Annabelle hadn't wanted to burn the restaurant down initially.
In all honesty, she had been in a good mood. The food smelled great, the weather was perfect, and the boy she had met on Tinder looked like an absolute snack in all his pictures.
But t...
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"Hey, check this out," Annabelle said. "This guy said in his bio that he makes out with mannequins as a hobby."
Luca didn't even seem the slightest bit phased. "I just found someone dressed up as a hot dog in her picture."
"Oh, and my next one says... he doesn't have herpes."
"Well, that's good to know."
"And this next one likes board ga—"
Annabelle froze then.
On her phone was a picture she had taken only minutes ago.
Luca, by the tree, his face glowing blue from the lights. His smile radiant and his eyes beaming. His shirt smeared with sauce and dirt. His hair just as tangled as her own.
"Hey," she said gently. "Luca. I found you."
He was smiling too. And, as he flashed his own phone towards her, she saw herself – her awkward mirror selfie, with her hair knotted over her head and her wonky eyeliner.
"I found you, too," he said.
Annabelle threw her head back to laugh.
Two half-strangers. Laying beneath the stars.
Matching on Tinder.
"What do we do?" she blurted out. "Do we swipe yes? No?"
Luca frowned. "I don't know. You're the expert."
"You saw exactly how my last date went. I think we both know I am not an expert."
Then, they sat there. Staring at the photos of each other.
Annabelle tried to catch his gaze, but she just couldn't read through it. It was getting late – almost one in the morning, and he was still here, playing along with her wild ideas. Was he too polite to leave? Was he genuinely enjoying himself?
She didn't know. But, God, she wished she did.
"I have an idea," she finally said.
He gave her a quizzical look. "Yeah?"
"We make the decision by ourselves. At home. If it matches, that's fine. But if either of us say no and we don't match, that's alright, too. We never have to worry about it again. Deal?"
She held her hand out for him. And, after a moment of staring down at it, he reached out to shake it.
"Deal."
She wondered if she made up the electricity that ran through her fingers as he squeezed them. She wondered if she was hallucinating it when she felt the stars poke out that little bit more from their cloak of darkness.
