Page 44 of More Than a Match

“Hey Princess. How’d it go?”

“We’re on for Friday night.” My voice definitely just cracked. Shit. I was trying to sound cool and collected, but I failed miserably. Hopefully he didn’t notice.

“Awesome. We’ll make sure to have the place ready by then. You ok? You sound upset.”

Fuck, he noticed. Might as well be honest.“I’m not sure I can do this, Alex,” I whimper. “It was hard enough to flirt with him for less than a minute. I don’t know if I can stomach any longer than that.”

“Well, if it all goes according to plan, it’ll be worth it. You’ll never have to deal with him again if we can pull this off. I know it’s going to be hard, but you’re strong, and can do hard things.”

“Thanks, babe.”

“You’re welcome. I believe in you. This will go fine, trust me.”

I take a deep, shuddering breath and shut my eyes. “I trust you.”

Friday night comes too quickly. I would describe the feeling in my gut like butterflies, but very violent, horrified butterflies. I clench my hands to stop them from trembling as I wait for Jason to bring his car around. His headlights blind me momentarily as he turns into the portcullis in front of the hospital. I get in the car, fighting back my nausea with every breath.

“I’m so glad we’re finally doing this,” he purrs, his eyes looking black and cold in the dark interior of the car. “Hopefully you realize that you deserve better than that janitor scum.”

Heat rises in my core, and I want to bite back with a sharp retort, but I swallow it down. Instead, I plaster on a fake smile and imagine I’m a barbie doll.

“I’m glad, too. I think this will be good for us.”

“So, your place first, right? So you can change?”

“Yes please. Don’t want to wear this on our first date. I’ve got a much better outfit planned!”

“I can’t wait to see it.”

The rest of the drive is mostly silent, with me occasionally giving directions to what Jason assumes is my place. We pull into the parking lot in front of Alex’s building, and I can tell Jason is trying to veil his displeasure.

“You live here?”

“Yep! For a little while now.”

“I don’t know, Mina. It doesn’t look safe for an enchanting young woman like yourself.”

“Oh, it’s plenty safe. I love all my neighbors, and with the low rent, I’m able to save more money.”

“I guess that makes sense,” he mutters as he parks the car.

I don’t invite him up, but he doesn’t wait for an invitation. He gets out and begins to follow me up. Perfect. I reach the front door first and take a deep breath before unlocking it. As I swing the door open, it takes all of my willpower not to gasp. Alex has outdone himself.

Garbage is strewn around the apartment, littering the floor and piled high in the corners and on every counter and tabletop. There’s dirty laundry in strategic heaps, and the sink is overflowing with filthy dishes. The stove looks like it’s caked in some sort of primordial ooze, and there’s a large puddle of mystery liquid in front of the refrigerator. The smell wafting out of the doorway is enough to make my head spin.

Remember the plan, Mina. I turn to Jason with another plastic smile. “Come on in! Don’t mind the mess, I tidied up some yesterday, but I was just too tired to finish it all. I’ll clear a spot on the couch for you.” I beckon to Jason as though I don’t have a care in the world. “Come on, I won’t be long.”

Jason is perfectly still, staring through the open doorway with wide eyes. His face holds both a thousand emotions and none at all as his mouth opens and shuts, but no sounds come out. At last, he speaks but makes no move to cross the threshold into the apartment.

“This… this is your place?”

“Yeah, it’s not much, but it’s home!”

“Mina, I… I can’t… does it always look like this?”

“Oh god, no!” a laugh bubbles out, though not for the reason I’m sure Jason thinks. “No, it doesn’t always look like this!”

The faintest look of relief flickers across his face, but vanishes as soon as I continue enthusiastically, “it’s usuallysomuch worse. Like I said, I did a lot of cleaning yesterday to get ready for you to come over.”

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