Page 63 of The True Love Experiment

“Should we get the awkward out of the way,” I ask, “or drag it out for peak discomfort later?”

She lets out a small, relieved laugh. “Let’s take pity on everyone and kick the elephant out of the room now.” She pulls in a steadying breath. “I’ve been practicing this.”

“By all means, let me have it.”

“Last night was one hell of a way to break a dry spell.” She’s close enough that anyone in a nearby room wouldn’t be able to hear, and her eyes are molten and intimate. “But it’s also really complicated. I think we both get that.”

I nod. She’s giving me this out and I’m going to take it. I’m going to take it and run with it and do my best to ignore how naive we’re being and dig my head deep into the sand. “Absolutely.”

“We’ll just have to drive everyone nuts with all this unresolvedsexual tension.” She grins. “I’ve written about it, I’m an expert, you know.”

“I’m pretty sure I know how those books end.”

“Then let’s agree this is a buddy comedy, not a romance.” With a little wink and a squeeze to my forearm, she steps in past me. I follow the way her eyes move over everything and wonder what she sees. It’s a nice place, with tall ceilings, weathered wood beams, a good-sized yard for the area, and a great kitchen. I bought it about three years ago, and while I’ve never had much of a need or a want to really decorate it, I’ve tried to make it feel like a home for Stevie.

Fizzy stops in front of a snapshot of twenty-three-year-old me holding a newborn Stevie. “Oh, this is unfair,” she says, picking up the frame.

I look exhausted, young, and stupidly, naively happy. I had no idea what I was doing, or what it even meant to be a dad, but I instantly loved that little girl in a way I hadn’t known was possible. There were already cracks showing between Nat and me, but I figured we could make it work. I’d find a way.

“Nobody told me that Fizzy was here!” Stevie races around the corner in her socks and wraps her arms around Fizzy in a tight hug.

“It just happened!” Fizzy says. “And I have something for you.” Stevie steps away long enough for Fizzy to reach into her purse and pull out a small package with Wonderland’s logo emblazoned in iridescent lettering. Stevie tears into it and I realize it’s the only concert DVD she doesn’t have.

“Thank you!” She squeezes her eyes closed and hugs Fizzy again.

“Make sure to watch it with your dad. He’s got some dancemoves to work on before the next tour.” Fizzy meets my eyes over Stevie’s head and gives me a teasing wink.

“All right, that’s enough. Come on.” I pick Stevie up and swing her over my shoulder, trying to tamp down the confusing mix of anticipation and dread I feel at the prospect of the next few hours. Stevie squeals and I glance back to where Fizzy is giggling and following behind us. “We’ll be starting soon, and there are some people I want you to meet.”

The minute Fizzy is in the kitchen, it’s clear Nat and Ella can’t help themselves. Nat gushes about Fizzy’s books, how she’s read every single one, and how she can’t wait for what’s next. She sweetly, obliviously asks Fizzy when that might be, and to her credit, Fizzy gives an answer that she’s clearly used many times before and that nicely balances “it’s going to be a while” with “I’m so excited about it.” Nat tells her all about walking in on me that first day mid–Fizzy googling before Ella interrupts to breathlessly explain that she isn’t a big reader but knows everything about every dating show ever and cannot wait for the show to start tonight. Ash mostly stands off to the side smiling at the countertop and trying not to make direct eye contact.

I’ve been so wrapped up in the Fizzyness of the situation tonight I’ve barely let myself think about the show. But when it’s time and everyone crowds into my living room, the nerves finally kick in. Likewise, Fizzy declines food or a glass of wine, saying she’s not sure it will stay down. Everyone tries to get Fizzy to sit on the couch inthe center of the room—she is the star, after all—but she insists it will only make her more anxious. She needs space to pace and possibly escape if needed. Everyone laughs, and that’s how Fizzy ends up standing in the back with me.

