Page 11 of We Met Like This
“I am.”
“Good. That’s great. I’m proud of you. Make sure you bring it up again sooner rather than later.”
She was right. I needed to make sure it happened this time.
My phone gave a chime.
“Ooh,” Sloane teased. “Moregood morning beautifuls await.”
I groaned and took another sip of coffee to fortify myself, then opened the app that had the little red number one in the corner indicating an awaiting message. Only it wasn’t a message. It was a blurry picture with the warning from the app:click to view
“What?” Sloane asked.
I must’ve made some sort of noise. “A picture from Oliver.”
“Of what?”
“I don’t know.” I held my breath and clicked on the pic. It cleared to an adorable photo of him crouching down by a golden retriever, a bright red leash in someone else’s hand. The dog’s mouth was open in a smile and its tongue flopped out to the side. Oliver was wearing running shorts and a T-shirt, a sweat ring around the collar. His hair was damp, which made his waves more pronounced. His brown eyes sparkled with happiness and gave me a wave of butterflies that hadn’t been activated by an online exchange in a while.
“Not a dick pic, then?” Sloane asked, raising her eyebrows at my smile.
“Unless this dog’s name is Richard.” I turned the phone so she could see.
“Ah, cute,” Sloane said, then she squinted a little. “And the dog’s cute too.”
I typed:You have an adoring dog?
“He’s actually better-looking than I remember,” Sloane said, inspecting the end of one of her long braids.
“I know, right?”
She flung her braid over her shoulder. “But you’re not going to go out with him?”
“Attraction is not our problem.”
“So if he asks you out you’ll say no?”
“He will not. I promise you. We swiped as a joke and are now talking to pass the time in between real matches. He doesn’t even have my number. We chat in the apps.”
“You have some real matches, then?”
“I’m working on it,” I insisted.
“He’s too cute to be a time passer.”
“Looks aren’t everything. Believe me.” I shuddered, remembering our date.
The chime sounded again and Oliver’s message read:My neighbor’s dog. I wanted you to see that animals are in love with me as well.
And your feelings for animals?I asked him, because he had asked me that same question.
This particular dog is my favorite, he replied, not really answering my question, but I’d given him a snarky reply to that question when he’d asked it, so I deserved it.
“I need to get ready,” Sloane said with a big yawn. “Tell your boyfriend that all future Richard pics need to go through me.”
“Not my boyfriend.”
“Considering your years of matching and chatting history, he is probably the most consistent, healthy relationship you’ve had in a long time.” She laughed as she walked down the hall.
