Cole
Cherrybomb:Noom @ Big Jxmxxx
What the hell? Cherrybomb texted me the time and location, and while I can figure out noon easily enough, the Big Jxmxxx is confusing the hell out of me. So much so that I resort to something I don’t want to do.
I show the message to Brittany while we’re standing behind the bar.
“Where do you think this is?” I ask, shoving the phone screen in front of her.
She juts her head back. “What?”
I shake the phone in her face. “What place is this?”
Grabbing the phone out of my hand, she squints at the screen. “This is gibberish.”
“I know,” I say with a frustrated sigh, “but I’m supposed to meet someone there, and I don’t know where to go.”
She shoves the phone back at me. “So ask them to clarify.”
“I have, twice, and it comes back like this every time.”
“Who the hell are you meeting that they’re talking in code? You part of some secret spy club? Because if so, the person giving you that code needs to be kicked out.”
“Thanks for nothing,” I grumble and turn away from her. Maybe something will come up if I put it into my internet search engine bar.
“Hold on,” she says, suspicion creeping into her voice. “Who are you meeting?”
“Some guy in my super-secret spy club, just like you guessed,” I say, trying not to sound defensive, but I think it’s seeped in.
“We both know that club doesn’t exist, so who are you working so hard to meet?” Her eyes fly open. “You’re meeting a girl!”
I shoot her a murderous look. “Agirl? You make me sound like a pedophile.”
“Fine,” she grumbles, “a woman. Now admit it, and I’ll help you figure out where she’s at.”
“Okay,” I concede as I walk back over to her. “I’m meeting a woman, but don’t make a big deal out of it.”
Her lips are pressed tight, and I can tell she’s holding back a million questions. “Is it Holly Mayberry?”
I nearly choke on my spit. “Why would you ask me that?” Jesus, did she see us kissing in my office?
“It’s just that she was in here the other day,” she says coyly. Its’s obvious she’s suspicious. Great.
I’m not surprised when she asks, because, to be fair, it’s the same one I’d ask. “If it’s not Holly, why can’t this woman just come out and tell you where to meet her?” She pauses, studying me. “Is this some kinky foreplay kind of thing?”
“What?” I ask in disgust. “No.” I glance around to make sure no one else is listening, but it’s barely past eleven, and less than a handful of customers are in the place. “It’s through a dating app, if you must know, and we’re forbidden from meeting until we’ve talked online for thirty days.”
Her jaw drops so far I’m worried it’s about to unhinge and fall on the floor. “A dating app?”
“Yeah, whatever,” I grumble. “Rory twisted my arm until I agreed to be one of the beta testers for Matchmake Me. I didn’t want to do it.”
“Yet you’re meeting this woman, and you’ve been talking for thirty days. That has to be a record for you.”
“Yeah, well, it hasn’t been thirty days, which is why the name’s obscured.” I gesture to the screen with my free hand. “The app has some kind AI that blocks the exchange of personal information until the time is up.”
“So you’re cheating,” she says dryly. “Color me surprised.”
“It’s a stupid rule,” I grumble, “Plus I need to know that this thing between us is real and not just some snappy dialogue.”
