Page 29 of Meet Cute Reboot

“Truth,” Chris says. “And to men too. Ladies, keep that in mind when you check out my Instagram account.”

“I’m an entrepreneur too.” I shift my focus from Chris to Cassie. “I know how hard it is to put yourself out there, to put your finances on the line, to be willing to risk it all. It takes a special kind of person, someone who is brave, adventurous, determined, amazing...”

Cassie looks down.

“She also happens to be kind, considerate, funny, loyal,” I add.

“You know all that from one date?” Chris asks.

“I’m a good judge of character.”

“All right.” Chris rubs his hands together. “This sounds promising. Next question: how does Cassie feel about you?”

Cassie’s expression tightens. “Well...Cupid worked exactly as designed. She matched us based on our extensive profiles, looking for commonalities in our backgrounds, interests, and goals.”

“Dude.” Chris levels his eyes at me. “Duuuude.”

“I think she’s working up to the good part,” I say.

“Of course. I’m just... Luke is very persistent and determined. We have that in common.”

“Do you think he’s hot?” Chris says.

Cassie glances at me. “He looks hot right now. I mean, he’s still sweating.” She laughs.

“But do you think he’shot.”

“I think it’s obvious. He could be on the covers of magazines.”

“Man, I’m trying to help you here,” Chris says.

“I appreciate it,” I answer.

“Cupid is amazing. She did a great job matching us together. But true connection takes time. That’s really what MatchAI is about. Cultivating true, lasting connections. Based on our first date, I think Luke and I have potential. But I’d have to go out with him more than once to form an opinion.”

Chris leans over the table for a high five. “I got you a second date!”

My smile widens. Cassie’s face drops.

“I want to see this. You gotta stream it on Insta. Y’all are cute. I see potential here.”

“I’d love to go on a second date,” I say. “As long as Cassie agrees.”

“Um. Yes. Of course.”

“Live on Instagram,” Chris adds.

“Sure,” Cassie says like she just agreed to eat eight ounces of liver.

Suddenly having thousands of pupils staring at me online doesn’t bother me so much.

We walk out of I107 into a blast of hot air.

“I think that went well,” I say to the back of Cassie’s head. Her curls sway as she tromps down the sidewalk in her high heels. “Hey. Hold up.”

Cassie stops and crosses her arms but doesn’t turn around. I risk resting my hand on her elbow. It spurs her to spin around. She flashes me the stink eye.

“Whoah,” I say, arms up in surrender.

---