Page 78 of Swiped
Rami’s head swiveled as she breezed past him in a cloud of sweet floral perfume. He heard her gathering her keys and slipping into heels by the front door.
“I cameso closeto getting an SUV from a local dealership, but maybe this time I can get one of those cute little Vespa things!” she called. “Come on! We’re gonna be late!”
Rami’s brain blinked back online, and he knew that against all odds, he was being given a gift. Even if he didn’t deserve it, he would be a fool not to just go with it and pay back his great karmic debt later. He hurried toward her. “So, you’ll still pretend to be my girlfriend? On the internet?”
She winked a matcha-colored eye. “Just for tonight.”
Rami’s hands clutched at his chest, as if he were wearing a waistcoat and she’d just agreed to attend his ball. “You’re an amazing woman. Let’s get you a scooter.”
Chapter 19
Jo met Nat at the door when she walked back into the office, already wearing herTeam Natshirt. Excitement buzzed off of her petite frame in a way that Nat could feel in the air. “Hey, how are you feeling? Do you want to practice what you’re gonna say, or do some affirmation exercises, or do you just want some quiet time to get in the zone?”
Nat peered around the office. “Is Justin here?”
“No, he headed to the expo center to make sure the stage set-up was going all right.” Jo’s eyes frowned a little through her peppy smile. “Anything I can help you with?”
Nat nodded, searching for what to say. She had Jo to herself, and she knew that any more time spent doomscrolling might just liquify her brain for good. It was time to face what had happened between them. “Listen, can we talk?” she asked, gesturing to their ancient IKEA sofa.
Jo perched on the edge and searched her with nervous eyes. “Everything good?”
“Yes . . . actually, no.” Nat twisted her hands in her lap as she sat next to Jo. In all the years that she had dealt with bullies and rejections and friends that turned their backs on her, she had never once talked to any of them about it. Why would she? So, she could hear exactly what was wrong with her? But as she searched Jo’s patient but nervous expression, she realized that maybe that was actually the precise information that she needed. After all, how could she improve if she didn’t know what to fix? Once again, it all came down to data. And data was something that she could handle. Nat took a deep breath. “You pocket dialed me one night, and I heard you telling someone that you really don’t like me.”
Jo’s face went slack, and her eyes gaped before she buried her head in her hands. “Oh my God,” she said. “When? What didI say? I’m so sorry! I was probably just venting about something and—”
Nat touched a hand to Jo’s shoulder to stop her. “It’s OK, you don’t have to like me,” she said. “We spend a lot of time together, and you probably know me about as well as anyone these days, so I guess I just want to know why, or like, why not?”
“But I do like you!” Jo looked at her with panic swimming in her eyes. “Also, I really like this job!”
“You don’t ever need to worry about your job,” said Nat, suddenly feeling like a monster. “I know it was unfair of me to ask you that, but I just . . .” She bit the inside of her lip. She felt like she’d waded out neck-deep into swampy water, but now the only way out was to keep going. “I don’t have a lot of friends, OK? In my experience, people tend to keep me at arm’s length, especially once they get to know me, and that’s really the whole reason I started BeTwo — so people would know what they were getting beforehand and then maybe they wouldn’t be disappointed and bail.”
Jo narrowed her eyes as a realization hit her, and her face relaxed. “I see,” she said. She took a few breaths, and Nat could practically see the thoughts turning in her head. “So, if that’s why you started the app, why didn’t you ever make a profile and use it?” Jo waved a hand toward theTeam Natshirt layered over her button-down. “I mean, before all this contest stuff.”
Nat shrugged. “Well, I did use it to look for people,” she said, starting on her standard line of defense. But the words felt hollow as soon as she heard them echo in the empty office. The loopyTeam Natcursive on Jo’s shirt wove into her thoughts like a ribbon — if she couldn’t be honest with someone wearing her name on their chest, when could she be? “I guess I didn’t think anyone would really be interested in me.” She gave Jo a sad smile. As incredibly difficult as it had been to say, once the wordswere out of her mouth, they sounded so small and childish, even if they were deeply true.
Jo nodded. “Yeah, I get that.” She ran her eyes over Nat with a cautious expression and smoothed her sleek ponytail. “I don’t know what you heard me say, but that’s probably what I was talking about. It’s gotten really depressing to come to work day after day and promote an app that’s all about love and hope and connection, but yet the creator is so . . .” She trailed off.
Nat jumped in to try and help her out. “Annoying? Demanding? A totally selfish bitch?”
“No, it’s like you were justshut off.” Jo sighed and shook her head. “I get focusing on your career, but I never understood why you would make a dating app if you weren’t going to date at all, and if you didn’t even believe in having love in your life. Obviously, the algorithm is genius and all, but it started to just feel, I don’t know, kinda bad vibes.”
Nat closed her eyes and let Jo’s words sink in, heavy even in their Gen Z patois. She was right, of course. Nat’s confidence in her algorithm had never wavered, but she’d never managed to extend that confidence to her actual self. Instead, she’d hidden behind her work for validation because it was, objectively, really damn good, but also because she was afraid that her personality couldn’t live up to anywhere close to that standard. It was one thing to make a “genius algorithm,” and it was another to then get rejected by it. But those mistakes were all behind her now, right? Even though the contest with Rami had forced her hand, she had used BeTwo in earnest, and she had found a partner who wanted to be with her. So, what did Jo have to say about all of that? “Well, I have Thom now,” she ventured. “I mean, you’re right, about everything, but the situation has changed . . . hasn’t it?”
Jo fixed her with a bright smile. “Thom! Yes, totally.” She nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Jo, please,” Nat said. “Please just be honest with me.” She felt the plea throb behind her eyes like a headache. “As a friend?”
A warm smile crept into Jo’s heart-shaped face as she repeated Nat’s words. “As a friend . . . OK.” She scanned the ceiling and twisted her hands in thought. “I can totally see the Thom thing for you,” she said.
“But?”
“But . . . I don’t think you have to settle so soon.”
Nat sat up straighter. “He’s my ninety-nine percent match. Not exactly settling.”
Jo smiled and nodded again. “Yes! That match is bananas high.”
Their eyes met with a laugh at the reference.