The room falls into silence as the opening notes of the theme song play. The glossyTrue Love Experimentlogo appears on the screen, followed by our host. Just as we hoped, Lanelle Turner is the perfect amount of funny and relatable as she introduces herself and explains the premise of the show. We’ll meet our Heroine, and her eight Heroes. Along with Fizzy, each contestant has undergone the popular DNADuo screening, and the results have been sealed. Not even the producers know the outcome. It will be up to the audience to follow each date and vote for who they think is Fizzy’s soulmate. Each week the votes will be tallied, and two Heroes will be eliminated. In the final episode, the DNADuo scores will be revealed, and we’ll see if the audience or science has been a better predictor of Fizzy’s soulmate. The Hero chosen by the audience will win a $100,000 cash prize, and, after the scores are revealed, Fizzy will have the chance to choose who she takes along for an all-expenses-paid trip to Fiji. Hopefully, the audience correctly chooses her true love and happily ever after.

But first, the audience gets to meet River. When Lanelle mentions his name, the room around me fills with applause, the loudest—including a few catcalls and whistles—from Nat and Fizzy. When I asked Fizzy how she managed to convince him, she first told me she used nature’s credit card. When I didn’t get it—

Sex, Connor. Oh my God, a dirty joke doesn’t work if I have to explain it!

—she said she told him that by laying out the science himself, he controlled the narrative, and therefore how people would see it. It didn’t mean he was necessarily backing the show, only his technology.

Now, footage of River walking through the halls of the Salk and working in a lab fills the screen, followed by a voiceover of him explaining the initial idea, and the years and years of research that went into developing it. He’s careful to clarify that it isn’t about finding people with similar DNA. Quite the opposite: it’s about compatibility as predicted by hundreds of validated scientific and psychological evaluations. Despite his hesitance, he’s thoughtful and charming while remaining completely impartial to the idea of the show. He’s perfect.

With the format clear, Fizzy is introduced, and again, the room fills with noise, much more exuberant this time. There’s a video montage that includes footage of her speech at UCSD, a brief breakdown of her impressive literary career, and then an interview with Fizzy on her couch at home.

“I have success and happiness on my own,” Fizzy tells the camera. “I guess what I’m looking for is someone to be my best friend and lover. Someone with whom even the silly small things are fun because we’re doing them together.”

Next to me, Fizzy groans and covers her face with her hands. When she leans forward, I see a small bruise sucked into the skin behind her ear. The sight of it makes me go hot all over. “Are you kidding?” I nudge her and redirect my focus back to the TV. “Look at you. You’re perfect.”

On-screen, the Heroes are being introduced. Because Fizzy didn’t have much of a connection with Arjun or Tex, we’ve editedit to show less of their stories and dates than the others. We won’t always be so heavy-handed, but with eight guys to get through and limited time to show it, we took Fizzy’s preferences into account and made the call. There are glimpses of the guys at home and snapshots of each of their backstories. We see Isaac with his mum and grandmother, and leading a research meeting in a glass-walled conference room. Stevie quickly announces that she wants Isaac to win. Most of Nick’s intro takes place in his veterinary practice. There are shots of him with puppies and kittens, and it gets the predictable reaction ofawwwwwwwfrom almost everyone in the room. Dax is shown jumping out of an actual plane, hanging from a cliff somewhere in Arizona, and then at a table in his parents’ home, talking about what he hopes to find on the show. We see Evan on the campus of UCSD, jogging up the steps to the engineering building. We follow him to the coffee shop where he works part-time, see him laugh with his coworkers as they good-naturedly tease him about being on a dating show. In just a few minutes on-screen, it’s clear everyone loves him.

Beside me, Fizzy spends the first half of the show looking like she might be physically ill, but by the third commercial break, she’s relaxed enough to want some wine. A good sign.

She follows me to the kitchen during commercials. The living room behind us is a rambunctious mix of voices, all shouting out their opinions and shared enthusiasm for the show. Any questions I had about its watchability and success are put to rest as the minutes go on and it’s clearly an entertaining program. Brenna is monitoring social media and says people are loving it. The show’s tags are trending. I can exhale for the first time in a fucking eternity.

Fizzy leans against the counter while I open a new bottle of wine.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

---