Perfect Match

by AG Meiers

  Then, just like that, the moment was gone. Sven stepped back and shook his head. “Jayden, please, please, put some clothes on before I forget myself, and then let’s sit down, eat breakfast, and talk like normal people, okay?”

  Jayden scurried away to find some clothes. So, his grumpy giant with the amazing blue eyes had a sense of humor. That was good to know.

  While pulling on his clothes, Jayden studied the cabin. It was cramped, even for one person. One room and the tiny bathroom. The bed and closet took up most of the back of the cabin. In the front there was a kitchen on one side and a huge recliner next to the fireplace. There really wasn’t space for any more furniture. It was still pouring buckets outside, and the fire cast a warm, golden glow as the main source of heat.

  Sven was moving around in the kitchen now. He truly looked like a Viking god with his exposed chest. His large hands dwarfed everything he touched. Coffee cup, frying pan, spatula . . . everything appeared to be too small when Sven was handling it. Jayden couldn’t keep his eyes off him, and somehow the domestic scene helped to ease his tension.

  “You ready for breakfast?” Sven interrupted Jayden’s thoughts.

  Jayden nodded and moved over a few steps to the table tucked next to the entrance. Sven had put his flannel shirt from last night back on and gestured for Jayden to sit down in the corner. He put a huge plate together with eggs, bacon, and toast, and pushed it over to Jayden. “Coffee?”

  “Yes, please. Do you have milk?”

  Sven extended a carton of milk without another word. Then he started to fill his own plate. “Forks are in the drawer next to you. Get me one too.”

  Jayden opened the wooden drawer right next to him, and every muscle in his body froze. Forks, knives, spoons, and a whole lot of other things were all jumbled in a messy pile in the drawer. There was a bottle opener, rubber bands, and some other stuff that Jayden didn’t recognize. A matchbox had popped open, and grimy matches were all over the place.

  “Jayden, are you listening?” Sven looked at him expectantly. Shit! Jayden hadn’t paid him any attention, distracted by the messy drawer. His fingers itched to tidy it.

  “Forks? A spoon?” Sven raised an eyebrow at him.

  “Sure. Sorry.” Jayden got the utensils and then gave the offending drawer a quick shove. “None of your business,” he mumbled to himself.

  Sven sat down across from him and started to eat his eggs in silence. Jayden followed suit. It was actually pretty good. Scrambled eggs with ham—not like an omelet but mixed together. It was tasty.

  Sven pushed his plate back abruptly and brushed his hand through his hair. Jayden had seen him do this a few times yesterday evening as well. He looked very serious, as if he was gearing up for a round of twenty questions. He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath . . . and stayed silent.

  Only after the second or third deep breath did he start, his voice carefully even. “Jayden, you . . . umm . . . we’ll be stuck here together for a few days, and I’d like to talk . . . you know, just try to figure out where I stand, okay?”

  “Okay?” Jayden managed to make his response sound like a question.

  “How did you get involved with Perfect Match?” Sven asked.

  “A friend of mine found his soul mate through the agency and recommended it to me. I’m not really into bars or clubbing, so it’s difficult to meet the right people.” Jayden had been ready for this question.

  Sven seemed to be okay with the answer. “And then? I assume the agency handled the whole—” Sven brushed his hand through his hair again “—matching process.” Jayden was trying to figure out if it was a trick question, but Sven sounded fairly neutral, so Jayden nodded while Sven finished, “I’m sure they gave you my file and all.”

  “Yes, I got your file and we’re a match.” Jayden tried to project confidence but wasn’t sure it was working. The eggs stuck in his throat. He pushed his plate back a bit and took a long drink of his coffee.

  Sven had clearly picked up on it. “You don’t like eggs . . . or ham? Oh shit, are you vegetarian?” Jayden couldn’t quite catch the next few words, but they sounded like weird city folks.

  “No, no, it’s great. Really. And I’m not vegetarian. Well, I don’t like red meat that much. It’s not good for you anyway, but, umm, no, really this is great.” Jayden forced himself to take another bite.

  “You should eat. You’re too skinny,” Sven muttered again.

  There was a moment of silence. Then he asked, “So, we’re a match? Last night, it seemed more like you were . . . terrified of me. You told me to back off, remember?”

