Page 6 of Swiped
“Unless?”
“Unless Brian K. is out there in the audience. Because in that case,” he held his palm up to his face, “it doesn’t matter that your hand is smaller than your head because you’re about to get a bloody nose.”
Nat laughed the last clench of nerves out of her stomach as she sank into the sofa. “Yeah, obviously.” She smiled at him as the sudden desire to look super, super cute flooded her body. She remembered that a guy she dated in college had always liked it when she tossed her hair. “And thanks,” she said, fluffing some of her honey brown curls across her shoulder and leaning toward him. “I’ve never done one of these before.”
She watched his approval of her gesture flash across his face as he said, “It’s nothing. You looked like you were aboutto pass out, which usually only draws more attention.” He raised one eyebrow. His eyes flared with secret mischief again. “Counterproductive.”
Nat felt his gaze with a flip in her stomach.Speaking of butterflies . . .It’s been a long time.“Hi, I’m Nat.” She held up her badge as if he needed proof, remembering how she behaved like an anxious nun when she was nervous.
“Well, that’s shitty luck,” he blurted. His face fell before he picked it back up into a forced smile. “I mean, hey there.”
Nat mock-frowned. “I always kinda liked my name, but to each their own,” she joked, still too charmed to fully register the sudden shift in tone. “And anyway, what’s your name?”
He jittered his leg up and down as he looked at the ground. “I’m Rami.” Then he turned his eyes — colder and far less sparkly — to her. “And you’re Nat Lane, creator of BeTwo, the only modern way to date.”
“Well, yeah!” This time, Nat felt a swell of pride instead of dread for being recognized, and having her app’s tagline quoted back to her no less. Now she practically wanted to crawl up and kiss the BeTwo billboard. . .and maybe this cute guy with the soft-looking lips too, while she was at it. “Glad our ads are working.” She offered her hand. “Nice to meet you, Rami.”
Rami just nodded and gave her a quick handshake before fishing out his phone.
Nat frowned in earnest this time, and watched him tap away. Was he nervous to meet her? The twins had told her this would start to happen, even though she’d never believed it. Who got nervous around a coder? But theydidhave that billboard on the freeway. Shewashere to be the top speaker at this panel. Maybe this was her first star-struck fan? It was actually really flattering, and since it'd been almost two years since she’d flirted with anyone, she’d take any help she could get. She smiled and tossed her hair again. “So, you use BeTwo?”
Rami grunted a laugh. “Yes, I have.” He grunted again, and his face lit up at some interior joke. “Though now I just go straight for a root canal when I feel like inflicting that much pain upon myself.”
Nat blinked in shock.Pain? Upon . . . ?“Excuse me?” she said.
Rami sighed and ran a hand through his thick curls. “Look, you seem like a nice person, but your app is . . .” He hesitated.
“Brilliant?” suggested Nat.
Rami smiled. “Evil.”
Nat’s mouth literally dropped open, and she had a second to register that such a cartoonish thing actually did happen in a state of outraged disbelief. Then V’s neon pixie cut flashed into view. Clapping loudly, they bellowed, “Panelists! You’re up! Form a single-file line along the yellow tape, not the red tape!” They clapped a few times after each word as they added, “Not! The! Red!”
Nat stood and tried to fix Rami with her coolest stare. But the butterflies only fluttered harder in her stomach when she saw his full frame—strong thighs in dark denim and broad shoulders in a neat gray button-down. “Well, sorry to cut this short, but I’ve got to get in line.”
But instead of withering into the sofa as she’d hoped, Rami stood also. Now his espresso eyes were above her line of sight just enough to force her to look up and lose the high ground. “Yeah, me too.” He fished a SPEAKER badge from his pocket as he added in a singsong voice, “See you out there!”
V clapped again. “Now, panelists, listen. Do not just silence your cell phones. I need them off. O-F-F!” They herded the panelists into a line along the yellow tape. “If those phones buzz in your pocket onstage, trust me, it’s gonna sound like you just ripped a huge toot up there.”
Nat fumbled for her phone as she followed Rami toward the line. “Wait, you’re on the panel?” she hissed.
“Yeah, I made App Number Six, Whither, Weather. And yes, I know that’s the last place on the panel, OK?”
The mention of his app almost caused Nat’s mouth to drop open again, but she was guarded against that now. Yet on the inside, her butterflies were now flying in loops and tossing glitter around. She swallowed back the excitement and sputtered, “What? I love that app!”
Rami shrugged, unmoved.
“How did you get it to be so accurate?” she whispered, aware that this situation had now gone so completely off the rails thatshewas the star-struck fan of an app, albeit one with what she could only describe as symphonically beautiful functionality.
“Hard science,” said Rami, rolling his eyes. “And an algorithm that doesn’t prey upon emotional vulnerability.” He smiled, and Nat clocked an infuriating set of dimples. “You should try it.”
“First of all,” said Nat, no longer even trying to whisper. “Have you ever seen my code? Because it’d make your mother weep, it’s so fucking spotless—”
“Yes, exactly!” Rami spun to face her and leaned closer. “Your code makes all kinds of people weep. What have your BeTwo dates been like? Because as far as I can tell, your app only opens up a portal to a personal circle of hell for anyone who uses it.”
The flips in Nat’s stomach now turned to fire. Now he was talking about her baby. She leaned closer, too. “It’s OK, just admit you’re jealous of my work!”
“Right.” Rami laughed to himself, a soft, dark sound that rippled against Nat’s skin. “How about you answer a question for me. You’ve used your own app, right? I assume that’s why you’re normally about as public as Emily Dickinson?”
