Page 28 of Swiped

Nat scoffed. The fact that Jo thought her profile was doomed if it was accurate was all the more reason to do it and prove her wrong. “Well, it’s too late and it’s my call.”

Both twins nodded in silence.

“We’re on board,” said Jo, stoically. “But at the risk of you hating me, can I give you some advice for this interview that’s happening in, like, ten seconds?”

Nat swallowed a dry laugh. As if Jo cared about Nat hating her. “Of course,” she said, coolly.

Justin winced as Jo pushed ahead with her thought. “OK, so, I know this is bullshit, and you’re way smarter than this—”

Nat stifled an eye roll. Flattery, fine.

“But just be positive? Like channel the most annoying Instagram influencer you follow, OK?” Jo was practically pleading. “Project confidence that we’re gonna win this.”

Through the open door, she saw an obviously Rami-shaped figure heading toward the roof. “I am going to win this,” said Nat, narrowing her eyes. “So, yeah, I’ll be perky, or whatever.”

“Gucci.” Jo nodded and went back to biting her nails.

Justin held out his palms. “You wanna do a quick grounding meditation?”

Nat shook her head. “Can’t say that I do, thanks.” She rolled her neck and stretched. “Let’s just get this over with.”

* * *

V crouched in front of the cameras and held out their fingers in a countdown. “We’re live in ten . . . nine . . . eight . . .”

Rami shifted in the folding chair next to Nat. He smelled good in a new way, like expensive flowers and mountain springs and cuddling with a book of crossword puzzles. It was infuriating. “Did you make it home OK last night?” he whispered to her.

“No, I’m dead in a gutter somewhere, thanks for checking.” She snuck a glance at him through the glaring stage lights. “Are you OK?”

He stared straight ahead with a blank expression. “Never better.”

V waved their hand wildly and pointed to Tracy, whose posture seemed to leap out of her body with sudden poise.

“Hey you, guys, thanks for tuning into this BuzzFill BuzzCheck Exclusive interview with our very own dating lab rats, Nat Lane and Rami Zamir!” Tracy gestured to her subjects as the spotlights glinted on her creamy manicure and gold rings.

Nat raised her bare hand in a timid wave.

With all of the stage lighting, she could only see about three feet around her in any direction.

It appeared as though she, Rami, and Tracy were simply levitating in a cloud of blinding white, which was jarringly heavenly imagery for what felt very much like hell.

She blinked into the glare as two shadowy blobs began to form at the edge of her vision. The twins — her angels and her demons. They gave her matching thumbs-up signs.

Tracy continued. “We’re just about halfway into this little experiment, so let’s see how the competition is shaping up!” She turned to face Nat and Rami with a dazzling smile. “Rami, let’s start with you. How is the analog dating life?”

Now it was Rami’s turn to generate a sudden burst of poise.

His face lit with a grin. “Even better than I’d hoped, Tracy!

” He raised an index finger to his chin as if in spontaneous brilliance.

“You know, it’s incredible how much richer our connections are when we don’t have all the digital spoilers laid out for us.

” He nodded and crossed his legs, the glowing picture of a cosmopolitan man with interesting opinions. Dammit.

Nat’s heart raced as Tracy turned to her. She felt her palms go clammy.

“And Nat? How is it using BeTwo for the first time?”

Nat scoffed. “Well, I wouldn’t say it’s the ‘first time’ since I literally built it .

. .” She trailed off as the twins gestured wildly off-camera.

Jo sliced a hand across her throat. Justin smiled and pointed at his huge grin.

Nat smiled and rolled her shoulders back.

So positive! “But I guess I just never realized just how much fun it can be!”

Justin brought his hands into a prayer position at his chest, and Jo pumped her small fists in victory.

“I’m connecting with guys who I would’ve never met in daily life, and it’s really expanding my perspective!” Nat chirped.

Rami shifted in his seat.

“Amazing,” said Tracy. She turned to Rami and narrowed her eyes. “Rami, since you and Nat have been forbidden to be in contact, how does it feel to hear that she’s been successful so far?”

Motes of panic shimmered in Nat’s vision as she watched Rami give a thoughtful frown.

Of course, they had been very much “in contact” less than twelve hours ago, and of course, he also knew just how very unsuccessful her dates had been.

She wondered if his mind was also flashing to the scenes in his bed, and she drove her fingernails into her palm to push the memories away.

Rami cleared his throat. “I wish Nat nothing but happiness,” he said. “It’s what we all deserve.”