  Jayden almost winced at the memory. “I’m sorry. Bad night.”

  “I don’t get it, because in our call we joked about big, burly loggers. It was almost all we talked about, remember? And I thought you’d be cool with them . . . me.” Sven blushed and quickly shoved a fork full of food in his mouth.

  Jayden racked his brain for a reasonable answer. Alex had done the call. He did the initial call for most newbies to make sure nothing went wrong. Sven wasn’t an idiot and, of course, he had picked up on the difference between Alex, for whom flirting was second nature, and Jayden, who was more awkward than anything. Why hadn’t Alex told him what to say in case the question came up?

  Sven must have been reading him like an open book, because before Jayden could respond, Sven said, “Heh, don’t sweat it. You don’t need to come up with an answer.”

  “Last night was just bad. The driver, I think he kicked me out because of the way I look, you know . . . gay? He made some homophobic comments, so yeah, I freaked out. I’m sorry. Really sorry. I know it wasn’t a great start, but just give me a chance?” Jayden hated that he sounded like he was begging but wasn’t sure what else he could say.

  Sven shook his head, but then said, “Okay, so tell me about yourself?”

  “I’m Jayden Calver. I was born and raised in Philadelphia. My dad left before I was born. Growing up, it was always just my mom and me. I have a half-finished degree in marketing and no idea what to do with it, so I’ve worked some odd jobs recently. Okay, I don’t play guitar, but I like music, all kinds of music. And yes, I’m gay. I’ve known since fifth grade, when I had a serious crush on my gym teacher. I’ve pretty much always known, and everybody else has too. More or less, anyway. I can’t hide it.” Unconsciously, Jayden touched the scar over his left eye and then just to make a point, he added, “Not that I ever had to hide it or wanted to.” Jayden stopped abruptly. He hadn’t meant to say so much.

  “Okay.” Sven seemed to be considering Jayden’s answer for a minute. “So, I’m wondering what’s next. What are we supposed to do now?”

  “Make you happy.” That slipped out before Jayden thought about it. That was how Alex had explained his assignment. He had a way of making anything sound like a walk in the park. Jackson, who had actually done assignments, had snorted and rolled his eyes in response to Alex’s description.

  Alex had spelled out that Jayden’s part of the whole process was to make sure the customer got a glimpse of what they’d hoped for when they first signed up with the agency. Most people didn’t actually believe they would find true love on a website, but spending a few days and nights with a nice guy would make them forget how much money they’d dropped for the service.

  It was clear from the scowl on Sven’s face that he didn’t like Jayden’s reply. “Make me happy? I’m not sure what that means . . .”

  Well, that’s sad. It probably wasn’t what Sven had meant. Nevertheless, it struck a chord with Jayden, but he managed to keep his thought to himself, instead he said, “I mean . . . make us happy. You know, spend time together. Get to know each other. Maybe we can go for a walk.” Jayden glimpsed out the window at the pouring rain. “Yeah, maybe not . . . whatever you like to do. Hang out. Watch a movie. Cuddle up on the couch.” There was no couch in the small cabin, only the bed and a recliner barely big enough for Sven. “Okay, no couch, maybe in bed?” A nervous laugh escaped Jayden, an
d his face heated. His garbled sentences sounded slightly suggestive, even to him. As if he were coming on to Sven again, though that wasn’t his intention. One rejection per day was plenty.

  Sven had followed Jayden’s glance around the cabin to his sleep-rumpled bed. His eyes narrowed.

  “You cooked. I’ll do the dishes,” Jayden said with fake cheer. He jumped up from his chair and immediately hit his head on a shelf mounted on the wall behind him. Ouch. That hurt. Really, really hurt. He let out a muffled cry as his vision blurred, blackness closing in on the edges.

  “Shit, Jayden! Breathe, kiddo, breathe. You’re okay.” Sven moved closer. Warm hands grabbed Jayden’s arms and gently pushed him back into his chair.

  “Breathe!”

  Jayden pulled in air with a gasp, fighting the dizziness in his head. Another deep breath. Jayden got another whiff of Sven’s earthy woodsy smell. Slowly the pain subsided.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you hurt. I’m just trying to understand,” Sven offered. He was pale; all color had drained from his face. “Are you okay? Fuck. Say something.”

