DEREK'S MATCH (DEREK #1) SAMPLE, NOW PUBLISHED

3. you're my match

"Have a nice life," I say to him before turning around and walking through the crowd. I don't realize that I had been holding my breath until I get outside and I breathe. I'm thankful for the cold air. It was starting to get really hot in there.

"Savannah! Are you out of your mind?"

"No," I say turning to look at Kim.

"You just said no to Derek Collins." She states like I don't know what I just did.

"I know."

She frowns. "Why?"

I look at her like she's crazy. "He's so obnoxious, Kim. Didn't you see the way he treated the bartender? I'm not into that. I refuse to feed his self-entitled ego."

"Wow, you're really one of a kind," Kim says after a moment.

"Thank you." I smile at her.

She rolls her eyes at me. "You didn't tell me you had gotten the app."

"It was in a moment of weakness," I say defensively then sigh. "I should have deleted it. I totally forgot about it until tonight."

Kim shakes her head. "I can't believe that all of that just happened."

It's crazy to think about how none of what just happened would have happened if I would've deleted the app or turned off the feature. Derek would've gotten matched with another girl and she would've cried with joy as she said yes. Derek wouldn't even know that I exist right now. His eyes would have never met mine.

My heartbeat is coming back to normal now but I can still feel the adrenaline in my veins. I missed that feeling of doing something that pumps you up. It's the thrill. That's the Savannah that I was back in Newport. I miss her.

I look at Kim apologetically. "Sorry you didn't get your picture."

"Oh I did, right now before I left," she says taking her phone out. She shows me a selfie of her and Ian. "Derek looked too angry for a picture." She explains then looks at me. "You probably ruined his life, you know."

I roll my eyes. "I'm sure he won't remember any of this by tomorrow. He'll be fine."

Her eyes widen as she looks down at her phone. "You're trending on Twitter."

"Shut up," I say as I look down at her phone.

Sure enough, #Gin and #MATCHME are trending. There are pictures of Derek in the bar everywhere. It's crazy how fast news travel in the internet. I see a picture of me sitting on the stool with Derek standing next to me. He's smiling at me, before I rejected him. I would be worried about my face being on the internet if I didn't know how fast people move on from trends. Plus no one knows my name. This is going to be old news by tomorrow morning.

"We should leave," I say looking away.

"Okay, Gin." Kim teases.

"Oh my god, stop," I say, laughing.

She puts her arm around my shoulders as we walk down the street. She lives in the apartments across from mine so we're both heading the same way. I thank Kim for joining me tonight before we part ways.

I change out of my clothes and brush my teeth before going to bed. Today wasn't a bad birthday after all. I met a famous actor and found out how much of an asshole he is. All while having a good drink and view with the bartender. Not bad. It's probably one of the better nights I've had here in New York.

Maybe Kim is right. Maybe I should go out more. I should meet more people or maybe just hang out more with Kim. Her and I get along pretty well despite how different our backgrounds are. I'm Mexican and she's Vietnamese. She's also younger than me. She started culinary school after getting her Associates in an arts major. Maybe we aren't so different after all. We're both close to our families and speak two languages. She's also here without her family. They live in New Jersey. We're both here on our own, trying to do our best in this life.

I should follow her advice. She doesn't look as miserable as I am. I know I'm not going to drop out and go back to Newport. I'm determined to finish this so might as well have some fun while doing it. It's time to change things up in my routine or I might go crazy.

I'm about to put my phone down and go to sleep when it vibrates in my hand.

It's the MATCH ME app. I have a message. From Derek Collins.

D: So your name is Savannah.

I smile at the screen as I type.

S: And your name is Derek.

D: No one says no to me, Savannah.

S: I think I just did.

D: Why have a dating app if you're not going to accept dates?

S: You're right. I'm going to delete it.

D: Don't. Give me your number.

S: No.

D: Why not?

S: Because I don't want to.

D: You realize every girl would love to be in your position right now?

I scowl at my phone.

S: You're so full of yourself.

D: Yet you're my match.

S: Come on, you didn't really want to do it. I'm letting you off the hook. You should be thanking me.

D: Thank you.

S: You're welcome. Goodbye, Derek.

I sign off the app before waiting for his response. This guy is way more obnoxious than I thought he was. What a shame. There really is no such thing as a perfect man.

I find myself going on Derek's Instagram profile. He has over 115 million followers. His posts consist of a lot of pictures and videos of himself with a couple of ads thrown here and there which is not surprising. I suppose people follow him to see him and he must love it. There are a lot of pictures where he is shirtless.

It's hard not to admire how perfect his chest is. It's so smooth looking and he has an actual six pack. His abs are so perfectly shaped on his stomach. He may be an asshole but he's a dedicated asshole.

Again, what a shame.

During my lurking, I find out that there's been drama going on between Derek and Sadie Brown, his ex-girlfriend. Apparently, she broke up with him two weeks ago via her Instagram stories which is horrible. I end up on her Instagram page. She's also an actress, not as famous as Derek though I'm sure his popularity helped boost hers.

Through research, I find out that they've been on and off for a couple of years now. Still, it's pretty horrible what she did to him and I kind of feel sorry for him. It was fun to reject him but now he's going to be made fun of again.

And why do I care? He's a stranger for God's sake and he's rude and entitled. He probably got what he deserved.

I put my phone down and try to get some sleep. It's been a long night and it takes some time for my body to unwind.

When I do find sleep, Derek Collins appears in my dreams.