“I'll just have a gin and tonic.” I tell him with a smile.
“On the house,” He says winking at me.
I look down, trying to hide my smile. My phone vibrates then and I open a text from my sister. It’s a picture of my nephew, Samuel. He was born on January 10th, exactly two months ago. He’s wearing a white onesie and he’s wrapped in a blue, fuzzy blanket. He’s so tiny and adorable. It kills me that I haven’t met him yet. I can’t go visit them until May when the semester is over. It’s way too expensive to go for just one or two days. Plus I’m always at work and I need my job. A text comes in with the words: Happy birthday, aunt Sav!
This picture makes me feel sad. Mom and dad called me in the morning and Natalie called me later in the afternoon. I just wish I was in Newport to celebrate with them. Birthdays always feel more like my birthday when I’m with my family.
“Aw, who is that?” Kim asks looking over my shoulder.
“He’s my nephew,” I say proudly showing her the picture.
“He’s so adorable.”
I nod in agreement as we stare at his picture.
We are interrupted by the sudden noise of gasps around the room. I look around and see people taking out their phones and taking pictures towards the entrance of the restaurant. I frown then follow their gazes. Oh my god. My eyes widen in surprise. Is this actually happening? I put my phone down slowly as we all look over at the entrance. Yes. This is happening. I’ve never met or even seen a celebrity in real life.
It takes me a moment to put a name to the face. It’s probably the shock. Then it comes to me. I remember watching his last movie in the theater with Natalie before I moved to New York. It was a good action movie. I remember thinking how hot the male lead of the movie was so I did what I always do after watching a movie: I googled the movie cast. The male lead was Derek Collins and I clicked on his picture.
Derek Collins is an American model and actor. His modeling career began when he was sixteen years old when he participated in a fashion show in Paris...
I remember thinking how successful he is for his age, considering he is just a year older than me. Then again, that is how it is with most celebrities now-a-days. Anyone can become a celebrity now. You go on The Bachelor and bam! You’re famous. You trend on Twitter, you’re famous. If you have enough followers on Instagram, you could be considered a celebrity. Celebrities are becoming overrated. Yet, it’s still pretty cool to see one in person.
Derek Collins is even more good-looking in person. I always thought actors in movies were edited to look good on the big screen but now I believe that they look that good because they are that good looking. He towers next to his friend. I think I remember reading that he is six feet tall. He has broad shoulders and a strong, muscular frame. He’s wearing black slacks with a gray cashmere sweater. He has short, light brown hair that looks smooth all the way from where I’m sitting. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s on a current shampoo commercial.
He has a smirk on his face as he walks in with his friend. He knows he has everyone’s attention and he seems to like it. He’s a cocky guy.
What a turn off.
“Oh my god!” Kim gasps next to me as I look away. “It’s Derek Collins!”
“What is he doing here?” I ask as the noise in the restaurant gets louder. People are taking pictures with him now. Mostly women, of course. He winks at the cameras as the flashes illuminate his handsome features. He must be so used to cameras. Cameras must love him just as much as he loves them.
Kim turns to look at me. “He lives in New York. He’s from here.”
“I meant the bar,” I say with a shrug. “There are more luxurious bars in the city, no?”
“His best friend, Ian,” Kim says glancing at him as he takes pictures for Derek’s fans. “He’s the one that invented MATCH ME.”
“He created the app?” I ask as I look at Ian. He’s a handsome man himself. He’s shorter than Derek but his muscles and handsome face make up for it. He has dark skin and pretty green eyes. He could be a model himself.
“I want to take a picture with them,” Kim says.
“Well, it looks like they’re coming over,” I say as Derek and Ian start making their way towards the bar.
“Oh my god.” Kim whispers as she looks down at her drink.
I almost want to laugh. She’s actually freaking out. I think she might actually faint.
“Hey!” Derek calls the bartender. “I want your best bottle of whiskey.”
“I’m sorry, we don’t sell by the bottle.” The bartender tells him.
I glance at Derek who gives him a confused look as he rests his arm on the bar and leans in.
“Don’t you know who I am?” He asks the bartender.
“It doesn’t matter, man,” The bartender shrugs. “It’s the rules.”
I look down and smile, feeling proud of the bartender for not giving in. Derek Collins seems to be much more entitled than he needs to be. He shouldn’t be treating people this way just because he’s famous. Looks don’t mean anything if you’re an asshole.
“Why don’t you get your boss for me?” Derek asks with a smug smile.
“Is something the matter?” A man asks as he appears behind Derek. He’s wearing jeans with a black T-shirt over his beer belly. He has a silver chain dangling from his neck.