Nat felt her mouth go dry. How was she supposed to take that? Was he being kind, or was this a subtle nod to his accusation that she was essentially heartless? She snuck a glance at him, but his eyes were downcast and his face was dark.

Tracy commandeered the silence. “Couldn’t agree more!” she trilled, crossing her long legs. “And, Nat, how is it for you to hear about Rami’s app-less romantic adventures?”

“I haven’t seen him, so it’s news to me!” Nat blurted, heat flaring into her face. Radiate calm , her brain reminded her. Be an influencer. She forced a grin and fixed her eyes on the camera. “I mean, I just really love that journey for him.”

Rami’s mouth twisted in a suppressed laugh, and his eyes twinkled at Nat. Of course, he would see the dark hilarity in her saying something so inane. Of course, he would get it.

Tracy, however, nodded with the deep understanding of an acolyte. “Totally. So, then it sounds like you’re both really enjoying yourselves in this little social experiment?”

“Absolutely!” said Nat, visualizing herself wearing a linen kimono and holding a jar of three-hundred-dollar face cream.

“One hundred percent,” chimed Rami.

“And what about our big deadline?” Tracy tilted her head and leaned in with a frown as if they were all discussing a tense political negotiation. “Are either of you feeling confident that you’ll be bringing a real date to the BuzzFill BuzzForce Expo opening party in two weeks?”

Nat’s stomach gurgled. “One hundred percent,” she cooed, hearing vocal fry creep into her own voice for the first time in her life.

“Absolutely,” said Rami.

“How fun!” Tracy beamed and turned back to the camera. “Well, I know that I’m not the only one who can’t wait to see how this plays out!”

* * *

Nat took stock of the last twenty-four hours as she looked at her reflection in the communal bathroom mirror of the BeTwo offices.

There’d been so many firsts. The first date with Nick, when he’d given her the first kiss she’d had in two years — and it hadn’t even been good.

Her first BuzzFill BuzzCheck Exclusive interview, which she had apparently “crushed.” It was the first time that she had gone viral — #BeTwoChallenge.

The first time she had lied to Justin and Jo, when she’d told them that nothing strange had happened the night before.

The first time the ache in her chest was not about missing some abstract notion of the perfect partner, but instead it was about missing someone specific, even if that someone had been sitting next to her in a folding chair the whole time.

No wonder she looked so exhausted.

She splashed some water on her face and massaged the dark circles under her eyes.

Still, now her profile reflected her actual desires and personality, not just the data on what got the most swipes.

Now her fate was truly in the hands of her own algorithm, and there was nothing else she trusted more. Right?

She pushed the swinging door back into the hall. It hit Rami on the shoulder.

“Sorry!” She tried not to look at the way the muscles of his arms rippled as he gestured.

“Nice office,” he said, rubbing his arm. Sunlight streamed in through the hallway’s floor-to-ceiling windows, lighting his skin with a warm golden glow. “If I had this view, I wouldn’t need to make a weather app.”

“The view from our actual office isn’t like this, believe me.” She forced herself not to look at the way he filled out the jeans he was wearing, and met his coffee brown eyes. “You do have a really great app, though.”

His face softened. “Thanks.” He nodded. “You did good out there.”

Nat felt her body slump in relief. “Oh God, I have no idea what I even said.”

Rami let out a huge breath. “Me neither! Like, I know my mouth was moving, but my brain just kept screaming at me with all the words I absolutely should not say.”

“Same!” she cried. “What the fuck, brain?”

Rami gave a thoughtful frown with an amused tilt of his eyebrows. “Someone should look into fixing that design flaw.”

Nat winced with a gasp at his words. Design flaw. Suddenly, she was back in Rami’s bedroom, buttoning her shirt over her naked chest and trying not to cry.

“Shit, that’s not what I meant!” He grimaced.

Nat shook her head and dug her palms into her aching eyes. She was way too tired to stop any tears this time. “It’s fine.”

“Last night or just now, I didn’t mean whatever it is that’s making you make that face, because you also made that face last night and that face is killing me.”

“It’s fine.” She took a deep breath and fixed her gaze behind him. “See you in two weeks.”

“See you in two weeks,” she heard him say as she walked away.

* * *

Nat ducked behind the BeTwo office door like it was a shield.

She pressed her back against it and closed her eyes.

A few hot tears rolled down her cheeks. She really did have almost no idea what she’d actually said in the interview, except the lies about not having seen Rami.

It felt like a blur, like a smear of goo across her memory that made her stomach sick to think about.