LOVE BYTE ━━ 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐍

𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗘 : brushstrokes and pancakes

A knight, decapitated, on a field of wilted roses captured his emotions. He dipped his brush in water, cleaned the paint off it one last time, and got up to go to the sink.

He turned on the tap and washed the pain of his fingers. Ricky watched the water turn pink from all the red paint he used (a lot). So, he almost missed the ping of his phone over the sound of the water splashing.

Over the kitchen top, and past the small dining table, Ricky saw where his phone screen lit up on the couch. And, he saw the Love Byte notification.

Ricky shook his hands, then wiped them on his thighs, smearing more paint and water on his 'work' jeans.

He scrambled to look at his phone. His heart raced all of a sudden.

Were his hands still wet or were they getting clammy? He wiped a hand on his jeans again, going straight into the app.

There was a message.

Rocketman69: Hi :) I promise I'm not crazy. I'm in New York all week. I really want to meet you. Lmk when you want to. Whenever you want. Here's my number: ##

Ricky stared at the text for five minutes, trying to take it all in. But it was too much to take in at once. His soulmate was in New York. Right now. To meet him.

His heart rate got faster.

Did Ricky want to meet him? What if he was the internet creep Ricky accused him of being?

Should he call the number?

Did he want to hear the voice of this mystery man to discover he had to disappoint a perfectly normal guy who'd suffered a username glitch?

Was he going to meet one of the richest guys in the world right now, and tell him his app was a dud? That he'd made a mistake?

Or, worse—was it not a mistake at all?

No. An "I got this app because of my crazy ex and her batshit boyfriend who invited me to their wedding in a moment of childish jealousy" conversation...was certainly one to have in person.

He took a deep breath and composed his text.

Ricky Bowen: are u free today?

He didn't wait long. Ricky watched the clock go from eleven to two minutes past eleven.

Rocketman69: Yep. You wanna grab breakfast?

Ricky smiled, but he wasn't sure why. He thought maybe the fact it was only a few minutes until breakfast time became lunch meant this guy was so eager to meet him felt a little nice. Then, he rolled his eyes—because the fact this guy was so eager to meet him was only going to make explaining this harder.

Ricky Bowen: no. i don't eat breakfast. we'll do dinner. meet me at dolly's. 334, Lexington Ave, Frnt 1. it's the diner opposite the kebab place.

Rocketman69: Great. I'll see you there at six.

Ricky Bowen: no five sharp

Rocketman69: Whatever works best

His heart sank. This guy did want to meet him.

Ricky Bowen: what's ur name btw?

Rocketman69: All will be revealed.

Cryptic.

"Hey, Ricky. You alright?" Big Red emerged from his bedroom, half awake. Ricky had jumped.

"Yep. No. Nothing."

 

✘