“Your bartender doesn’t want to sell me a bottle of whiskey,” Derek says to him throwing daggers at the bartender.
“Give him what he wants, Adrian,” The man says to the bartender.
Adrian looks annoyed but he leans down under the bar and pulls out a bottle of whiskey. Derek takes with a satisfied grin then snaps some pictures of him with the bottle, probably for his Instagram.
Kim and I are pushed to the side as women crowd around Derek and Ian. I roll my eyes at my drink and when I look up, my eyes meet Adrian’s. “I know, right?” He murmurs making me smile.
“Hey, Derek, do you use Ian’s dating app?” I hear one of the women ask.
“Of course,” Derek says putting an arm around Ian’s shoulders. “I’m so proud of him.”
“Have you gotten matched?”
“I haven’t, no.”
“Why don’t you try it?” One of the women suggest and there’s a lot of excited nods in agreement. Women are probably already imagining their wedding with him.
“Uh—” Derek doesn’t sound like he’s into it but like any good celebrity, he falls into the pressure. “Sure, why not?” He asks and there’s a lot of excited squeals and murmurs around the room.
“Oh my god.”
“Imagine getting matched with Derek Collins.”
“Wait, let me get the premium package.”
“Is your location turned on?”
“Oh my god, I’m recording this.”
I roll my eyes again and reach for my drink.
“I promise a date to whoever I get matched with,” Derek says as he takes out his phone. “We might fall in love, who knows?” He smirks and all the women squeal, including Kim.
“Is this actually happening?” She asks as she takes out her phone.
“He’s just selling his best friend’s app.” I state the obvious.
She shrugs. “Who cares? I want a date with him.”
“Alright, here it goes,” Derek says as he holds his phone in his hand.
I am taking a sip of my drink as the room grows silent. No one’s phone rings. Of course not. Derek isn’t stupid enough to be matched with a girl he won’t like. This is probably staged. His best friend probably had some formula made so he wouldn’t be matched with anyone.
And then it happens.
The bar table begins to vibrate.
And then I realize that it’s my phone. I glance down at it in disbelief at the same time everyone else does.
I stare at the words on the notification in complete disbelief.
YOU’VE BEEN MATCHED!
3. you’re my match
YOU’VE BEEN MATCHED!
Nobody seems to move for a second or maybe it’s just me. I must’ve forgotten to turn off the stupid feature from the other night when I downloaded it. Is this really happening? Out of all the women in here—women that are much more thrilled for this—I’m the one that gets matched with Derek Collins? Famous actor, famous model, Derek Collins? What the hell is happening?
My phone finally stops vibrating but it’s too late. I can feel everyone staring at me.
“OMG!” Kim gasps next to me.
I can’t believe this. I can’t be his match. This app can’t be more off. Now I know it really is bogus. I’m the least impressed with him here. Yes, he’s handsome and hot and good to look at but in the few minutes that I’ve seen him interact with other people, I’ve come to find how obnoxious and entitled he is. I hate people like that. There is no way I’m going on a date with him, no matter how many millions of followers he has.
I look down at my drink and from the corner of my eye, I see Derek move through the crowd towards me. I ignore the nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. It’s just another, normal guy, Savannah, just another guy.
Except he’s not. He’s a celebrity. How do you act normal around a celebrity? Well, I’m about to give it my best shot. He’s probably expecting me to be over the moon excited to be matched with him. He probably thinks I’m going to jump right into this and ask him if we can go on this date tonight. Before he even speaks, I know what he’s expecting from me and I’m ready to be the exact opposite. I've never been like everyone else and I’m not going to start right now.
“So, you’re my match,” He says as he stands on my right side.
I try to ignore how good he smells.
“I don’t think so,” I say without looking at him, still mentally preparing myself for this.
“What’s your name?”
I finally turn my head and look up at him. His voice is full of amusement. He’s obviously having fun. I find myself glancing down at his Adam's apple. I’m sitting down so he towers over me, making him look even more intimidating but not to me, at least that's what I tell myself. I forget what I was going to say when I look into his eyes. They’re blue. It’s a shade of blue I haven’t seen before, at least not in person. It’s an electric blue. They’re beautiful. Damn him. He’s even more attractive up close. How is he even real?
“That's for me to know,” I say, proud of how stable my voice sounds.
He chuckles, showing off his straight white teeth. I notice his sharp jaw and wonder how many millions of dollars it’s gotten him. His blue eyes move down to my drink and then he looks back up at me. “I'll call you Gin, like your drink.”
I shrug. “I like gin.”
