Page 41 of Matched with Her Athlete Boss
I see the three dots as I wait for her response.
Kenzie:Because I don't ride horses, so it seemed more appropriate.
I send her a smile emoji.
Me:I’m sorry. Guys can be dumb.
Kenzie:You have no idea.
I laugh, as I can picture her face when she’s saying that. A slight frown with her eyebrows raised as if I thought I’d come up with some new theory and she’s shooting me down.
Me:Are you coming over tomorrow?
I press send and wish I could take it back. On the one hand, that sentence makes it seem like I’m impatient for her to start and finish organizing my house. On the other, it sounds like we have a completely casual friendship, even though we’re still at the beginning stages. It’s crazy that I’m comfortable enough for her to just drop by at a moment’s notice to hang out. If she wanted, that is.
Nothing comes back for several moments and I’m going through every scenario my last text could’ve brought up, until she sends another text that reinforces her humor.
Kenzie:Don’t we have a date? I mean with other people, of course.
Me:I thought they weren’t starting for another week. Wait, did you actually sign up?
Kenzie:Yes, yes I did. If I hate it, I’m blaming you.
Kenzie:Read your emails, Turbo.
That’s a new nickname. But I’m stuck on the fact that she’s actually going to do this thing with me. I scramble to get into my email app to check her answer. I’ll have to move a bunch of stuff around if she’s right.
The email isn’t hard to spot and I groan as I read that we’re supposed to meet for the preliminary interviews tomorrow morning at the Love, Austen office.
Me:Point goes to Kenzie for paying attention in class.
Kenzie:(sends me an emoji of a blonde woman saying, “What? Like it’s Hard?”)
Me:Who is that? And I just saw that we’re starting on Wednesday. So, we’ll have two more days until Date #1.
Kenzie:Let me guess. You’ve never watched a romantic comedy in your life.
Me:Buzzer sound. Errrr! Wrong. I have three sisters. I’m fluent inHow to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
Kenzie:Interesting.
Me:That’s all I get? Interesting?
Me:You must like chick flicks. Who is the woman in the meme? And what other random tidbit of information are you willing to share?
Seconds tick by and my dad is trying to get me into the football game. I’m almost tempted to look up the final score and stats of the game so I can zone out.
Kenzie:So many questions. It’s Elle Woods fromLegally Blonde. And random is my middle name, so you might need to be more specific.
Me:Where’s your favorite place to eat in Boston?
Kenzie:At the moment, my house because it’s cheap or free. But when I get a paycheck, anywhere that serves steak.
“What are you grinning at?” My dad asks, causing me to jump. “You’re over here laughing and the quarterback for the Patriots has been sacked twice.”
“I’m not laughing at the TV, Dad,” I say. Standing, I stretch, still smiling at the random conversation we’ve had over text.
I walk into the kitchen and grab a cup, filling it up from the faucet and take a long swig.
