Page 81 of Swiped
“All right,” said Tracy. “Now, Rami and Allison, how did Cupid match you two IRL?”
Rami sprang into action. “You’ve heard of meet-cute? Try meat-cute! M-E-A-T!” He paused for laughter, but there was only a beat of silent confusion. “Because we met at a brunch!” he added, his pitch rising. “It was her birthday!”
“Oh, so you met at her birthday party?” asked Tracy.
“Well, no,” said Rami. “We were both dining alone.”
Allison squirmed. “I just moved here . . .” she added in a meek voice.
“That’s right!” Rami raised a finger in the air. “I was the first person she met in San Francisco! Talk about fate.”
Tracy zeroed in on Allison. “So, tell us, what drew you to Rami? You’re a beautiful woman — you must have guys approach you all the time.” She tented her fingers under her chin. “What made him stand out to you?”
“Well . . .” Allison twisted a strand of her curls with her index finger. “Like I said, I just moved here and I didn’t know anyone else.”
Nat scoffed. “That tracks,” she muttered.
“And he’s just so nice!” Allison gave the cameras a pageant smile. “And he wanted to show me all these cool places and, Idon’t know, I could only watch baking shows on my sofa for so long.”
Nat let herself look Allison up and down, her eyes lingering for a moment on the spot where Rami’s leg was pressed against her. She dropped Thom’s hand and leaned in. “So, he was literally just better than being alone?” She gave the audience a stage-y smirk. “Have you tried my app?”
Allison’s face dropped. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant—”
“Oh, right, the magic algorithm that you trust more than the fact that I know your date is a liar.” Rami glared at Nat and put a hand on Allison’s shoulder.
“Wait.” Tracy held up her hand. “Rami, are you saying Thom misrepresented himself on BeTwo?”
Nat balked. Tracy had jumped to that conclusion very quickly, even for a top journalist. She started to respond, but Rami cut her off.
He gave a loud and genuine laugh. “No, Tracy, that’s the thing. He represented himself with perfect accuracy! BeTwo just doesn’t have thedataon whether someone cheats on their partner and treats women like trash.”
A gasp went up from the crowd. Thom bristled beside Nat. “Now, wait a minute—”
But Tracy held up her hand to silence him. In her eyes, Nat caught a loaded, knowing glint of recognition. “I think I’m going to let Nat respond to that one, Thom.”
Nat looked out into the crowd. Sara’s empty seat stared up at her like a wine stain on a white dress. Maybe that part of her life was ruined, but there were Justin and Jo in theirTeam Natshirts, counting on her to keep them employed. And an audience full of people staring at her. And an entire world that would be watching whatever she said next in perpetuity on the internet. Then there were the two men sitting next to her and her wildly different feelings for both of them. She wished she could startall over. She wished she believed more in what she knew that she had to say, but she said it anyway. “BeTwo said Thom is my perfect match, and I trust my algorithm completely.”
Tracy shot her a pinched smile. “All right.”
Rami crossed his arms. “So? Come on, who wins?”
Tracy scanned them for a beat with sharp eyes.
Rami gestured to himself. “Is it the couple who met by following the rules, fair and square?” He waved a hand to Thom. “Or the guy who cheated and got a second chance?”
The crowd gasped.
Thom turned to Nat with a clenched jaw. “Can you please control him?” he muttered in her ear with the tone of a threat.
Nat kept her eyes on Rami and leaned forward. “No, really, who wins?” She pointed to herself. “The couple who was united by a strategically perfect matching algorithm?” She waved a hand to Allison. “Or the guy who’s clearly just using someone when she’s lonely?”
The crowd gasped again, with a few boos this time.
Allison had gone pale and was looking at her hands.
Nat held Rami’s furious stare.
Tracy cleared her throat. “Well, first I think our audience might have some questions about how closely either of you followed the rules . . .”
