Swipe Left for Love

by Lynn Stevens

  One of the last lines of mystery girl’s letter came back to him.

  It’s too bad we tend to let life get in the way of living, you know?

  Was that what he’d been doing? He’d made an effort to try new things lately. His last girlfriend had told him he was stale. He’d laughed at her, but over the last few months her words haunted him. He went to a Thai restaurant, tried a yoga class, and even went to a clothing optional party a couple of towns over. Each was a fail, at least by Zac’s standards. The Thai food was too spicy, the yoga too boring. And the party, well, the party wasn’t what he’d expected. He preferred meeting people with their clothes on. He liked the mystery, the discovery as he took each article off one piece at a time until the blessed fleshy reveal. Besides, staring was rude and near impossible not to do when everyone was already naked.

  Zac glanced at Macie. She was lost in her world of who knew what. Probably the wedding. The only thing he’d ever liked about her, besides her body, was her loyalty to Lauren. If he was honest with Macie, he’d confess that he thought she was gay for the first year. Actually, he thought Macie was in love with Lauren. When Macie dated a football player during sophomore year, Zac realized he’d been wrong.

  Macie sighed and closed her laptop. She left it on the table as she scurried toward the restrooms.

  He leaned back in his chair and started his response.

  I’ve been contemplating this for a long time, myself. If I hadn’t seen true commitment, true compatibility, true (dare I say it) love in person, I probably would agree more with you. My parents are one example. My grandparents another. And I have a few friends who are so madly in tune with their significant other that there are times they just don’t speak. They have these mental conversations and it drives me insane. Not just because I don’t have a clue what’s going on, but, to be brutally honest, because I’m jealous.

  The truth is I’ve been looking for her, for the proverbial ONE, and I haven’t met her yet. But I know she’s out there.

  As for the cabin, you’re right. I need to get there soon. It’s only a few hours away, and I could use a break from the reality of life about now. Maybe I’ll take off this weekend, spend some time with the wilderness. It wouldn’t hurt to stay away from the internet, either. LOL

  It’s time I start living more and going through life less.

  I’ll start, though, with this.

  When can we meet?

  Zac’s finger hovered over his screen. He wanted to send it. He wanted to meet her and see if she was everything he believed her to be. But what if she wasn’t? What if she was nothing like her online self?

  Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Macie stalking toward him. It was now or never. He pressed the screen behind the question mark and deleted the last two sentences. He meant what he said. He needed to start trying new things like the warm gym sock microbrew he had been sipping for half an hour. Maybe step one was getting along with Macie. A sort of redemption.

  Before Macie sat down, he pressed send.

  “So, how’re we going to do this bachelor/bachelorette party?” he said the minute her butt met the chair.

  Macie glared at him over her own monitor. “Let me get through this week and planning the bridal shower. Then we’ll talk. I’ll show you everything I’ve already gotten done.”

  “Thought we were supposed to do it together?”

  “In theory, but I’d already started working on it.” Macie held her fingers over her keyboard, her gaze intent on the screen. He marveled at her new look. Macie had always colored her hair in crazy ways, whether it was completely red or streaked with purple. But, since the beginning of the semester, she’d gone back to her natural cinnamon brown. And she had started dressing less like a skater girl and more like an adult. He wasn’t sure it suited her. “Just let me figure out a few things, Zac. I’ll get back to you, okay?”

  Zac flashed his best smile. In return all she did was glare.

  This was going to be harder than he thought.

  RELIEF FLOODED MACIE’S bones when Zac excused himself and left. She’d made a cardinal mistake. She’d left her laptop unguarded when she rushed to the restroom. He didn’t get in. Well, she didn’t think he got passed her PIN number, but his sudden pleasantness twisted inside her. There hadn’t been a day in the last four years that Zac hadn’t tortured her in some way, shape, or form. And if he ever called her Chomper again, it would be his last word on earth.

