Page 12 of Picture Perfect Love

“Less sex, I think. I don’t know. Look, the point is… I thought last night was just a one night stand. I mean, I’m a waitress and you’re freakin’ Joshua Meadows. Why would I ever expect anything more to come out of it?”

“Why wouldn’t you? And you’re not just a waitress. You’re going to be a lawyer, and I know I intend on hiring you when you are. Maybe you can help me with all of my defamation lawsuits.”

“It’s not defamation if what they’re saying about you is true,” she quipped, getting more panicked by the second. “I don’t believe in leaving one person for another. It starts everything off on the wrong foot. And I’m not the kind of person who’s comfortable seeing more than one guy at a time. That’s just not me. None of this is really me. You caught me in a rare, unheard of, form last night. If you knew the real me… you wouldn’t be interested in seeing me again. Trust me.”

“I beg to differ,” I said, crossing my arms. “But there’s only one way to find out.”

She calmed down for a second and came closer, pressing her lips to mine for a long, sweet kiss.

“I’m sorry,” she told me, brushing my stubbled cheek. “Maybe one day… if our paths cross again… who knows? But right now… I have to go.”

She turned and walked out before I could argue any further. I couldn’t make her stay or agree to see me again if she didn’t want to. But that didn’t make it any less perplexing for me. It was usually the other way around. Women were always begging me for more while I gently turned them down. It didn’t feel so good in reverse.

I finally let it sink in and went into the kitchen to stare at my empty fridge for a while. I caught myself thinking Abby was probably the type who never had an empty fridge. I had caught onto more of her true self than she realized the night before. Maybe even more than I had realized at first.

After ordering some food, I camped out in front of the television. All I wanted was to sleep off my hangover and be a vegetable for the rest of the weekend. And I was successful in that, but my brain was far from vegified. It raced through relentless thoughts about Abby—little snapshots from the night. And her parting gift… the promise of if our paths cross again.

By Monday morning, I decided it was less of an “if” and more of a challenge. One that I intended to take on.

For the first time, maybe ever, but definitely for as long as I could remember, I got up early Monday morning and was dressed, showered, and in the office at nine AM. I got a secret thrill from the way Camille’s mouth dropped open as I came strolling in.

“Have you even been asleep? I can only assume you made it here so early because you came straight from the club.”

I walked right past her, straightening my tie. “I told you I wanted to be taken more seriously. I’m just trying to help you out with that.”

She didn’t look convinced, but I wasn’t really there for her anyway. I went straight to the tech department on a mission.

“Let’s say there was a guy on the app that a woman didn’t want to see anymore,” I proposed to them cautiously. “And sure, under normal circumstances, that’d be her problem. But if this woman was a friend of mine, would there be anything you could do to help me out? Without my siblings knowing, preferably.”

The guys shot each other a scrupulous look, but I knew their desire to prove they could do anything would overshadow their conscience and doubts. IT guys were like that… always up for a challenge, which made us perfect comrades for this.

“We can send a sort of dear john message,” they explained. “Then block his accounts so he can’t contact her again.”

It wasn’t quite enough. I mean, he could still call her. And when that happened, she’d have to know I was responsible for the message. What else would explain it? But was there any way it could be construed as romantic? Or better yet, maybe the guy would be so pissed he’d just let it be and never call her again. I liked that prospect much better.

I watched as they searched for Abby’s profile—no easy undertaking since all I knew was her name and what she did for a living and a few of her hobbies. There were three students who were part-time waitresses and also liked yoga in a fifteen mile radius, all named Abby. Photos helped me pinpoint her specific profile out of the three, and then they had to comb through her recent matches and messages to figure out who this guy she was seeing was.

Christopher, the doctor, who I instantly hated. She definitely deserved better.

Then they crafted the message:

Dear Valued Heartstring User, We regret to inform you that an issue has been reported to us regarding your most recent match with Abigail Matthews. We are not able to share the details of this complaint with you, but we can confirm that she wishes for all communication between the two of you to cease, both within the Heartstring app and outside of it. Her account will be restricted and no longer accessible to you. If you should encounter Abigail Matthews on the Heartstring site again and you fail to comply with these restrictions, you will be permanently deleted and blocked from all of our websites and apps. Please accept this code towards one month free premium membership as a token of our sympathies, and to find someone new. Replies to this message will not be read. Happy matching! -The Heartstring Team

“This is crossing more than just a line or two,” one of the guys warned with his finger hovering over the mouse button. “You sure you want us to do this? This could be a lawsuit waiting to happen.”

“Do it. If any trouble comes from it, I’ll make sure you guys aren’t held accountable. Tell them I threatened to fire you, if you have to. Hell, I’m already on thin ice as it is. I’ve got next to nothing to lose.”

“Are you threatening to fire us if we don’t do this?” one of them gulped.

“Let’s not split hairs. Just send the message.”

They clicked the button and off it went. I stared at Christopher’s profile picture and laughed at the thought of him reading the thing. No more Abby for him, which left room for more Abby for me.

Maybe it would end up going nowhere… or just maybe, she was everything I didn’t know I needed. There was only one way to find out.

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