Then, to my surprise, I see a notification from Matchmake Me.
I click into it out of professional curiosity and see it’s a message from Judith—
Judith:Looks like Hot Rod’s had a change of heart. Would you like to see what he has to say? Or can I interest you in Roger Rabbit?
I’m not interested in either of them, frankly, but I do need a distraction, plus I’d like to interrogate Hot Rod about the whole chicken wings incident, so I sayYes. Let’s see.
His message pops onto the screen.
Hot Rod:I’m sorry I blocked you, Cherrybomb. It was a dick move. I went to the wrong place, and I saw my REDACTED. I thought she was you, and I freaked out. I did the immature a-hole thing and blocked you instead of asking you flat out if I’d misinterpreted the situation. Anyway. I’ve met someone. But I want you to know your messages meant a lot to me. If you’d like to keep corresponding as friends, I’d like that. If not…my bad.
Huh. Surprisingly mature for a ghoster. It’s also a relief that he’s not coming at me with romantic entreaties. I text back,How do you know you got it wrong? Maybe I AM your…masseuse? Grandmother’s best friend? Accountant?
Hot Rod:Trust me. You’re not. But I could use a friend right now, if you’re down. I’ve been in my head a lot lately, and it’s not always a pleasant place to be.
Cherrybomb:What’s in there? Clowns? Freaky sex shit?
Hot Rod:Something like that. Although clowns don’t scare me. I was always more afraid of those people who wore bear costumes to town events when I was a kid.
Chills run down my back. It could be a coincidence. But Hot Rod has a kid, and he mentioned the weird bear costumes too. I could ask Bryn. She’s the one who’s been overseeing the beta testers, helping them with any problems they run into. She’d know if he’s one of them…
But I don’t want her to say no.
Oh fuck, I couldn’t deal with it if she said no.
Cherrybomb:Funny you should ask.I could use a friend right now too.