  “Why are you so . . . hard on me? I’m . . . I’m trying to be nice . . .” Jayden’s eyes stung and he blinked furiously. He needed to scrape together what was left of his pride and get away. Slower and a lot more carefully, he got to his feet. Unfortunately, Sven didn’t move back, so they suddenly were standing right in front of each other. Too close. Jayden didn’t dare to make eye contact. Instead he focused on the buttons on Sven’s shirt. There was a moment of quiet. Then whatever Sven was going to answer with was interrupted by the phone ringing in the background. Sven let out a frustrated huff. The phone stopped and then immediately started again.

  Sven sighed. He looked over to the nightstand, where his phone was lighting up. “I better get this.” But before he completely stepped away, he mumbled more to himself than Jayden, “Perfect match my ass.”

  With Sven gone, Jayden tumbled back into the chair. He cautiously rubbed the painful bump on the back of his head and then rested his face in his hands with his elbows on the table. Sven was on his phone and Jayden heard him curse, but he was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to catch any more of the call.

  He had failed. No question. He had failed to make Sven believe they were a perfect match. He’d messed up on every turn, and to top it off, it was clear Sven didn’t find him attractive at all. It was ironic really. The reason he was here was that people expected him to be good at seducing men. Using his looks to get a man interested. Making somebody want to fuck him.

  Besides the utter despair of failing again and the crushing notion that his problems would only be worse now that he had screwed up his first assignment, Jayden felt a huge sense of relief. He wasn’t cut out for this. But he quickly tried to suppress that completely asinine reaction. Instead mentally he conjured up Nicolas Carter, the owner of Perfect Match, who had invested in Jayden and expected payback. Carter had made it plenty clear what would happen to Jayden if he failed. He would sell Jayden off to somebody else. Jayden would find himself back in a dingy hotel room waiting for somebody to come in to beat him up again or do worse.

  “Hey, I gotta leave for a short while, okay? Greg got his truck stuck down at the river, and I need to pull him out before the idiot gets himself drowned.” Sven’s voice startled Jayden out of his thoughts. “I can’t believe he went out there last night. Stupid. But I need to go get him. You’re okay? Your head?”

  Jayden nodded numbly, took a deep breath. “I’ll try to be gone when you come back.”

  “What? No. You don’t have to leave.” Sven sounded confused.

  “But I thought you wanted me gone . . . you said I’m not what you expected. I’m not what you’re looking for. I mean, you don’t think we’re a match.” Jayden cringed at his defensive tone. He didn’t want to leave the safety of the small cabin and face the reality of his completely fucked-up life again. He wanted to fight Sven’s decision.

  Sven let out a string of nasty curses. He ran his hand through his hair again. His eyes fixed on a spot behind Jayden’s head. A deep frown marred his face. Jayden sunk deeper into his seat, pressing his shoulders against the back of the chair.

  “Fuck.” Sven crouched down next to Jayden and tried to catch his gaze. Jayden looked up but stayed completely still. The logger put his hand on Jayden’s leg for balance . . . or maybe comfort. “Jayden, I don’t believe in online dating. I’m not sure there is such a thing as a perfect match. And in fact, I wasn’t looking for anything . . . I mean anybody. But I’m sorry, because I think I hurt you. And I don’t mean just your head. But, by the way, I’m sorry about that too. Do you want some ice?” Jayden shook his head and Sven continued, “You’re putting yourself out there, and I’ve been a complete jerk. The thing is, my family wants me happy and somehow, they have it in their heads that I need . . . a boyfriend, I guess. Just someone in my life. It means a lot to them. And I don’t want them to be disappointed after the effort they put in, so I’m trying to figure out how to maneuver this whole situation. And obviously, I’m doing a lousy job at it.” Sven slowly stood up again. He reached out to Jayden and pulled him up as well. “Anyway, you can’t leave. Greg said the bridge is under water. He tried a different route, and that’s why he’s stuck, so stay. We’ll work something out, okay? I have to fish my idiot cousin out of this latest disaster, but we’ll talk when I’m back.”

  Jayden couldn’t shake his surprise. “You want me to stay?” he asked again.