  The memory was as raw as fresh rug burn. Macie had let her new roomie dress her in a too tight skirt and a shirt that barely buttoned around her breasts for the freshman mixer. She hated it. Macie was more of a jeans, t-shirt, flip-flops kind of girl. Not that she was opposed to skirts or tight shirts, but Lauren was more money than style. Macie wanted to get along with Lauren so she caved. They weren’t at the party for five minutes when Macie spotted the hottest guy she’d ever seen. He was tall, blond, and had a California surfer appeal about him.

  She’d nudged Lauren. “Wing me?”

  “Huh?” Lauren had tilted her head. Her eyebrows rolled together, meeting in the middle.

  Macie had fought the high school eye roll. She was in college now. College girls didn’t eye roll. “Be my wing girl?” Macie had nodded toward the blond. “You know? Help me pick him up.”

  “Oh,” Lauren had said as it dawned on her. “Okay. Got it.”

  Macie led the way, snaking through the crowd and never taking her eyes off her target. He stood with someone, smiling and talking. Clearly an old friend, in Macie’s opinion. Macie made snap judgments based on his body language. He was smart, confident, and had an easy smile. Getting to know him wouldn’t be too difficult. That was all she was after anyway. Well, for the moment. If it led to something later, even an hour later, she was fine with that, too.

  Lauren had tripped, falling into Macie who in turn fell into the hot guy. Her face burned as he grabbed her arms, but it was too late. She’d lost any sense of cool she had tried to emit.

  “Ow,” he said, pushing her off him. He grabbed his lower arm and rubbed. “Did you just bite me?”

  Macie’s hand shot to her mouth. Her teeth throbbed from the impact. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t —”

  Lauren laughed along with everyone else in the vicinity, but Macie just wanted to sink through the floor. “I’m Lauren,” she said to the blond.

  “Zac,” he said. He pointed to his friend. “This is Ford.” Zac’s steel blue gaze met Macie’s. “And you must be Chomper.”

  Even now, Macie’s face burned at the memory. The funny thing was it was Lauren’s fault and she never even realized it. She was too busy fawning over Ford to remember what had happened. If Lauren hadn’t tripped, and hadn’t pushed Macie into Zac, things might’ve been different. But not much. Zac was a condescending asshole. He cared only about himself. And he reminded her about it every day since by calling her that horrid nickname. It took months before she’d finally gotten other people to stop, but Zac flat out refused.

  She shook thoughts of him out of her head and focused on the task at hand. An hour later, the bridal shower invitations were done. Macie patted her own back. The personalized graphics would’ve cost a ton, and Lauren wanted something even her mother’s money couldn’t buy. Macie wasn’t about to take a penny from Sylvia. Besides, it wasn’t hard, just time consuming. Macie was the best graphic designer in school. She just hoped Rivot realized that and offered her a job.

  Two weeks until graduation. It felt like she’d waited forever to get to this point in her life. Macie had never backed down from a challenge, but she’d always had to live by other people’s rules. Even in college, she had rules. Stupid dorm curfews as a freshman. Stupid participation points by some profs. Stupid floor rules her sophomore and junior years. Once she was out on her own, those wouldn’t apply to her anymore. Oh sure, she’d have rules at her job, but that was different. She wouldn’t have anyone breathing down her neck at her apartment or on the floor of her building. She wouldn’t have
demands on her time outside of work.

  Work.

  If she had a job. Panic tightened her chest until she had trouble breathing. She couldn’t wait on Rivot any longer. What if they didn’t offer? What if they did, but it was only part-time? She needed to blanket resumes to every design firm in the area.

  A quick scan through her system showed nothing had been tampered with. She checked all her social media pages. No unauthorized posts. Then she checked Blind Friends. One new message. As anxious as she was to hear from Guy, she needed to make sure there wasn’t anything in her outgoing mail first. That would be right up Zac’s alley. Sending a random message that made her look insane, totally his style.

  But there wasn’t anything there, either.

  Macie wasn’t entirely sure if she was disappointed or relieved. Zac had never missed an opportunity to screw with her head before. And this had been a prime chance. It was out of character. Then again, maybe Zac took Lauren and Ford’s request to heart. She hadn’t, but if he was willing to try, she would, too.

