Page 2 of Can't Always Get What You Want

I tap on his bio.

It goes on and on,blah blah blah, “lover of coffee, live music, and spontaneous road trips.”

Okay,Blake.

A little generic, but nothing offensive. No shirtless selfies, no fish photos—already an improvement!

I glance over at Gio, who is now snoring softly on his blanket.

“What do you think?” I say to no one. “Swipe right or no?”

The dog’s ears don’t twitch.

“Fine. Swipe left,” I say, swiping past Blake and moving on to the next profile.

It’s a guy holding a sword. Not, like, a fencing sword—an actual sword. In his living room.

“Jesus Christ,” I mutter, swiping left so fast I nearly drop my phone.

The next guy is a little better: a cute smile, some pictures with friends, and no immediate red flags.

The bio?Looking for my queen. Must love adventure and tacos.

I groan. “Must love tacos? What does that mean? Everyone loves tacos, Kevin. You’re not special!”

Left.

My thumb freezes over the next profile, though, because the guy looks…familiar? No, not familiar. He looks exactly like mychildhood dentist. Same slightly unnerving smile, same weirdly perfect hair, but grayer than the last time I had a cavity, which was over ten years ago.

“Nope,” I say aloud. “You are a creep!”

I flop back on the couch, staring at the ceiling as Gio lets out a tiny snort in his sleep.

“This is it,” I tell him. “This is my life now. Me, you, and a never-ending stream of weirdos on the internet.”

I’m doomed.

Swipe.

Swipe.

Then.

I see another profile that looks familiar.

I freeze, holding the phone closer to my face than necessary, my heart skipping a beat as I stare at Luca’s bio—as in Luca Babineaux, my brother's teammate and the guy Austin and I had been gossiping about months ago…

“No way,” I whisper, my brows furrowing as I study his profile.

Luca’s profile picture is exactly what you’d expect from a good-looking athlete: standing on a beach, shirtless, with a volleyball tucked under one arm and a smug grin that could rival Gio’s cocky on any given day. His bio?Goal-oriented. Literally. Bonus points if you like dogs and can handle trash-talking during game night.

Well.

That’s snarkier and more clever than I would’ve given him credit for, considering I’ve always thought Luca Babineaux seemed boring as fuck.

I squint at the screen; something about it doesn’t sit right.

Where are the hockey pictures? The gear? The action shots from their games?

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