Mismatched

12. Jake

It felt strange to be surrounded by silence after the intensity of The Peach Tree. Jake was relieved the trial date was over. Sarah was someone he'd see again—if he'd taken this matchmaking stuff seriously. But Ebony had been there. All night. Distracting him in ways that Sarah never could.

With the heater blaring, Jake raised his icy hand over an air vent, soaking in the warmth. The calm that settled over him vanished as Bailey prodded the 'on' button for the radio. Jake peered across at his friend. Bailey was abnormally quiet.

"Bails," Jake said. "Tell me you are going on another date with Zara?"

Baily continued rolling his cigarette for a good thirty seconds until he licked the edge of the paper. He rolled down the window, letting in a blast of arctic air. Jake wanted to tell him to roll the window up, then Bailey lit his cigarette. Jake was about to protest. Nope, he was too tired to ignite that argument.

"I don't know, man," Bailey finally said. "She's gorgeous. And if Ebony let her clients meet for one-off hook-ups, I'd see Zara for sure. But Kismet promises long-term matches, and I don't know if I should lead her on. Zara and I have nothing in common."

"She can't be that bad."

"You wanna know how bad?"

"Go on...Shock me."

"Well, I like blues and metal. She likes that tinny dance pop shit. I play guitar. She hates live music. I like alcohol. She's allergic to alcohol. I like comics. She hates comics."

"That's hardly bad."

"She threw out her ex-boyfriend's entire collection of comics 'cause she thought they were old and ripped. The guy broke up with her after that. And she wondered why." He laughed in disbelief. "And she has the most annoying laugh. Like a kookaburra. I don't think I could handle another hour of that laugh, let alone if she stayed the night."

"That's harsh." Jake indicated right and put on his high beams, travelling down a winding road of forest. "If I'm going to honest here, all the negatives you just mentioned about Zara, they're pretty superficial, Bails. Kind of disappointed."

"Talk about me being harsh." Bailey took a puff of his cigarette and grunted. "I did this date for you, for Ebony."

"Really? The other night you said you liked Zara."

Bailey shrugged. "Yeah, she was pretty cool."

"Look, just give her another chance. Please. Ebony's job depends upon it."

"I'm sure that's the only thing you're concerned about."

Jake tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "Don't make me say it."

"Say what?"

"That I like her."

Bailey glanced across, smiling. "Say it."

Jake sighed. "I like her."

Bailey applauded slowly, out of time with the music. "You need the dates with Ebony, I get it. That's why I made the deal in the first place. Thought if you did a trial date it would make her jealous. It might have worked from what I saw tonight. But Zara, man... I don't know if I can go there again."

Jake turned into his driveway and Bailey hopped out, walking towards his letterbox. Jake wound down the passenger window some more. "How long have we been friends?"

Bailey rolled his eyes. "Since we were thirteen."

"And in those seventeen years, how many times have I had your back?" Every single frickin' time. And there had been a lot of times that Bailey had required back up.

"Okay," he said, shaking his head. "I'll call Ebony in the morning and tell her that I would love to see Zara again. But then we're almost even."

Jake laughed. "Whatever, Bails."

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