  There was no way Zac Sparks would beat her at this game. And that’s all this was, a game.

  Too many thoughts about Zac and not enough focus on Guy. Macie shook her head to clear it. A move that was both useless and habit. She pressed on the virtual envelope and smiled. It was from Guy. While she’d hoped it was Guy, there was always a possibility that someone else had contacted her through the app.

  She read through his message quickly and sat back in her chair. Had he really just said that? It wasn’t a request to meet, but there was an indication he wanted to meet someone. The key word was ‘yet’ and she assumed he meant her. Excitement bubbled in her veins until she swallowed a giddy giggle.

  Macie stared at the screen, reading his words slower and with more caution.

  Then she began to type.

  Maybe. I don’t know though. I’m in the same position as you. I’ve seen people madly in love with one another. And with themselves.

  She smiled as she typed because Zac was definitely in love with himself.

  But that doesn’t mean there is someone in this world who was crafted just for me. I’d like to think so. I know I’m still young and all that, but I’d be considered an old maid by Jane Austen’s standards. LOL. I suppose I should keep the dream alive. If not, I may never meet him. Wow, that’s depressing. Honestly, I shouldn’t be thinking about this right now, anyway. I need to focus on school and graduation.

  Taking a break from reality sounds great. Unfortunately, my reality includes sending out more resumes this week. The company I interned for this past semester hasn’t come back with an offer. They said they’d let me know by graduation, but I can’t wait that long. If they don’t offer, then I’m up a certain creek without a paddle. So I’ll be grinding away at building my next life. One day, I’ll relax. One day, I’ll take time off to smell the roses. Unfortunately, that’s not in my near future.

  Can I ask you something? Which looks as stupid in text as it sounds in person, but still... Have you landed a job yet? I know that’s personal and all, so you don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable. It’s just that I’ve heard a lot of others panicking that they haven’t found anything. The market’s tight and it’s a little scary. So, yeah, I just thought I’d ask. And I feel like an asshole for asking, but I’m not going to delete the question. That wouldn’t be me. And me IRL would bluntly ask.

  She almost signed her name. Almost.

  After pressing send, Macie pulled her resume up. She sent it out to every graphic design firm in Lafayette. She still had two weeks on Rivot, but she putting her eggs in one basket wasn’t going to work. And there was another avenue she hadn’t tried. Her mentor, Dr. Byrd, had suggested the local news stations. He even gave her a lead that the PBS station needed somebody. Macie glanced over it, making a few adjustments to the verbiage. She then pulled up her portfolio and rearranged a few graphics, removed a couple, and replaced them. Working at a TV network wasn’t her dream job, but it was a job. She opened her cover letter and rewrote it with the station in mind. Then she copied it into the body of an email, attached her resume and portfolio, and sent it off.

  The stress of the job search weighed on her more than anybody knew. She couldn’t go back home. That wasn’t an option. Too many classmates, teachers, and alleged friends had expected her to come home with her tail between her legs, and that was the last thing she wanted. Macie had let that part of her life go. It was time to move forward not back.

  Her phone dinged a text message. Macie smiled when she saw it was from her mother.

  I’m proud of you, kiddo, it read.

  Macie thumbed the six-year-old smartphone. Thanks, Mom. Love you, too.

  She said a little prayer. She couldn’t fail.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  It had been three days since Macie sent her resume off in another round of desperation. Crickets were louder than her phone. The only bright spot over the last week was Lauren. Every single thing Macie did for the wedding was exactly what Lauren wanted. Except for one problem. Lauren wanted the bridal shower to be co-ed. Macie winced, but she didn’t hesitate to change the invitations to “Wedding Shower” and add Ford’s name to it.

  Then Ford insisted Zac help Macie plan the party. Macie gritted her teeth and agreed. Because that was what Lauren wanted.

