. I’d like to catch up with Brady, if you don’t mind.”
“We’re on a date,” Conrad said stiffly.
“It looked like it had ended since you were about to split the check. I’m offering to pay for your dinner and Brady’s if you give me your seat.” Xavier’s smile was charming, though it held a hint of challenge.
“Whatever. Free dinner, I guess.” Conrad stood and didn’t offer me a goodbye before leaving the restaurant.
“Well, we won’t be having date number two.”
Xavier paused halfway in Conrad’s abandoned seat. “Is that a problem?”
I laughed. “No, but you knew that already.”
He sat with an unrepentant grin. “Dessert?”
“Alright.”
We chose desserts to add to the bill once Xavier flagged down the server. He was incredibly charming with them, earning himself a fond smile. I couldn’t help feeling at ease now that he was with me.
The desserts were great, made better by the improvement in dining partner.
“So, ready to ditch Mate Match yet?”
I laughed. “No. I want to see if you’ll turn up soon.”
Xavier pushed my phone closer. “You’ll need to unmatch with that guy before you can get your next one.”
My fingers shook as I unlocked the app and went to the match details. I clicked the button to unpair me and Conrad and waited. Sure enough, a match came in:
Congratulations, Jae, you have an 83% match! Click here to open your Mate Matched profile.
I hit the button again, my stomach fluttering with nerves. My heart dropped.
Across the table, Xavier watched me carefully. “Not me, huh?”
Somehow Xavier knew when I was on a date, and always came to find me unless I asked him not to, which hadn’t happened because all these dates were a dud! What was wrong with me that I couldn’t match with a decent guy?
Movie date, the guy got handsy. He actually followed me to the bathroom thinking I wanted to hook up there in the theater! I was actually grateful Xavier had mysteriously turned up that time. I reported my date to the app. Mate Match gave me a free month and banned the dude, so that was something.
When I asked Xavier how he was always there when I needed him, he admitted he was still on my heat tracking app. That’s how he knew when I was out on a date. The app showed my location. I could also track him. It really was reassuring to have that backup with all these bad dates.
They kept getting worse. There was one where I met a guy at the gym, only for him to go off with a beta who could bench far heavier than me. Xavier turned up to spot me before I could get into trouble. We had lunch after. It was so nice. Effortless in the way we had been back at the start. Then I remembered Gio’s words and how worthless they made me feel. It wasn’t enough to have this with Xavier. I needed something more. Some proof.
Despite Xavier’s saves and persistence, I knew I wasn’t ready to call it a day with Mate Match. Deep down, I was beginning to suspect that only Xavier turning up as my Mate Match would give me what I needed to be certain he was meant for me.
If the app couldn’t pick him for me, why would I pick him for myself?
