DEREK'S MATCH
Jami Gallardo
Copyright © 2021 Jami Gallardo
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Cover design by: Emily Wittig Designs.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
1. one of these nights
2. on the house
3. you’re my match
4. girl from the bar
5. self-entitled rich guys
6. you’re welcome, world
7. just come with me
8. little black dress
9. steal my date
10. no smug comments
11. the feeling is mutual
12. who is this?
13. don’t want to share
14. pushing your luck
15. too much
16. anything, everything
17. more than a friend
18. bad gossip
19. savannah to you
20. how we met
21. you say no
22. the perfect match
23. show you off
24. what they do
25. someone else
26. like magnets
27. remember me?
28. maybe
29. call me back
30. the two of us
31. selfish bastard
32. it’s been real
33. miss you more
34. the lucky one
35. about us?
36. does she know
37. be cool
38. too perfect
39. addicted to you
40. happy and sad
41. temporary mess
42. our movie
43. the agreement
44. the best match
45. what’s best
46. sixteen days
47. doesn’t feel right
48. this city
1. one of these nights
“Have you downloaded MATCH ME yet?”
“Huh?” I ask distractedly as I look up from the pot on the stove. The pasta is ready and I grab the pan's handle and slide it onto the white plate. It falls perfectly, barely making any stains and I smile proudly at myself. I grab a napkin and spin the plate around, cleaning the edges so it looks perfect.
“The MATCH ME app,” Kim continues. “Have you downloaded it?”
I look at her, wondering if she’s really asking me about a dating app right now. It’s rush hour at the restaurant. Everyone is running around the busy kitchen. The sound of food grilling and boiling and dishes clanging against each other as Jorge washes them fills the room. There are people talking at the same time, yelling and calling out orders. This is what it’s really like behind the scenes of a fine dining restaurant. While customers enjoy their expensive meals with classical music playing in the background, it’s all kinds of chaos in the kitchen.
Working at a fine dining restaurant in New York City is exhausting. Somehow, it’s harder than working at a fine dining restaurant in Oregon. I worked there for more than three years and while the experience helped me get this job, it hasn’t made it easier. I moved to New York about six months ago after I got accepted into culinary school. I know I didn’t have to move all the way here for school. I could’ve done it in Oregon. I just wanted to get out. I wanted some adventure. Something different. Something new.
I got my adventure alright, except it hasn't been the adventure I was hoping for. It’s been a difficult, sad and exhausting adventure. Everything is more demanding here. People always want more from you. Professors, bosses and even friends. I met Kim in culinary school. She helped me get this job. She’s really nice but sometimes she can be too much. Like right now. All I want to do is work and get through this shift so I can go home and sleep. I miss sleep. And here she is talking about an app.
“No,” I say as I check the next order. “I haven't.”
We move over to the stove as we work quickly to push the food out. We’re on entrées tonight. It can easily be the most difficult station because we run out of the prep work often. I don’t know why they don’t increase prep. It’s more expensive, I guess. Or maybe they just like to keep us on our toes.
My dream is to become the executive chef of my own 3-star Michelin restaurant. Everyone knows 3-star Michelin restaurants are the epitome of a fine dining restaurant. That's the goal. I don’t know how much I want it though. I want to give up every morning when my eyes feel too heavy to wake up or every time I get yelled at by my manager at work or get so stressed about everything that I begin to cry. Life is not supposed to be this hard, right? Reaching your dream is not supposed to be this hard except it is. No wonder people give up all the time.
“I was at the bar yesterday and I decided to try it,” Kim says as we work. “I ended up getting matched with the guy sitting a few seats down from me.”
MATCH ME is a new dating app that everyone is into right now. It’s the new Tinder apparently. I’ve never tried dating apps for one simple reason: they scare the hell out of me. Messaging someone that I don’t know with the possibility of meeting them scares me. No one looks like their pictures. I don’t think I could take the emotional rollercoaster that online dating is. I don’t want to get catfished and I’m not just talking about looks. You can get catfished on personalities as well. No thank you. I already struggle enough with meeting guys in person. I don’t need to add that kind of stress in my life right now.
“Dating apps are a scam, you know that right?” I say to Kim as we move around the kitchen. This is how you usually have a conversation during peak hour at the restaurant. It’s in bits and pieces. I’d rather not have conversations, but Kim always seems to get the words out of me. She’s just very easy to talk to. She reminds me of my sister. Thinking of Natalie makes me miss her.
