It's a Match! (25 page)
Authors: Zoë Marshall
“Sounds good. Have a good time, dad.”
“I’ll try my best.” Ralph stood up.
Sutton stood up and hugged Ralph tightly. “Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do.” She released him and smiled. “And you look really nice.”
Ralph was actually wearing a button-up shirt and slacks, a look Sutton had never seen. “Thank you, Sutton,” he replied. “Maybe I’ll see you guys when I get back.”
“Either way, we’ll see you in the morning.” Cole stood up and gave Ralph a hug. “I’m proud of you, dad.”
“Thank you, son. You guys have fun.”
“We’ll try our best,” Sutton replied, sitting back down on the couch.
Ralph turned, grabbed his keys from the coffee table and left.
“Well, that was unexpected,” Cole said, turning the sound down on the TV. “So, Sutt … I’m curious to see what you’ve been up to with my Matchbox account. Give me the password so I can see the crazy messages girls have sent me.”
“I’ll put it in for you. I’m not ready to divulge that information yet. But that means you have to log me into mine too.”
Sutton and Cole exchanged phones and logged into each other’s accounts, then switched back.
Before she even had a chance to check her messages, Matchbox prompted Sutton that she was in a new location, and asked if she wanted to see local matches. Shrugging a little, she touched the Yes button, and flipped through a few profiles, always swiping down. She showed Cole a couple of funny ones, and when he showed her one he was looking at she realized Matchbox had made him change his location too.
So it shouldn’t have surprised her—but it did—that the next profile she saw was Cole’s. She stifled a giggle, then read what she had written and smiled.
“All I know is I want to enjoy the ride. I want someone to laugh with, someone to make happy. There’s nothing I love more than making someone happy … I’m a loyal guy and I always hold the door open for a lady.”
Sutton flipped through the pictures she had posted. She had cropped herself out of a few, not wanting girls to assume she was Cole’s girlfriend. She paused as she came across a selfie of Cole and her cropped-out self, which they’d taken at the zoo the day Aiden broke up with her. She smiled as she remembered the slushy brain freeze incident. Everything was always so easy with Cole. It was simple and effortless. He felt like home to her.
Sutton contemplated which way to swipe. She couldn’t skip him. There was no option to
pass
; she had to make a choice. He was bound to come across her as well. She wondered what he would do when he saw her.
If she swiped up and didn’t see “It’s a Match!” on her screen, that meant he had swiped down for her, leaving the match unlit. But what if he swiped up for her and she had swiped down for him?
After careful consideration, Sutton held her breath as she swiped up.
Nothing.
No match.
Sutton felt like an idiot. Why had she done that? This was her best friend. Of course he wouldn’t want to match her. What good could come from that? Sutton thought they might have at least had a good laugh over it. But she planned on never mentioning it. Maybe he wouldn’t come across her at all….
A few minutes later, Sutton saw the notification on her phone: “It’s a Match!” And right below it was Cole’s picture. Cole turned to look at her, locking eyes with her, wearing a confused expression. She stared back, speechless.
“Well, this is awkward….” Cole said with a smirk, finally breaking the silence.
Sutton couldn’t help but laugh. “Well,
now
it is,” she replied in a snarky tone.
“You know how much your friendship means to me, right?”
“I do.”
“And I would never want to do anything to jeopardize it. I don’t want to lose you,” Cole continued slowly.
“I don’t want to lose you either.”
The two grew silent once more. Sutton fidgeted, suddenly uncomfortable. What was happening here? It was like they had been transported into an alternate universe, where logic and reason had slipped away, leading the two of them into uncharted territory, to a fork in the road.
Cole broke the silence once again. “I feel like I know you better than anyone. We have so much in common. Hurt. Lost. Vulnerable. Sarcastic as all hell. I get you on so many levels. And sometimes I don’t get you at all. But that’s the best part. You keep me on my toes. You amaze me.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Sutton replied, twirling her hair nervously.
“You don’t need to say anything.”
“But I do. Look, Cole … I’ve never really seen you like that.”
Cole appeared discouraged. “I know,” he replied. “Truth be told, I’ve never really seen you like that either.”
Sutton shook her head. “What I mean to say is … I wasn’t allowing myself to really like anybody. I just have these vast and all-encompassing walls around me. You just kind of snuck up on me. And I think you’re amazing.”
