Page 33 of Mate Matched: Xavier & Brady
“Maybe. You know I don’t blame you, though, right?” I needed him to understand that.
“You should. If it wasn’t for your friend…” he went silent for so long I thought I’d lost the call. “Why are you on this app, Brady? What about this guy? Is he a potential mate?”
I laughed. “He’s actually on the app. We used to have a friends with benefits thing… It’s complicated. I thought he might match with me, but I’ve been on all these dates and he’s not there.”
“He’s trying to match with you?”
“Yeah. He wants to use it as a way of showing we’re meant to be.”
Brent let out a tiny sigh. “That’s kinda romantic.”
“It is, which is why I’m losing hope.”
“Brady, I can’t match you with him. It’d break all the company ethics. What I can do is clean up your profile a bit, maybe refresh your matches. Might get you a bit closer. What d’you think?”
“Let’s do that, please. I appreciate this, Brent.”
Later, in bed, I clutched the pillow to me as I cried. It was ridiculous to be so upset over something that was a long shot.
Brent had taken me through the questionnaires this time and adjusted my answers where I was unsure of things the last time I’d gone through them. Though time-consuming, I hoped it would be worth it.
Why was I so brokenhearted when Xavier wasn’t my first match? Brent had told me that the chances of Xavier being at the top of my list were small. We were basically playing a lottery by trying to get matched to each other, especially since another omega might have tied Xavier up in a match already.
Seeing the profile of the next guy had made my stomach lurch so painfully I thought I was going to throw up. It made me realize I didn’t want to play this game anymore. I wanted Xavier.
The cold, hard truth of it was that I was done with Mate Match if it meant I couldn’t have Xavier. I had to end this.
Brady
Meet me tomorrow at the Blackstone Gallery. 3pm
He didn’t leave me waiting for long. Never did.
Xavi
I’ll be there.
I slept fitfully and woke far earlier than I usually would. Unable to stand the solitude of my apartment, I thought about visiting Jae, but decided against it. The pair had so little family time now with both of them working and looking after Leo that it felt rude to intrude. We’d end up wedding planning too, which I didn’t like to do without Jae’s mom there. Not that there was much left to do. Under Haneul’s steering, the wedding ship was on course! I was so tired I could barely muster a smile at the thought of Haneul’s strict planning sessions.
Staying home was an absolute no, so I went to the pool instead. After only half an hour in the pool, my mind felt much more settled. The cool water moving over my limbs, the steady pump of my arms and legs propelling me from one end to the other had me hypnotised. I swam until my body felt too heavy to continue and slowly made my way to the showers.
The spray worked out the remaining tension I held while I let my mind wander.
All these months, the back and forth, everything ended today.
By the time I entered the gallery, I was determined to get what I wanted. Xavier had already proven to me he was my perfectmatch. Did we really need the app to show it? If my plan didn’t work, I had the words rehearsed to convince him.
He stood in front of a painting, gazing at it with a slight frown on his handsome face. I loved the way his mouth turned up at the corner as if he were always fighting off a smirk. His top lip was thinner than the bottom, the smallest imperfection on an otherwise perfect face. His blue eyes were the color of the ocean on a pretty day, with dark, thick lashes and strong slashes for eyebrows. He had a tiny beauty mark at the corner of his left eye that I wanted to kiss.
Xavier’s hair was a darker brown than usual, likely from the shower of rain. His wool coat glistened with raindrops, telling me he hadn’t been waiting long.
I approached quickly and tapped him on the arm. I wanted to kiss him, but it felt wrong until we cleared the air. “Hey, thanks for coming.”
“Of course. Should we walk a bit further in? It’s a little crowded here.”
“Sure.”
We walked together, pausing briefly at some of the older art to make inane comments neither of us really paid attention to until we found a quiet corner.
