Page 6 of The World

I tilted my head to the side, once again torn between amusement and annoyance. It was impossible to maintain an even keel around this guy. But I'd blown things way out of proportion earlier, and unlikesome people, I could admit when I’d been wrong.

“Simone seems lovely. I would never say anything bad about her just because she has questionable taste in friends.”

Hedidlook at me then, and the force of that full-on dark-chocolate gaze gave me way more of a rush than my beer. “She’s the best,” he said. “So thanks. For not saying anything.”

“I’m over it,” I told him, and I meant it. “No harm, no foul.”

“Back!” Simone said happily, jumping between us. “You boys kiss and make up?”

“Oh, even better.” I smiled broadly. “In the last thirty seconds, we’ve realized Taika was only a jerk because he’s secretly in love with me, and we’re running off together. We’ll name all ten of our children Simone!”

She laughed out loud and I grinned up at Taika, hoping he was laughing along. But not only was he not laughing, he wasn’t even smiling. In fact, he was staring at my face, transfixed, like I was some species of animal he’d never seen before.

I cleared my throat and felt my smile slip.Okay, then.“He’s just shy,” I whispered to Simone. “It’s all so new.”

Simone shook her head, amused. “So you’re a writer?”

“Uh, yeah.Content creator,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Mostly freelance stuff for different websites. Someday I’d like to have my own travel blog, though.”

She nodded. “Tai’s an app developer and entrepreneur. TaikaParata.”

She said this like it was supposed to mean something, so I smiled politely. “Cool.” I turned to him and tried, once again, to be friendly. “Did you help design Heart2Heart?”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t design much anymore.”

“Just as well. To be honest,” I confided, “I’m not really into using technology fordating. It’s too impersonal. I mean, I know it works for some people. One of my good friends met his boyfriend through Heart2Heart. But when I meet my match, it’s going to happen organically. Instant connection. Eyes meeting as we reach for the same ice cream carton in the frozen food aisle.”

Taika snorted. Actuallysnorted. “Apps take everything about your personality, needs, and desires, and distill them to their most essential form. They can know you better than you know yourself. But you’ll pick a partner based on ice cream compatibility?”

“Maybe. Love’s not a collection of data points. It’s about spontaneous generation, something out of nothing.” I shrugged. “I’ll know it when I feel it.”

He frowned like he completely disagreed.Shocking.

“Alright, friends!” the emcee announced, drawing our attention toward the stage. “Pull out those pretty red tickets and let’s get this party started! As you know, our friends at Heart2Heart believe strongly that fate takes the lead when finding your perfect match, and that every date is an adventure, so tonight, we’ll be drawing two lucky winners for each prize! Winners will go on their vacation adventures together, and hopefullysparks will fly. Who’s ready for adestination date?!”

The crowd erupted into cheers and I grinned again, soaking up their enthusiasm like a sponge as I pulled the tickets from my pocket. Maybe this night would turn out fine after all.

“Wait,” Taika said in a panicked voice, clutching at Simone’s arm. “These are vacationdates? You didn’t say anything about dates!”

“Hush. Remember your promise, Tai.”

“But, Simone, no! I…”

I snickered. Taika was maybe the only guy in the place afraid of winning.

“Our first prize is a magical getaway to the happiest place on earth, Disney World! Our winners will be provided round-trip accommodation, one night at a deluxe resort, two tickets to Epcot to enjoy this fall’s Food and Wine Festival, and a thousand dollars spending money! Candie, can you draw a number for us?”

A gorgeous queen with pink hair and a matching gown made a show of drawing a ticket from the basket and presenting it to the emcee. “Our first winner is 98765! If you have the winning ticket…”

My body flashed hot and then cold as I stared down at the tickets in my hand. I’dwon. And I mean, sure, it wasn’t the exotic locale I’d dreamed of, but… shit.

I looked at Simone, then back at the ticket in my shaking hand. “I think…”

“You won!” she said happily, waving my hand in the air. She didn’t seem particularly surprised. “Now go claim your prize!”

“Congratulations!” the emcee said, beckoning me forward. “What’s your name, honey?”

“Ethan.”