Page 50 of Swiped
Nat felt her body slump in relief. “Oh God, I have no idea what I even said.”
Rami let out a huge breath. “Me neither! Like, I know my mouth was moving, but my brain just kept screaming at me with all the words I absolutely should not say.”
“Same!” she cried. “What the fuck, brain?”
Rami gave a thoughtful frown with an amused tilt of his eyebrows. “Someone should look into fixing that design flaw.”
Nat winced with a gasp at his words.Design flaw.Suddenly, she was back in Rami’s bedroom, buttoning her shirt over her naked chest and trying not to cry.
“Shit, that’s not what I meant!” He grimaced.
Nat shook her head and dug her palms into her aching eyes. She was way too tired to stop any tears this time. “It’s fine.”
“Last night or just now, I didn’t mean whatever it is that’s making you make that face, because you also made that face last night and that face is killing me.”
“It’s fine.” She took a deep breath and fixed her gaze behind him. “See you in two weeks.”
“See you in two weeks,” she heard him say as she walked away.
* * *
Nat ducked behind the BeTwo office door like it was a shield. She pressed her back against it and closed her eyes. A few hot tears rolled down her cheeks. She really did have almost no idea what she’d actually said in the interview, except the lies about not having seen Rami. It felt like a blur, like a smear of goo across her memory that made her stomach sick to think about.
The only thing that soothed her was remembering Rami’s dimpled smile from the night before. But that comfort only lasted so long before reality, and memories of the rest of the night, set in. She might never see him smile like that at her again.
“Good job, boss,” said Jo.
Nat cracked an eye open.
Jo stood before her, holding out an iced coffee like the patron saint of elder millennials. “Justin is out for the rest of the day, and also I thought you could use this.”
Nat briefly considered waving it away, but even her wounded ego was only so strong. She wiped her face with her palm and reached for the coffee.
“But really . . . are you, like, OK?” Jo’s face was drawn with concern. “I know this whole thing is bananas.”
“B-A-N-A-N-A-S,” Nat and Jo immediately sang in unison.
Jo giggled.
Nat felt relief melt into her heart. Their old inside joke, still going strong enough to push past Nat’s recent defenses, and however Jo really felt about her. Maybe the butt dial had all been a misunderstanding, somehow? Would you still sing a cheesy song from twenty years ago with someone you hated? Nat felt the iced coffee bringing her back to life. Should she just ask Jo about it? That was the obvious and mature solution, not that she had the energy to possibly bring it up now. Still, the madness of the contest must have clouded her mind from seeing it before.She really couldn’t wait for this ordeal to be over. Nat nodded. “I’m good, thank you, Jo.”
“Thought so. Just checking.”
Jo’s heels clacked behind her as Nat shuffled to her desk with the coffee.
“So, I know it’s early, but the discourse is definitely going our way,” Jo reported as she tapped on her phone. “The main reaction to Rami seems to be very muchcringe, so nice work!”
Nat paused. “What do you mean? It’s not like I told people to hate him.”
“You didn’t have to!” Jo rolled her eyes and shot Nat a knowing look. “He’s cute but he’s kind ofa lot, don’t you think?”
The words snapped like rubber bands against Nat’s nerves. Her mind swung wildly back to her previous hurt. She knew that the exhaustion crackling through her body was dangerous, unpredictable, evenunhinged— and she was helpless to stop its trajectory. She scoffed. “I don’t want people to hate Rami.”
“Sure, but . . . it’s kinda good for us if they do.”
“I’m a good person, Jo! Why would I want people to hate Rami?”
Jo raised her hands in mock surrender. “That’s not what I was saying!” She shook her glossy ponytail and fixed Nat with a concerned look over her crossed arms.
