A Match Beyond Measure

Chapter 1

She felt quite conflicted about this whole thing, unsure of what emotion to listen to. There was that uneasiness, maybe even annoyance at her co-workers for putting her in this situation. They had practically forced her to after months of: you should get out there and test the waters, aren't you tired of being single? You can't stay alone forever. That had sort of been her plan. What was so wrong with wanting to not necessarily stay alone forever but stick to what she had? She already had a few friends, a few acquaintances, and someone that could even classify as a best friend: why change that? She had laid down her roots and didn't see any reason to add a new plant to the garden.

Then, there was that part of her that felt the opposite. A small yet loud part of her that was excited, curious to see what could happen. It might have been biological, wasn't that what much of love was? The biological need for a partner? She didn't have much personal experience to go off of, so she wasn't sure. For whatever reason it may be, there was a small sense of elation when her work friend Maddie had told her that she and the other gals had put her information into a dating app, and they had already found someone for her to chat with.

To be frank, Cecilia had been a bit annoyed. Why did they feel the need to tamper with her personal life? It had no impact on anyone outside of the cafe. However, she still humored them and let them showed her the app, the profile they had made for her, and a guy they had hit up.

"Seems like you could use a guy like him" one of them had joked. Cecilia had forced a laugh of uneasiness after seeing his profile. She couldn't lie and say her heart didn't feel warmer when looking at his picture. His head was rather square, topped with black hair that stuck up in odd places, and a large nose. He had a confident and elated look on his face that intimidated her slightly.

Garret was his name, and he described himself as a free-spirited, open-minded person with a good eye for good food. She had realized what her friend had meant, because if Cecilia were to describe herself, free-spirited would not be a term that'd come to mind, and she wasn't sure she needed that in her life. Her friends had clearly bought into the idea that opposites attract, which logically made no sense at all when humans are genetically more drawn to those who are similar to them, but whatever.

After some peer pressure, she sent him a message (the girls had already started messaging him and telling him that they had made this account for their friend). She had introduced herself and so did he. Days went by and she continued to chat with him. At first, she wasn't all that determined or interested, even though her co-workers kept nagging her about it. She didn't want to upset them, so she motivated herself by creating a mental catalog about this guy for her to fill out. This prompted her to chat by asking questions to fill in those blanks. She learned he worked in construction and had sought out that job to lose weight and get in better shape which she could respect, money and health, killing two birds with one stone. As he had said in his profile, he was quite the foodie. When she'd asked for his favorite food he couldn't decide but offered a few answers and was also able to recall which restaurants prepared it best, most of which Cecilia had never heard of or been to.

The more she learned about him, the more interested in him she became. So much so that when he suggested they finally meet in person after about a month of chatting, she agreed.

Now here she was, watching the minutes tick by as she finished her shift. Everyone else had left and all there was left to do was to close up the cafe. Garret had agreed to meet her outside after 8 and then they would decide on a place to go and pick up some food.

Cecilia found herself cleaning the same spot on the counter several times as her mind became distracted by all sorts of thoughts and worries. She had never really been on an actual date, there was one time she'd gotten donuts with a guy in middle school, but that hardly counted at that age. How was she supposed to act? They already knew each other so maybe she should just act like this isn't the first time they've met, or would that be rude? Honestly, why had she thought it a good idea to have to show up in her work uniform? That can't be normal for a first-