“Dating apps are not a scam.” Kim protests then frowns. “Okay…you might be right.”
“I know I’m right.” I smile. “They make you pay for love. You’re not supposed to pay to connect with someone.”
“This app is actually free.”
I raise an eyebrow at her through the steam coming from the steak I’m cooking.
She rolls her eyes at me. “Unless you want a match on the spot. Okay, fine, you win.”
I laugh. “How does it even work, anyway? Sell me on it.”
“So,” She says excitedly. “You make a profile—"
“Like in any other dating app, I imagine.”
She narrows her eyes at me with a smile. “Are you going to let me talk?”
I laugh. “Sorry, go ahead.”
“So, you take this personality test that gives you a score based on your answers. It asks questions about everything: what you do for a living, what you’re looking for in a partner, what you love, what you hate.” She continues as we move on through the orders. “It’s a whole bunch of questions and you get a score on a scale from 1 to 100. Of course, it’s not pass or fail like in school but this score is what is matched with other people. The free version matches you with people from the state where you live or across the country if you’re into long distance relationships.” She looks down as she fixes her plate. “There is a premium version, which is the cool part about it, that matches you with someone that is in the same room as you. It could be in class or a bar or wherever you are. You just have to have that feature on and bam—you might get a match any second.”
“Okay,” I say slowly. “I guess I understand the fuzz around it then.”
She squeals. “It’s very exciting, Savannah! You have to try it. We'll go to the bar one of these nights.”
“I don’t really have time for bars these days, Kim.”
She rolls her eyes at me. “Yes, you do. I work the same amount of hours as you and go to school with you and I have time to have fun.”
I smile. “I don’t want to have fun. I'd rather sleep.”
“Sleep makes you miss out on the world. We’re too young for that. You’re too hot for that.”
“I swore not to go to another bar here after a guy thought that following me home to make sure I got there safely thought it was cute.”
“That's creepy.”
“Exactly.”
“We'll go tomorrow.” She decides making me shake my head at her with a smile because she obviously learned nothing from what I just told her.
We get too busy to talk for the rest of the evening. After tonight’s service is over, we clean the kitchen spotless clean before we’re able to go home. My feet are throbbing by the time I get to my apartment.
This is how my days usually go. Once I was able to get a job here, my days began to follow a routine. School in the morning, work in the evening. School, work, sleep. That is if I didn’t have studying to do. I usually try my best to pay attention in class so I won't get behind but sometimes staying up late studying is inevitable.
My life used to be less chaotic back in Newport. I did follow the same school-work routine when I was working towards my Bachelor’s degree but then I graduated, and I had time to go out with friends and actually have a social life. I don’t have a social life here in New York. Kim is the only friend I have and we don’t really hang out outside of school or work. We’ve only gone out for lunch a couple of times.
I’ve thought about going back to Newport so many times. The thought crosses my mind at least once a day. I know I can pack up my bags and leave any day if I want to. I have my house in Newport. I know my old boss would take me back or I could even work in my parent’s inn.
But then I remember that I’m already six months in and I hate giving up on things that I start. I know that if I leave, I’ll feel like a failure. I know I’ll regret it.
Knowing that doesn't make it any easier though. I really don’t know what I was thinking when I decided to come to New York. The city is beautiful and alive, of course. I’m sure I could have fun if I really set my mind to it. Maybe I should do that. Maybe I should try to make this more bearable.
I find myself tossing and turning in bed tonight. There is nothing worse than being exhausted and not being able to go to sleep.
I make the mistake of reaching for my phone and going through my Instagram feed. Something drops in my stomach when I see a picture of my ex, Kevin, with his new girlfriend at his side. His hand is around her tiny waist. Her black hair is wavy on her shoulders and her dark skin is vibrant. She’s absolutely beautiful.
Exes are not supposed to upgrade after you break up with them. They’re supposed to downgrade. Even I can’t deny the fact that Kevin definitely upgraded with Lindsey. That's her name and she has over five thousand followers on Instagram. I spend more time than I’d like to admit going through all her posts.
Kevin and I didn’t have the best relationship. It was hard at the end. I would cry myself to sleep every night. He was my first serious boyfriend, so I didn’t know that crying that much wasn’t normal in a relationship. We would fight a lot, yet it was still hard to let him go.
We didn’t unfollow each other on Instagram. He didn’t unfollow me and I didn’t want to seem childish, so I didn’t either. I tried to convince myself that we were being adults. Maybe we’ll find our way back to each other, who knows? Now all that hope is gone.
