Page 9 of Heart Match

‘Uhh …’ he thinks for too long and I already regret asking and feel embarrassed once again.

‘Sorry, was just an idea,’ I say trying to make it sound like it’s not a big deal.

‘No, no, no … I’d love to. It’s just that I have something going on today and …’ he shifts his cap backwards and tugs a strand of his hair behind his ear.

‘It’s ok, you don’t need to explain,’ I say.

The doors begin to close for the second time, and this time he holds them open and, to my surprise, says quickly, ‘How about dinner?’

I don’t even give it one second thought, ‘Sure.’

‘Great. I’ll knock at your door at eight,’ he says with an almost imperceptible wicked smile.

‘I’ll be waiting,’ I say.

‘Oh, and you can keep the T-shirt,’ he says, then the doors close, breaking the connection between our eyes.

Chapter Three

‘Sometimes I wish I knew your secret,’ says Naomi, on speaker.

I’m dreading my workday. After yesterday I have no motivation whatsoever to work on the designs. Not today at least. I decided to accept that today is one of those useless but necessary days to keep my mind sane. So right now instead of drawing new designs in my office, I’m checking what’s in my fridge and brainstorming—mainly alone—what I’m cooking for tonight. I hope he’s not allergic to anything. I should have asked him what he likes.

‘Secret to what?’

‘To attracting cute guys even when you’re making a fool of yourself,’ she says laughing.

‘Thanks for the honesty,’ I say.

‘Always a pleasure. But seriously. I can’t believe that in less than twenty-four hours you managed to get the guy to hold your hair while you vomit, take off your clothes, put you to bed wasted and still get a date with him,’ she says.

‘First off, when you put it that way it sounds really weird. Second, it’s not a date. I just wanted to show how relieved I am that he didn’t take advantage of me last night, more than for the fact that he held my hair while I vomited and put me to bed,’ I say.

‘Okay, now you are sounding weird. But you’ve got a point. Just don’t tell him your real reason, it might give him ideas …’ she chuckles on the other side and I roll my eyes and let out a laugh on my side.

‘How do you manage to have a dirtier mind than mine?’ I ask.

‘What do you mean? You learned it from me. I’m still your mentor, it’s only natural my mind remains dirtier.’

She is indeed my mentor. After Josh and I broke up, she was the one to introduce me to the world of casual sex. At first, I wasn’t sure about it. Would I be able to sleep with someone without getting attached and begin to expect more? I had my reservations. But once I realised it meant I didn’t have to worry about fighting all the time and being kept from doing things I liked, or being myself for that matter, I got the hang of it. Not having strings attached worked pretty well for me.

‘Ha. I know what I’m cooking,’ I say staring at my fridge, excited.

Naomi’s typing something on her computer, then asks, ‘What’s his name anyway?’

‘That is a good question. One I intend to ask tonight.’

‘Make it a priority. Does he know your name?’

‘Now that is something I’m intending to tell him tonight, at some point.’

‘I just can’t believe you. Do you know how weird this all sounds?’

‘It sounds worse than it feels, I can tell you that much.’

‘Still weird. At least you know where to find him,’ she smirks.

‘HAHA.’

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