It's a Match (3 page)

“Right
in front of me,” Cams repeated slowly. “Would you care to elaborate?”

Gabriel
picked up his glass and downed the rest of his whiskey, the brown liquid
burning a fiery line down his throat despite the ice that had diluted it. He
closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and when he opened them, Cams was still
watching him.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone that time?” Gabriel asked. She
blinked and sat back, her cheeks turning even redder, matching her dress. It
reminded him of the first time they met and that bowl of red batter that had
started their relationship, as red as the heart button on the app that led them
here.

Gabriel could still remember how he’d stared at Sparked Match after he
had tapped the heart button, unsure of what he was waiting for. He hadn’t been
waiting for a confirmation of the match because of course Cams would have
followed their agreement. He’d stared at the next face on his screen for a
moment, not really seeing. Then he’d sighed and navigated to the app settings,
finally deciding on deleting his profile.

He had just been about to tap “Delete Account” when his screen faded
to black, telling him he had a match. He had almost ignored it but stopped
short when he saw the face.

Gabriel’s fingers had never moved faster as he’d called Cams, his
heart racing while he had waited for her to answer.

She didn’t answer the first call. Or the second.

He was sure she had seen it. Their match had remained on his list,
so he didn’t imagine it, either. Gabriel had thought of sending a message
through the app, but it didn’t seem like an appropriate way to talk about it,
since they knew each other anyway.

Gabriel had planned ask her about it the next day, when they saw
each other. But the moment they did, Cams had told him that she was going on a
date with someone she met online.

And now.

“What do you mean?” Cams asked, her voice was faint, and uncertainty
was in her eyes. 

“I called you. That night. When we matched.” He saw her flinch
slightly. “Why didn’t you answer?”

“But why did you call?” Cams wrung her hands, obviously very
distressed. Despite this, Gabriel smiled.

“Didn’t you learn anything about what I told you about online
dating?” he asked. “With every match you make,
you always let the guy
contact you first
.”

Silence. The fear in her eyes was barely hidden by the courageous
front she held, and he found his affection for her swell a little more.

“You said you weren’t going to like me if you see me on the app,” he
said.

“I was just being honest. And you said the same thing too,” Cams
replied. Then she pointed at him, lips turned up in a smug smile. “Let’s make
it clear, though, that
you
liked me there first.”

“Are you the only one who’s allowed to be honest?” he shot back,
raising an eyebrow. Cams’s shoulders relaxed, and her laughter sent a warm,
fuzzy feeling to his stomach. When was the last time he felt like this?

“But surely, you didn’t mean that,” Cams said when her chuckles
faded. She looked down and sighed, her shoulders hunching, as she made herself
look small again. “I mean, you’re always out, and you’re probably matched with
a hundred girls a day, and—”

“I wasn’t out on a date tonight,” he said, since they were both
being honest anyway.

“—you probably have another one lined up.
What
?” Cams gave
him a suspicious look. “What do you mean? Then where were you? What happened to
the cupcakes?”

“I was working.” After he’d picked up the cupcakes at her house,
he’d given them to his mom and mingled with the Saturday evening crowd at the
bar. It didn’t seem right that he would be out, and that decision turned out to
be a good one after he received Cams’s SOS.

“But . . .
why
?”

 “Because I only want to be with you.” This was his truth. 

Cams quickly shut her mouth, her wide eyes staring at him. He wished
he had more whiskey in his glass, but when her face softened, Gabriel realized
that he didn’t need any more liquid courage. The shock in her eyes gave way to
hope, and she sat up straighter. He had what he needed right in front of him,
and he knew exactly what to do.

 “So since we’ve matched and all,” he said, keeping his eyes on
Cams’s as he leaned forward with his elbows on the table, bringing his face
closer to hers. He reached out with a tentative hand and laid it on hers, and
the caution gave way to certainty when she didn’t pull away. Cams’s hand was
cold, but as he turned it around so he could hold it properly, he felt warmth
slowly seep back through her skin.

“Will you go on a date with me, Camilla?”

Gabriel felt her tremble against his hand, and she closed her eyes
briefly, letting out a soft sigh as he said her name. It seemed like forever
before she responded, but it was really just a few seconds after he had asked
when a smile spread slowly on her face and she nodded.

“Yes, I would love to go out with you.”

He wanted to jump, to shout in victory, but he reminded himself that
it was just the first date. It was too early to say anything. Gabriel squeezed
her hand instead and asked, “Tomorrow, then? Six?”

Cams grinned at him, tugging at his hand to tap the watch on his
wrist. It was just past nine in the evening. “The night’s still young. How
about now?”

If you liked this story, you can read
more of Cams in
Fall Like Rain,
also available in Amazon, Smashwords,
Buqo, and in print-on-demand (PH Only).

This started as a
#WriteBreakupSongsAbout story, inspired by One Direction’s
Night Changes.
I
obviously didn’t finish it on time because of Filipino ReaderCon 2015 happened.
When I picked it up again, I realized that not finishing it then was fine,
because I was far too talkative for the word count limit.

Many thanks to
these wonderful people for their help:

Nikka, Jev, and
Elaine, for beta-reading, and WanderingMeekay on Wattpad for following the
first draft story.

Rix, for editing.
And for that crazy LSS.
The search is over…
:)

The lovely
#romanceclass authors and readers, for the subtle pressure, encouragement,
inspiration and feelings, all day, everyday. I’m so happy to be a part of this
community.

You, for taking a
chance on Cams and Gabriel.

And finally, God
– because I would be nothing without Your gift of words. To Jesus, through
Mary.

Ana Tejano has been
in love with words and writing ever since she met Elizabeth Wakefield when she
was in Grade 3. She has contributed several non-fiction pieces in print and
online publications, and has been blogging for years. When she’s not writing,
she works as a communications manager for a start-up company by day, and serves
in her church community in every other time that she doesn’t spend reading or
sleeping. She lives in Metro Manila and is also known by another name in her
other circles (but it’s not a secret identity, really).

Contact Ana:

Website:
www.anatejano.com

Email:
[email protected]

Twitter:
@itstimeana

Facebook:
http://facebook.com/itstimeana

Instagram:
@storiestotell

Wattpad:
http://www.wattpad.com/user/anatejano

Also by Ana:

Fall Like Rain

Keep the Faith
(out June 2016)

Want more feelings? Check out more romance novels by Filipino
authors at
http://www.romanceclassbooks.com/
.