He’s moved on and I…haven't. He’s happy and I’m miserable. He looks great and I look like a college student that hasn’t slept in weeks. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t wear leggings with a messy bun. My life is a mess. I’m a mess.
I gulp down the knot in my throat as I force myself to log out of the app. No more Instagram for me.
Yeah, right, Savannah.
I find myself going to the app store and I search for the MATCH ME app. Before I know it, I’m downloading it into my phone. God. What is wrong with me? Am I so desperate for a social life that I’m downloading a dating app? Dammit Kim. Why did she have to bring it up? Here I am, downloading it after seeing my ex’s new beautiful model girlfriend.
I spend the next hour making my profile and taking the assessment Kim was talking about. It’s actually pretty extensive. From my favorite food to what I aspire to be in the world. Jeez. It’s just a dating app. Then again, I know many people take dating apps very seriously. Take this app, for example. Everyone has been talking about it. It’s been trending on Twitter for a couple of weeks now and people seem to love it. Meanwhile, the creator is making millions of dollars. Must be nice.
I end up paying the ten dollars for the premium option. It’s a membership. Ten dollars a month. I don’t know how expensive that is when it comes to dating apps, but I should most definitely not be spending money on this. I try to get a refund but all I can do is cancel it, so it doesn’t renew in a month.
I check the time and realize it’s past two in the morning. The saying ‘nothing good every happens after 2 A.M.’ is true. Just go to sleep after two or you’ll find yourself signing up for a dating app.
I put my phone down and allow my now heavy eyes to close, completely unaware of the adventure that is about to begin.
2. on the house
Culinary school has turned out to be harder than I thought. I thought my knowledge in the kitchen was pretty decent but boy, was I wrong. I’ve learned so many things. From new dishes to all the different types of knives and kitchen pots to the correct way to cook meat. It’s fascinating. Hard, but fascinating.
I didn’t discover my passion for cooking until after I graduated from college. I had been working in the same restaurant for two years by then and it took me a while to realize that I didn’t quit because I loved the art of cooking. I graduated a semester early (a lot of summers were sacrificed) which is good because I had some time to think about what I wanted. Now I have a Bachelor's degree in Business and I’ll hopefully finish culinary school. My career is in order, if nothing else.
Still, I can’t help but feel like something is missing in my life. I’ve always lived on thrill. At least back in Newport. I was the wild one in my group of friends. I was the girl everyone wanted to hang out with in high school and college, when I did go out anyway. It feels like I lost that part of me when I came to New York which is crazy because I thought the exact opposite was going to happen.
Stress isn’t fun. You lose yourself to stress. I hate stress.
This is why the following Friday, which happens to be March 10th, I agree to go get a drink with Kim because it’s my birthday and going to my lonely apartment is just going to make me feel even more depressed. We go to a bar called Culinary Drop-Out. It’s also a restaurant and it’s very popular in the area. I’ve heard a lot of about it, but I’ve never actually come before.
“I can’t believe it’s your birthday and you’re telling me just now,” Kim says as we sit on the stools by the bar.
The restaurant is packed. All the tables are full and the waitresses are walking around, getting everyone drinks and taking their orders. There is soft rock music playing in the background. There is also a karaoke machine sitting on the side of the room and there is a big poster next to it that says, JOIN US FOR KARAOKE TUESDAYS!. The bartender making the drinks seems to be around our age with tattoos all over his arms. He’s handsome. This is the kind of views I like for my special day.
I shrug at Kim. “It’s just another day for me. I stopped celebrating it when I turned 21.”
Birthdays stopped being a big deal once I became an adult. It’s just another day now. A d
ay when I turn a year older. A day to chill with a friend over a drink.
“How old are you?” Kim asks curiously.
“Twenty-four,” I say.
“Wow, I thought you were like twenty-one or something. You look really young.”
I smile at her. “I'll take that as a compliment, thank you.”
“What can I get for you ladies?”
We turn to look at the bartender.
“Do you have any birthday specials?” Kim asks after she orders a tequila.
“Kim, no,” I say, feeling embarrassed. I hate to ask for free things. I don’t know why. It makes me feel like a beggar. I can afford to buy a drink. That’s why I work.
The bartender turns to look at me and grins. “Oh, we have a birthday girl.”
I can’t help but smile because he’s actually kind of cute. He’s wearing a button-down shirt with a black vest on top. The sleeves of his shirt are folded up to his elbows. Broad shoulders. Muscular arms. Why haven’t I come here before?
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