Page 80 of Swiped
Thom chuckled. “Let’s just keep it civil, mate.”
“Hey, Nat.” Allison gave a dismissive wave and tugged at her dress as she squinted into the beauty lights. “Is it supposed to be this hot up here?”
“Yep,” V answered with unusual simplicity as they fastened lapel mics onto everyone in the group. “It’s basically the surface of the sun, literally and metaphorically.”
Nat shot Rami a cautious look while Tracy breezed in, flanked by assistants. He glared at Thom, his whole face puckered in an oversized frown like he’d eaten a lemon and then dedicated his life to scorching all citrus fruits from the earth.
Tracy perched on the stool and crossed her long, brown legs and smoothed her already liquid-glass-shiny hair. “Great, we’re all here and looking cute?” She gave them an approving glance, letting her eyes linger a beat on Thom. “Outstanding. So, we’re live in two minutes.” She ran her tongue over her printer-paper-white teeth and smiled. “Dates, just keep it natural. Keep it fun!”
Allison nodded as if she’d received CPR instructions. “And those are all the cameras, right?”
Thom hit Tracy with his own dazzling smile and crossed his legs.
Tracy arched a laminated eyebrow and appraised him for a beat before she pointed a finger at Nat and Rami. “And you two? Remember, discontent makes good content.”
Thom gave an approving laugh and elbowed Nat. “Oh, she’s good,” he whispered in a low rumble.
“Heh, yeah.” Nat fidgeted with her jacket buttons as crew members wheeled in more cameras and speakers and tested audiovisual connections. Nat scanned the auditorium. She watched as Jo and Justin tapped away on their phones in the front row, wearing their matchingTeam NatT-shirts. There was an empty seat next to them that they could have only been saving for Sara. Nat felt her heart clench. There were only a few minutes until it started. It looked like Sara had opted not to be on her team after all.
Then, seemingly all at once, V was shooing everyone out of the way, and attendees were streaming into their seats, and the lights were dimming, and the little green lights on the cameras were blinking.
They were live.
“Good evening, Buzzers!” Tracy cried, standing in front of the audience with her arms held aloft. Applause, or a stampede of elephants, filled Nat’s ears. The stage lights glared in her eyes as Tracy gestured toward the four of them.
“Well, here’s what you all have been waiting for — the big moment of truth in the #BeTwoChallenge.” She began a slow walk in front of her guests. “Which kind of dating is better?” She stopped in front of Rami and Allison. “The old-fashioned way without apps to introduce us?”
Rami nodded with furrowed brows. Allison giggled and shrugged.
Tracy continued. “Or the modern way, with all of its swiping and sexting?” She gestured to Nat and Thom.
Nat gave a small wave as Thom seemed to give a kind of seated bow.
Tracy took her seat and turned to Nat. “Let’s start with the side for technology. Here we have Nat Lane, creator of the app we all use, BeTwo, and the boyfriend she found through said app, Thom.”
The crowd responded with polite applause. Thom sat up even straighter, raised an eyebrow, and adjusted his open shirt collar to show more of his skin.
“Nat, you obviously succeeded in finding a partner through your app, but how was the experience for you?”
“Amazing,” Nat said without hesitation. “You know, Thom and I actually scored at a ninety-nine percent match, which is the highest possible percentage ever generated on the app.”
She felt Rami cringe as Tracy nodded and fired her next question.
“Cute. So did you find that your algorithm was accurate with your other matches?”
Rami leaned in and gave Nat a pointed look.
Thom butted in. “Oh, now, let’s not talk about the other matches while I’m right here, shall we? I might get jealous.”
Tracy and the audience murmured with soft laughs as Rami rolled his eyes. “Wouldn’t want that,” he hissed under his breath.
Nat wanted to swat his attitude away like a fly. Instead, she gazed at Thom with adoring eyes and patted his thigh.
Thom took her hand and turned his charm on full blast into the cameras. “The point is, Nat’s algorithm was so accurate, it matched me with another career-minded go-getter.” He arched an eyebrow and brought a hand to his chin, the model of casually deep thought. “As the lead of an award-winning interior architecture studio, I don’t have time to go on frivolous dateswhen I could be perfecting my new designs for dining chairs, chaises longues, and more, launching soon under the prestigious Design For All brand.”
Rami caught Nat’s eye again. He slow-blinked his round eyes as his face lengthened in mock disbelief.
Nat knew exactly what he meant.This guy? Really?But she just kept smiling. She noticed a very tall man in a silk shirt emblazoned with a snarling dragon sneak into the auditorium. She squinted. He held up a hand-scrawledI Am Here for Ramisign. She heard Rami laugh and point this out to Allison, who squeaked and wiggled a few fingers in greeting.