“Well, I can’t blame you for that. I
am
pretty awesome.”
Sutton laughed, as she felt like she was truly seeing her best friend for the first time. She had been struggling for months to figure out how her book characters’ story would play out. It only just now occurred to her that their journey was eerily similar to hers and Cole’s. Had she been subconsciously struggling to write her and Cole’s story all along?
She knew that the two characters had also reached a fork in the road. And she hadn’t been able to figure out which direction they would take and whether or not they’d choose the same path. She still didn’t know whether or not they would. But she was aching to figure it out.
“Oh god,” Cole muttered, under his breath.
“What?”
“I think … I’m completely in love with you.”
Sutton had a stunned look on her face. “Umm….”
“I know you don’t feel the same way. And that’s totally okay. This is taking me by surprise too,” Cole said, cheeks turning beet red.
“It’s not that I don’t feel the same way. It’s just … you know I’m going to end up totally messing this up, right?”
“I think I’m okay with the risk.”
“Our friendship won’t survive it,” Sutton insisted.
“You’re always so focused on the future, or the past…. Do me a favor.”
“Yes?”
“Close your eyes.”
Sutton took a slow, deep breath as she shut her eyes nervously.
“I want you to forget about heartbreak for a moment,” Cole continued. “I want you to forget about loss, or fear of what awaits you tomorrow or even years from now. I want you to be in this exact moment, because I can assure you it’s an important one. I’m going to let you write this story. But I want you to be sure. Don’t worry about hurting my feelings or about ruining what we have. Just feel your heart beating. Feel the blood pumping through your veins. Notice the way your skin feels when I do this….”
Sutton felt Cole’s hand being gently placed on hers, and a shiver ran through her body like a flash of lightening.
“Or when I do this…”
Sutton’s eyes were still closed tightly as she felt Cole take her head in his hands and place his lips softly on her forehead. Sutton’s heart began racing. Then Cole pulled away from the embrace.
“Oh, hey, did you ever decide how your book’s going to end?” Cole asked, changing the subject rather drastically.
Sutton opened her eyes, still in a stunned daze. She took a few breaths as her heartbeat slowed and her hands stopped shaking. “Uh…. No, not really.”
“I’m dying to see how it ends.”
“The main characters have the kind of connection people dream of. I’m not sure if they should risk taking that leap. I’m also a bit of a cynic sometimes.”
“Duh,” Cole interrupted.
“What do you think I should do?”
“I can’t write the story for you, Sutt.”
“I know,” Sutton replied, wishing he could.
“You’re the writer here.”
“You know, even through my breakup with Aiden, I don’t think I ever stopped believing in happy endings.”
“And I love you for that,” Cole replied.
Sutton’s stomach was in knots. She was torn. Had how Cole felt about her been the only piece of the story she’d been missing?
“So … what’s it going to be?” Cole asked anxiously.
Sutton’s head reeled as she took Cole’s advice. She stopped thinking about what tomorrow might bring. She removed the past and the future from her mind and she thought about what she actually wanted. Before letting herself think another word, she placed her hand on Cole’s cheek, looking deep into his longing eyes. She leaned closer and closed her eyes once more. Then she felt Cole’s lips against hers. It was a strange sensation, but one she cherished. She didn’t want to let it go for anything. The moment seemed to last forever.
When they finally separated, Sutton opened her eyes. She had finally figured out how to end her book. She realized she had been letting fear blind her all along. Now the fear had been lifted. She no longer wanted to let the crippling thoughts of heartbreak and loss dictate the ending to the book, or the newest chapter of her relationship with her best friend.
After all, didn’t the best love stories always begin with a leap of faith?
Thank you for reading
It’s a Match!
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Zoë Marshall was born in Santa Rosa, California, but spent the majority of her 'growing up' years in San Francisco. After high school, she attended University of California, Santa Cruz, where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Business Management Economics and Accounting. She tried the corporate thing, working at two of the Big Four accounting firms, but cubicles just weren't her thing.
She's currently living the ultimate cliché - an aspiring writer and bartender. She's living in San Ramon, California, spending her limited free time reading and writing. Her biggest vices are pizza and ice cream, which is why she lives in yoga pants and leggings. And she thoroughly believes jeans were invented by the devil.
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