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

4. the girl from the bar

DEREK

"Dude, what the fuck?"

"What?" I ask glancing at my best friend, Ian, before turning my attention back to the video game on the T.V.

"Are you not seeing this?" he asks putting his phone way too close to my face.

I pull my face back, annoyed, and pause the game. "What?"

"The MATCH ME app is a scam." He reads off his phone. "If Derek Collins can't get matched with the right person, then it's obvious that the app doesn't work..." he looks up at me. "This is blowing up, man."

"What do you want me to do?" I ask him as I stand up and make my way to the kitchen.

"I don't know, do something! It's been one day, and the ratings are going down." He shakes his head. "Give it a couple more days and it'll all be over."

I open a beer and take a sip. I feel sorry for him.

Ian and I met a couple of years ago when I moved back to New York. We met through a mutual friend and we've been best friends ever since. I've seen how hard he's had to work for this app. He went through college to get his degree in Software Development. He didn't know what kind of software or apps he wanted to come up with, but he's always wanted to do things like that.

His dating app, MATCH ME, has been a real hit in a very short amount of time. It's been the #1 dating app for a few months now and it's what everyone is talking about. I do feel somewhat responsible for what is happening. If I would have known what was going to happen, I never would've agreed to try it in front of all of those people in the bar. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get rejected. It's still sore in my mind.

"What can I do?" I ask him. "Do you want me to go live on Instagram? Convince people it's a good app?"

"They're not going to buy that." He shakes his head.

I shrug. "Then I don't know what you want me to do, man, I don't like the fact that she turned me down any more than you do."

He chuckles. "Yeah, that was pretty wild."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Oh, so you think that's funny, huh?"

"It was kind of fun to see you get turned down. Now you know how the rest of us feel."

I think back to what happened last night. It was just another Friday night out in the city. Ian frequents the bar we went to. I've been to Culinary Drop-Out once or twice. I knew that people would recognize me but I sure as hell didn't know that the night was going to end like that.

I wanted to be the good best friend that I am, so when someone suggested I used Ian's app, I thought it wouldn't look good for him if I denied the request. I remember thinking: what's the worst that can happen? I end up going on a date with an obsessive fan? That didn't seem too bad. And then I get matched with the pretty girl at the other side of the bar and I realize that going on a date with an obsessive fan is not the worst that could've happened.

Pretty comes too short, really. She was hot and stunning with her dark brown eyes and wavy hair that ran down her shoulders. And that attitude-it was a turn on. I like my women with character. I thought I had hit the jackpot withe her. So imagine my disbelief when she turned me down.

Me. Derek fucking Collins. I don't work this hard to get turned down by the hottest girl in the bar. And now, my best friend is making fun of me as if it weren't bad enough already.

"You deserve what's happening." I decide, only half-joking.

He frowns. "Come on, don't be like that."