  “Yes,” Sven said in a low voice, almost as if he was puzzled about it as well. “I’m not sending you away in this rain. Just . . . hmm . . . until I come back, why don’t you go and hang out at the lodge? I could be a while and Orla likes company.” Sven looked a little sheepish. “Just don’t tell her that Greg was out last night if you can, okay? Just say I’m checking the roads. Greg . . .” Sven bit his lip. “Greg is seeing a married woman in town and Orla knows. He promised to break it off. I . . . I just don’t want her to get upset.”

  An hour later, Jayden had cleaned up the kitchen, checked out the narrow bookshelf, and done a few other things to keep busy. He’d grabbed the old laptop Perfect Match had given him to find out if there was an internet connection for his scheduled check-in with Alex, but he hadn’t been able to get a signal, so he decided to follow Sven’s suggestion to walk up to the lodge.

  Because the rain was still coming down hard, Jayden put on the ugly, stiff jacket of undefined color that Orla had given him last night, but he drew the line at the rubber boots. Big mistake. His shoes were soaked again by the time he reached the lodge.

  Last night had been such a blur that Jayden hadn’t noticed much of his surroundings. The lodge was a two-story wood structure. The outside was gray and dark with the roof pulled deep over the sides, but it was more welcoming inside with golden pine all around. About eight or nine wooden tables were scattered across the room, and a bar with shelves full of liquor bottles and glasses stretched along the back wall. It looked like the setting of a Christmas movie or a ski vacation TV ad.

  Just like yesterday, there was a fire burning in the huge fireplace that seemed to heat the whole space. A lone person was sitting at one of the tables this morning. A burly old man with a red-and-black checked flannel shirt—what else—was sitting at a table right in front of the fire and looked like he came as part of the décor.

  Jayden recognized the guy as one of the loggers who had freaked him out last night. Still, he managed a decent greeting. The older man gazed up from his newspaper and grunted a reply but then went back to hiding behind the sports section. Orla came out of a door behind the bar and gave Jayden a huge, warm smile.

  “Hi there. I was wondering where you lads were. Sven usually shows up for breakfast much earlier.” Jayden’s face heated as he speculated on what she was implying, but Orla didn’t press. “Are you hungry? I can whip up some eggs and bacon for you. I wouldn’t mind at all.”

  “Thank you, but Sven actually made brea
kfast for me,” Jayden replied.

  Orla laughed. “He did? That’s good. Seems like some manners I tried to hammer into the boy all these years are finally taking hold. Did he come over with you?”

  “He’s checking on . . . the roads and told me to come up here instead of waiting in the cabin.” Jayden blushed at his lie.

  “Oh, that makes sense. The cabin is tiny. He likes his own space, but he could have had more room if he moved in here with me.”

  Jayden jumped a little as another louder grunt came from behind the newspaper. Crap, what is wrong with me? Why am I so jittery?

  Orla replied without missing a beat. “I know, old man. He doesn’t want to move back in with his mother, but still, that old Peterson place is real small. There are better cabins up the road.” Turning to Jayden again, she said, “Take a seat and make yourself comfortable. I’ll get you some coffee. Elliot, are you up for another cup?”

  Jayden suppressed a laugh when Elliot let out another growl and Orla rushed into action.

  “I was wondering if you have wi-fi? There was no signal at the cabin. I just wanted to check my emails,” Jayden said quickly before Orla could leave the room.

  Orla produced a laminated piece of paper with instructions, and Jayden was able to log in. There wasn’t really much in his inbox. Jayden had lost contact with the small number of friends he’d had months ago when his life had been focused on taking care of his mom. There had been one or two half-hearted attempts to stay in touch, but eventually Jayden hadn’t cared enough and now it was too late.

  It took Jayden a few minutes to decide what to write to Perfect Match. In the end, he sent a generic note to tell Alex that he had arrived. Despite everything, Sven had asked him to stay, so Jayden didn’t want to give away too much and let Alex know how much he was struggling. Even though Alex or Jackson could probably give advice about how to proceed. Jackson, with all his experience, most likely would have his mark already wrapped around his finger after twenty-four hours, while Jayden was barely holding on, and truthfully, if it hadn’t been raining cats and dogs, he might already be on his way to the airport.