“So,” I said, placing my glass down on the table after taking a sip. “What does the rest of your day look like?”
“However I want it to,” she giggled.
I raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh, it’s like that?”
“Yeah, it’s like that. I’m the boss lady, I don’t need to be there all the time for it to run.”
“Boss lady, okay! Well, boss lady, you think you’d be up to joining me for an early movie or something?” I asked, grabbing her hand across the table.
She gave me shy smile before she responded. “I would actually like that a lot.”
“I can tell,” I said, teasing her. “Look at that smile!”
“Oh my God, don’t do that.” She covered her mouth with her hands as she blushed.
“Look at you, you can’t help it! Is this because of me?”
“Avery, stop!” She playfully kicked me under the table, laughing.
“Okay, okay. I guess I’ll leave you alone. For now. So, what movie do you wanna see?”
Maya bit her lip seductively as she looked down, using her fork to push her food around on her plate. “Well… you offered two options… a movie or something. I think I’d rather do… something.”
“Something…?”
Wait… is she saying….
My eyes widened as it dawned on me what something she wanted to do.
“Your place or mine?”
— & —
“I’ll get it!” Maya yelled from her kitchen at the sound of the doorbell. I was outside on her deck, preparing to grill, but I could see her through the sliding glass doors as she made her way to the front to answer the door. We had only been dating for six weeks, but had settled naturally into a routine of spending most of our free time together, including today.
I looked up as she was coming back down the hall from the door, carrying a large flower arrangement in her hands. Sitting them down on the counter, she held up the attached card and waved me inside.
“They’re from Tori,” she said as I stepped inside, wiping my hands before opening the refrigerator to retrieve a beer. I kept my back to Maya so she wouldn’t see the pained expression on my face at the mention of Tori. Still, no matter how hard I tried to push any romantic feelings for her out of my mind, she plagued my thoughts. It certainly didn’t help that because of Matched, I was still seeing her twice a week, and every time, she looked less and less like the vibrant Tori I’d known. There was an air of sadness around her, but she put up a good front. Outwardly, she was as pleasant, professional, and energetic as she always had, but none of that happiness met her eyes.
When I couldn’t pretend to search the refrigerator any longer, I pulled out a beer and turned to face Maya, who was already opening the card. “What does it say?”
Clearing her throat, she held it up to read. “Avery and Maya, congratulations on the success of your budding relationship. My work here is done. You two have settled beautifully into your own vibe, and you no longer need me to facilitate dates, mediate, or help you navigate those tricky early relationship waters. It is my pleasure, now that you’ve reached the six-week mark, to ‘release’ you two into the wild, to continue building a new bond. I wish you the absolute best of luck, and again, congratulations! Hugs and Kisses, from Tori.” Maya looked at me with a huge smile. “Oh wow, isn’t this sweet?”
“Uh… yeah. Sweet.” I busied myself opening my beer and taking a long swig, hoping she wouldn’t see how stunned I was.