  “It won’t be that bad,” Lauren said across the table. They sat in the small dining room of Lauren and Ford’s one-bedroom apartment. It was a cookie-cutter place with a small fireplace in the living room; a dining room that fit a four-person table, a galley kitchen ran along the hallway led to the bedroom and bath. Macie hated the white walls, the stereotypical first apartment. She hated the singularity of it. Lauren loved it, if only because she shared it with Ford. Lauren grinned as she tapped the table with her nails.

  Macie glared at her over the laptop.

  “Come on, Mace,” Ford said, as he flipped the pages of his guitar magazine. He tossed it on the coffee table and stood from the gray couch. A smile curled on his lips as he walked to Lauren’s side. “Zac’s a good guy once you get to know him.”

  “Oh, I know him.” Macie went back to the graphic and adjusted the font on the invites. It didn’t look right. Wedding had one more letter than Bridal and the ‘g’ threw off the entire balance. She sighed, deleting the word completely.

  “You really don’t.” Ford squeezed Lauren’s shoulder and stared at Macie. “Just talk to him without insulting him.”

  “Then I’ll have no fun.” She pulled out the stylus and began to draw the letters onto the screen. “And remind me why we’re doing this again. The invitations were already finished.”

  Macie knew she was being a bitch, but she had worked her ass off on creating something unique for Lauren. There were other things that needed to be done, like finding a job and putting a hefty deposit on an apartment and getting through her finals. The PBS station hadn’t called yet. Rivot Design hadn’t called yet. Nobody had called. She was going to end up back in her mother’s small two-bedroom trailer and waiting tables at the same dank bar her mother worked at.

  “We just wanted to do this together. I mean, men don’t get a groom’s shower.” Lauren gazed at Ford with so much love in her eyes that Macie almost let her lunch make a reappearance.

  “No, they get bachelor parties,” Ford said. His gaze matched Lauren’s. “And we’re doing that together, too.”

  “Together forever,” Lauren whispered.

  Macie couldn’t stop her eye roll. “Guys, I’m still in the damn room.”

  They at least had the decency to look embarrassed. Macie ignored them as they talked about their honeymoon. One thing they weren’t doing was taking a honeymoon straight away. Ford’s teaching job at Joseph Academy, an all-boy’s private school, began a week after the wedding. The school wanted him to start immediately to work with the kids who had summer school. Lauren’s life was going to be insane before the wedding. She’d agreed to work for her mother rebuildi
ng websites for Sylvia’s vast media empire and doing who knew what else Sylvia decreed. That was Lauren’s way of paying her mother back for college. And Macie was going to do whatever it took to help Lauren get her dream wedding and ease the pressures off her friend. Macie knew Lauren would do the same for her.

  Lauren also had other things going on. Blind Friends had gotten some attention from a couple different companies. The money they’d offered at first was minimal, but the bidding war had only gotten started. Macie finished drawing the new version of the shower invites and added a cursive font. It looked damned good too. Why wouldn’t someone hire her? She was more than capable of every aspect of graphic design.

  Maybe she should freelance, be her own boss. It would take time. She could keep working at Hoof, slinging drinks while she built her business. Hell, she’d probably have to do that anyway.

  “Here,” she said, turning the screen around to face them. Lauren’s face lit up, but Ford’s didn’t. In fact, he looked disgusted. Macie’s heart sank. “What now?”

  “You can’t read it.” He had the decency to look sheepish. “Sorry, but the letters are only outlined.”

  Macie dug her nails into her palms, but Lauren jumped in to save her. “Hon, that’s just a sketch of it. She’ll fill it in with the same coloring as before.” Lauren turned to Macie. “We are sticking with the silver, right?”

  “Of course. That way they match the save the date cards and the wedding invites.” Macie turned the screen back toward her and filled in the W. She chided herself for letting Ford’s critique get to her. He didn’t understand the process. Lauren had been around Macie and her work long enough to get the idea. If she did get hired at Rivot Design, the clients would probably do the same thing on the mock-ups. She needed to work on that. A lot. Macie turned the screen back around so Ford could see the W.