Mismatched

Ch. 22

The next day felt impossible.

I wanted to text Riley every five seconds. I wanted to know if he had met Jack, how it went, what it meant for us.

But at the same time, I really didn't want to know. I didn't think I could handle knowing. I also knew this was for the best, and me involving myself would only make it harder for Riley to let go.

Riley was a kind, gentle, funny and amazing person, and he deserved so much better than me. Some university drop-out, an ambitionless embarrassment. Not to mention a liar.

The biggest act of love I could show would be to let him be happy. And I could be grateful that I had him at all.

But I was selfish and greedy. I didn't want the memory of a couple months with Riley. I wanted more. I felt like I couldn't even remember what it felt like to kiss him. It had been two days.

Ultimately, the fact I didn't hear from Riley at all felt like a very bad sign for me. It meant Riley had probably been so swept away by Jack that he had completely forgotten about me, or maybe he was just avoiding giving me the bad news.

Either way, every hour with no word from Riley felt like rubbing more salt into the wound. And I felt the bitterness seeping out of me with every stupid date I planned for another doomed couple.

Judy and I had worked out a schedule where I went into the business three days a week, on the days that had the least traffic. So, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Truthfully, that was three days more than I wanted to be there, but I needed the money.

I'd never felt more desperate to get out of this godforsaken town than when I thought about the idea of seeing Jack and Riley walking down the main street holding hands.

I'd just finished sending out a date itinerary to a new match when the phone started to ring, and I immediately rolled my eyes in annoyance. I was sure I was going to hear about how this date no longer worked with their schedule -which I had just asked for thirty minutes prior- or how while they liked animals, they didn't really like animals that much.

Before working in customer service, I used to believe that the average person was reasonable.

I was so wrong about that.

"Judy's Matchmaking," I said, placing the phone between my shoulder and ear while continuing to go through questionnaires on the computer.

"Hello?"

It was Riley.

My heart skipped an excited beat at hearing his voice, while my blood also ran icily cold.

Was I about to help set up a date between him and Jack? I didn't think I could do it. I think I may actually have to put Riley on hold to go throw up.

I cleared my throat, lowering my voice as much as I could to disguise it.

"Judy's Matchmaking, how can I assist you?" I repeated, hoping he hadn't already realized it was me.

"Sorry, I –" Riley cut himself off, and it sounded like his brain was in a hundred different places.

We sat in a moment of silence while he collected himself.

"I'm calling because I think there's been a mistake," Riley finally said, his tone full of feigned conviction. The shakiness of voice gave away his uncertainty.

"What seems to be the problem?" I asked, as if I didn't already know that the problem was me.

"I already have a match, who I've been seeing for a while now. And then the system re-matched me a couple days ago. So, I just wanted to let you know, so you could correct the error," Riley said, matter-of-factly.