Page 1 of Curtis & Jae (Mate Match #1)

One

Jae

“Sorry,” my friend Brady said, lowering a cup of tea to the table beside me. “It’s been one hell of a morning. Obviously, I can’t say much other than latecomers have ruined the entire schedule for the day.” Brady wore an uncharacteristic frown.

“Do you think they’ll reschedule?” Maybe it would be better for them to try later if they were frazzled already. There was an air of tension in the building that even the pheromone filters couldn’t block.

“They wouldn’t, not now that they’ve left you waiting for nearly an hour.” He patted my hand sympathetically. “Drink your tea. It’s one of those soothing ones you like.”

I was a regular at the office because I worked as an illustrator. This was the first time I was submitting my own work for their approval. The book was pretty much done, though I knew they’d likely have suggestions to improve it, to really help it sell later.

Brady continued to sit next to me. “What?” he asked when he caught me watching him.

“You can go back to your desk. I know you’re busy.” I knew exactly why he was lingering beside me like a bad smell.

“So…” he began. This would be fun. “How was your date?”

“Awful, but you knew that. I texted you after!”

“I just want the deets, Jae! Don’t hold out on me now. What was he like? What put you off him?”

With a bitter laugh, I pretended to think, my hand propping up my chin.

“Maybe it was his alpha posturing outside of the restaurant, blowing his pheromones all over the place.” Brady flinched.

It was so rude to do that to anyone, particularly strangers.

“Or maybe it was the numerous red flags, like how he spoke to the server.” Brady winced.

Being rude to servers was a big no-no to us both.

“Or how he mentioned traditional roles—”

“Fuck!” he muttered before looking around to check no one was listening in to hear his unprofessional outburst.

“Yeah. The guy was hot, just that’s all there was to him. All looks and no substance.”

“Sorry, Jae, I thought you were onto a winner here.” Brady was so sweet, he genuinely meant it.

“Are you sure this app is legit? ‘Cause, not going to lie, I don’t see it working out for me. Our match was a decent percentage, too.” It had taken me weeks to even sign up for the dating app Brady had suggested to me.

“For sure! My cousin’s friends were matched by them. I swear on it!”

“Then why haven’t you used it yet?”

Brady had the decency to look sheepish. “Because I’m not about to go in heat soon without options. Shit, that’s rude. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fair. Between the blockers issue and being single this last year…”

“Why don’t you try a club like I do?”

I sighed. If only it was that simple. I loved how free and easy Brady was with his sexuality. He was open about dating multiple people at the same time and wasn’t shy about sex at all. Not like me.

“Just how I was raised, I guess. Sex was for relationships, so now I feel weird about hookups.”

“Which is fair. Look, try the app again, alright? Maybe fine tune your profile a little. Might help,” Brady suggested. He stood when there was a movement at the end of the hall.

“Jae, come on through, please.”

The meeting went both better and worse than I was expecting.

They seemed to love the story, yet wanted a bunch of edits to both the words and the illustrations.

Thankfully, these were all done digitally, so it was easier to manipulate them into what they wanted.

It was going to be a long process to get something we were all happy with publishing.

The downside was the long queue I would be in and the deadlines I had to meet.

At least I could say I had a contract, provisionally at least. They wanted me to return with a few pages updated with the edits they requested, then we could move forward. A formality, really, since they knew my work was solid. I’d been working for them for years.

Still, it was an amazing step forward to gaining my dream: publishing my own work!

My family would be proud, though also surprised.

They hadn’t expected me to graduate with my art degree, thinking I would find a suitable alpha at college, then settle down to have a family.

My role would be the same as my mother’s: raising children and managing the household.

Becoming published would prove to them I was right to forge a path just for me, one without reliance on an alpha.

I was practically giddy all the way home. The tram was nearly at my stop when I received a notification. The sound differed from my usual socials. I checked my phone.

Mate Match

You have a new match!

Oh! Was I worried or excited about this one? Could he be any worse than the last guy? What if he was better?

Instead of checking it out in the app, I decided to wait until I got home to give it my full attention. Besides, what were a few minutes when this could be someone really special?

In spite of myself, I walked faster from the tram stop to my apartment block, only a street away in my haste to see what this match was. Maybe I was just buoyed by my meeting with the publisher, but I had a fizzing feeling of excitement in my gut.

Percy, my cat, was ready and eager to greet me when I got in. He still had food, so it was definitely me he wanted to see, not just hunger winning out. He loved attention from the right people. My ex, Hwan, was not one of those. Really, I should have seen it sooner.

Once I’d taken off my jacket and shoes, I scooped up Percy and went to check out this match.

With how close I was getting to my heat, I was beginning to wonder if I’d get matched with anyone decent for my heat.

I didn’t want to give it to just anyone.

I needed that spark of attraction for sex, a connection outside of pheromones and beauty.

While I’d been walking, another message from the app had arrived.

Mate Match

Congratulations, Jae, we have a rare 94% compatibility match for you. Click here to open your Mate Matched profile.

I clicked on the link provided and waited for a moment for the information to load.

Mate Match profile for Curtis Taylor.

Curtis is an alpha of 32. He is currently single, works as a home renovations contractor, does not subscribe to any religion, and his ethnicity is described as Black.

His likes: Relaxing after a hard day with good food and great company. I like to read fantasy novels.

His dislikes: Curtis has left this section blank.

Curtis’ personal statement:

I am a family oriented alpha looking for an omega who would like a long-term thing.

My business is running well, I’ve got plenty of friends, but I feel like my life is missing a special someone.

My friends describe me as a soft alpha, whatever that means. They said to put it because it’s relevant.

Oh, the picture was cute! In it was a dark-skinned man with a slightly round face, close cropped black hair, a wide smile with bright straight white teeth.

His smile was so genuine and warm, it invited me to stare at him a little longer.

From the pic, I could see that while Curtis was active, the man liked to eat, with some extra padding around the tummy area.

Honestly, I preferred a guy with a little meat on his bones.

I liked to cook, a throwback from when I made things with my mom growing up.

Nothing made me happier than to see someone eating my food.

First impressions: I liked Curtis. He looked like a straightforward alpha. He wanted a family! Plus, fantasy books meant we’d have plenty to talk about.

There was a button at the bottom of the profile. “Do you want to accept this match?” I clicked yes, and was returned to the app where there was a chat function. Already I’d been accepted by Curtis. Another good sign. He’d messaged me.

Curtis

Hi, how are you? I’m nervous. You’re my first match on this app.

Well, that was adorable. For a first impression, that was a fantastic start.

Jae

Hi Curtis! I’m having a great day. How are you? I see from your profile you like fantasy books. What’s your favorite?

I didn’t expect a reply for a while, so it was a surprise that I got one when I was making a cup of tea.

Curtis

Wow! Straight in with the hard questions. I guess that depends on if you mean high fantasy or more paranormal? I’ll read anything but one book and movie I return to is The Last Unicorn. Loved it as a kid and I still can’t find anything I love as much.

His pick wasn’t something I’d heard of before.

Not unusual. My parents hadn’t exactly encouraged us to read fantasy growing up.

They were nonfiction and biography people.

When I was in my teens, I’d discovered a love for graphic novels.

I hadn’t looked back since. It took me a moment to look up the book and the animated movie.

That was a great choice, judging by the synopsis and reviews. The animation looked beautiful.

Jae

The animation is stunning! I can see why you like it so much.

His reply was fairly instant.

Curtis

Maybe one of our dates could be watching it?

I replied with a broad grin on my face.

Jae

Yeah, I think I’d like that.