Kayla hadn’t thought either of those dates would go well for Evan, but she hadn’t even imagined they’d be that bad. Luke’s choice wasn’t a surprise for incompatibility, but Ryker’s had been. She expected better from his friends than this.
Although, Ryker hadn’t been laughing like an idiot when he gave her his choice like Luke had. Of course, maybe he didn’t know what she would be like. She was going to choose to believe that was the truth versus anything else. Positive intent should always be assumed, unless you’re laughing like a teenage boy when you do something.
While he’d been in her office, reliving his awful date, she’d made her choice. She was going to experience the date herself and go out with Evan. The only thing left to do was to let Lauren know she was in and then set it up.
She wondered if Evan would be mad at her deception, but if it went well, even if things didn’t work between them, at least Evan would have a good date. She’d do her best to make sure of it.
Setting aside her thoughts, she called Lauren to let her know.
“Hey girl,” Lauren answered.
“Umm…I’m in,” Kayla told her.
There was a pause before Lauren spoke. “You’re in for what? Oh…you’re going to go on a date with Evan?”
Kayla nodded and then smacked her palm to her forehead. They were on the phone, so Lauren couldn’t see. “Yes.”
“Ah! I’m so excited! I think this is going to go so freaking great! You guys have amazing chemistry.”
Kayla wondered how she would have picked up on that but didn’t ask. It was probably better that she didn’t know. “I’m going to set it up. Am I calling this Jake’s choice, or do you get your own?”
“This is Jake’s. He’s excited too. This is going to be great.”
“Or this is going to blow up in my face and Evan is going to hate me.” She sighed. That was the worst-case scenario.
“Kayla, don’t think things like that. You sound like Evan about his dates already, and you haven’t even been on one.”
Her heart fell into her stomach. “Is he there?”
“No, he called Jake on his way home.”
“Do you, umm, do you think I should chat with him in the app?” She was getting nervous even thinking about it.
“Definitely. Flirt with him a little. Do and say the things you won’t say to him in person when he knows it’s you.”
She’d already done that today by accident.Ev—she didn’t even know where that had come from, but it felt right at the time. She wasn’t sure if he’d noticed; he hadn’t said anything about it.
“Okay. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
“This is going to be amazing.”
“Night, Lauren.”
“Night. Keep me posted!”
Kayla ended the call and pulled her computer back over in front of her.In for a penny, in for a pound.She pulled up her test and put it in, creating her account.
A fake name wasn’t needed. K was vague enough not to question it. With her profile set, she compared their tests to rank their compatibility.
While that ran, she texted Evan to let him know she had set up his next date. She kept it short, and thankfully, he didn’t ask any questions about it.
Her computer dinged letting her know the test had completed. Her hands shook as she turned to look at it. She didn’t know if it was fear that they might not be compatible or fear that they might be.
Kayla’s jaw dropped as she took in the results. It said they were a perfect match. She’d never seen that before on any of other tests.
Solidifying what she already knew, she set up the rest of her profile on the app then pressed the button to allow chats from her date. She didn’t know if she could actually keep this a secret from Evan or not, but for now, she was going to embrace her anonymity and flirt with Evan.
The restaurant closed while she was still contemplating her life choices. Grabbing her laptop and slipping it into the bag she carried back and forth to work, she headed home. Tomorrow, she wasn’t planning to work, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave it behind, ever.