Page 4 of Matched

“Yeah. Well. They’re one of the smaller teams in the Premier League, and I guess most of their fans are local. Does that mean you’re local to the area? Me, I’m from a shitty little town near to Gloucester.”

“Uh, yeah. No. Local-ish, I guess? Swindon. My dad’s originally from Gloucester, though, and he’s a big fan, so that’s why I started supporting them.”

“Makes sense.” He glanced down at his phone. “Shit. Uh, sorry. I’m supposed to be meeting someone here. I’m gonna go inside and see if she’s here yet.”

I suddenly remembered the original reason I’d approached him. “Yeah, me too. I’m meant to be meeting up with someone. That’s why I came over here. I was gonna ask if you’d seen a girl hanging around outside.” Glancing over at my bike, I added, “I don’t suppose you know if there’s anywhere safe to leave my bike around here, do you?”

“You won’t be able to mug anyone without it.”

“No?” My brows lifted. “Wanna bet?”

“Remember, I’m poor. Not worth mugging.” He jerked his thumb towards a small alleyway to his left. “But yeah, there’s a bike rack round the back.” Spinning on his heel, he headed for it, and I grabbed my bike’s handlebars and followed him down the short stretch of alleyway to a small courtyard with several industrial-sized bins and, as promised, a small bike rack with three bikes chained to it.

“My bike’s that one,” Charlie said, gesturing towards the battered mountain bike on the end of the rack.

Crouching down, I threaded my bike lock through the back wheel and around the frame before clipping it together around the metal bar of the rack. “You gave me all that shit about being a bike mugger when you had a bike yourself?”

As I straightened up, he glanced over at me with a shrug. “Yeah. Sorry about that. Now I know you’re a Glevum fan, I know you can’t possibly be a mugger.”

“I have no idea what logic led you to that conclusion, but I’ll take it. C’mon, let’s see if the people we’re meeting have turned up.”

As we made our way back down the alley, I opened theMatched LSUapp and checked myself in. A pop-up appeared to remind me to stay safe and let my friends know where I was. I selected the check box to say I’d done so and was presented with another pop-up informing me how to activate an emergency “panic” button, should I need it. I was impressed with the amount of thought Jonas had put into the app and mentally reminded myself to tell him so.

Still clasping my phone, I headed inside on Charlie’s heels, thanking him when he held the door open for me. My phone buzzed with a notification from the app, telling me to meet Green41 at the bar. Okay, that made things easier. If the place had been busy, I wasn’t sure how I’d know who my date was when I didn’t even know her name or anything about the way she looked.

The Game Room was fairly small, with a group of four pool tables and a long row of retro gaming machines along the exposed red brick walls. Over by the bar, there was a selection of tables and cracked leather sofas, and the bar itself had plenty of seating in the form of padded bar stools. The walls were plastered with gaming and film posters and memorabilia, and the whole place was dimly lit, with soft music playing fromhidden speakers. The whole vibe was laid-back, relaxed, and I smiled as I looked around.

“This is nice,” Charlie said, echoing my thoughts. His gaze dropped to his phone, and he tugged his lip between his teeth, his brows pulling together. “I dunno what…” He trailed off.

My gaze flicked from Charlie to the empty bar. “What?—”

The door in the far corner of the room opened, and two girls stepped out, heading straight for the bar. Straightening up, I pasted a friendly grin on my face as I approached them.

“Green41?” I asked.

“Blue16?” Charlie said at the same time. He blinked, his head whipping around to mine as his eyes widened. “What the fuck? What did you just say?”

My heart was pounding. “What didyoujust say?”

“Blue16…uh, did you say Green41?”

3

Turning away from the two girls, I grabbed Charlie’s arm and tugged him over to the wall next to an empty sofa. “I don’t know what the fuck is happening, but are you using theMatched LSUapp?”

He nodded slowly, biting down on his lip again. Unlocking his phone, he turned it to show me his screen.

There was a check mark next tomy usernameand the same message about meeting at the bar. Silently, I opened my own app and showed him the screen.

Shaking his head, he let out a disbelieving laugh. “How can this be? I specifically put that I wanted to be matched with women only.”

“Yeah, I did, too, and I’m one hundred percent straight. Fucking Jonas,” I muttered. “He’s got some explaining to do.”

Charlie shoved his phone in his pocket. “Well, that was a waste of time.”

Something about the flash of disappointment in his eyes made me pause. “Wait a minute. We’re both here. We know each other…kind of, and you know I’m not a mugger. Why don’t we have a drink while we’re here? Or—” I glanced around me. “—play some pool or go on the machines?”

“Alright.” He shrugged, a tiny smile appearing on his lips. “This better not be your attempt to lull me into a false sense of security, then you mug me when I least expect it.”

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