Page 33 of Matched

Maybe. Maybe not

Me:

So mysterious

Nate:

Enough of that, PBP

Me:

What?

Nate:

Pinball prince

Me:

Was that meant to be amusing? Because it wasn’t

Nate:

Tough crowd

Me:

Stick to the day job, mugger

Nate:

I won’t take career advice from someone who tried and failed in his criminal career at the first hurdle

Me:

Noted

Nate:

Gotta go. I have a date to get ready for. Have a good time tonight. I mean it

Okay. This was my fourth read-through of our conversation, and my initial conclusion hadn’t changed. Nate was definitely fine with me going on a date with his sister. Not only that, but he had his own date tonight. Sophie was great. We’d been getting on well, I found her attractive, and it was clear she was into me.

There shouldn’t be any reason for me to feel like something was missing. Whatever I’d thought I was beginning to feel for Nate was all in my head. We hadn’t even spoken since that weird moment where he’d made an excuse to run out of my room, other than a brief “hi” during my penultimate training session with the football team.

It was all fine. I was ready to move on with my life, and Sophie deserved a proper effort from me.

With that in mind, I decided that I needed some advice from my housemate Ander. Jogging down the stairs, I knocked on his bedroom door. At the muffled “come in,” I threw the door open, to be confronted with a sight my eyes were not prepared for. Ander was standing in the centre of the room, dressed in a pair of the shortest shorts I’d ever seen in a garish metallic purple. JJ was circling him, a thoughtful expression on his face, while Elliot reclined on the bed, tapping at his phone.

I cleared my throat. “Uh…hi.”

“Hi.” Ander gave me a bright smile. “What’s up?”

I decided to ignore his shorts as best as I could, because they were very short andverytight. Keeping my eyes fixed on my housemate’s face, I stepped into the room. “I just wanted your advice on what to wear for my date. If this isn’t a good time, I can come back.”

“What look are you going for? Fuckboy chic?” JJ’s gaze raked over me, and I gave him the finger. All three of my housemates laughed, and I glared at them. Three against one wasn’t fair. Where was my remaining housemate when I needed him?

“I have a date with Sophie tonight, and I want to look good for it. You’re…you know.” I gestured at Ander, and his grin morphed into a softer, genuine smile.

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