His lips quirk up in a grin. “So do I.” He leans on the bar and looks at me. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me. I’m so glad my hair falls over the left side of my face, shielding me from their stares. The music is still playing in the background but somehow, the room feels like it’s silent. “I guess I owe you a date.”
I take the last sip of my drink and take out some cash and place it on the bar. “No, you don’t,” I say looking at him and I hear some gasps behind me. I’m pretty sure one of them came from Kim. I stand up and look right into his eyes. “I don’t want to go on a date with you.”
The smirk fades from his face. He looks confused and maybe even angry and I like it. Judging by the look on his face, I confirm that he is used to getting everything he wants. This may be the first time he’s meeting rejection. I’m proud to be the girl to introduce him to it. I know he needs it.
“Have a nice life,” I say to him before turning around and making my way through the crowd. I don’t realize that I was holding my breath until I’m outside and I breathe. I’m thankful for the cold air. It was starting to get really hot in there.
“Savannah! Are you out of your mind?”
“No,” I say turning to look at Kim.
“You just said no to Derek Collins.” She states like I don’t know what I just did.
“I know.”
She frowns. “Why?”
I look at her with a frown. “He’s so obnoxious, Kim. Didn’t you see the way he treated the bartender? I’m not into that. I refuse to feed his self-entitled ego.”
“Wow, you really are one of a kind,” Kim says after a moment.
“Thank you.” I smile at her.
She rolls her eyes at me. “You didn’t tell me you had gotten the app.”
“It was in a moment of weakness,” I say defensively then sigh. “I should’ve deleted it. I totally forgot about it until tonight.”
Kim shakes her head. “I can’t believe all of that just happened.”
It’s crazy to think about how none of what just happened would have happened if I would’ve deleted the app. Derek Collins would’ve gotten matched with another girl and she would’ve cried with joy. Derek wouldn’t even know that I exist right now. His eyes would’ve never met mine.
My heartbeat is coming back down to normal now but I can still feel the adrenaline in my veins. I missed the feeling of doing something that pumps you up. It’s the thrill. That’s the Savannah that I was back in Newport. I’ve miss her.
I look at Kim apologetically. “Sorry you didn’t get your picture.”
“Oh, I did right now before I left,” She says taking her phone out. She shows me a selfie of her and Ian. “Derek looked too angry for a picture.” She explains then looks at me. “You probably ruined his life, you know.”
I roll my eyes. “I’m sure he won’t remember any of this by tomorrow. He’ll be fine.”
Her eyes widen as she looks down at her phone. “Are you sure about that? You’re trending on Twitter.”
“No way,” I say as I look down at her phone.
Sure enough, #Gin and #MATCHME are trending. There are pictures of Derek at the bar everywhere. It’s crazy how fast news travel on the internet. I see a picture of me sitting on the stool with Derek standing next to me. He’s smiling at me, before I rejected him. I would be worried about my face being on the internet if I didn’t know how fast people move on from trends. Plus no one knows my name. This is going to be old news by tomorrow morning.
“We should leave,” I say looking away.
“Okay, Gin.” Kim teases.
“Oh my god, stop,” I say laughing.
She puts her arm around my shoulders as we walk down the street. She lives in the apartments across from mine so we’re both heading the same way. I thank Kim for joining me tonight before we part ways.
I change out of my clothes and brush my teeth before going to bed. Today wasn’t a bad birthday after all. I met a famous actor and found out how much of an asshole he is. All while having a good drink and a good view of the bartender. Not bad. It’s probably one of the better nights I’ve had here in New York.
Maybe Kim is right. Maybe I should go out more. I should meet more people or maybe just hang out more with Kim. Her and I get along pretty well despite how different our backgrounds are. I’m Mexican and she’s Vietnamese. She’s also younger than me. She started culinary school after getting her Associates degree in an arts major. Maybe we aren’t so different after all. We’re both close to our families and speak two languages. She’s also here without her family. They live in New Jersey. We’re both here on our own, trying to do our best in this life.
I should follow her advice. She doesn’t look as miserable as I am. I know I’m not going to drop out and go back to Newport. I’m determined to finish this so might as well have some fun while I’m here. It’s time to change things up in my routine or I might go crazy.
I’m about to put my phone down and go to sleep when it vibrates in my hand.
It’s a notification from the MATCH ME app. I have a message. From Derek Collins.
D: So your name is Savannah
I smile at the screen as I type.
S: And your name is Derek
D: No one says no to me, Savannah
S: I think I ju
st did
D: Why have a dating app if you’re not going to accept dates?
S: You’re right. I’m going to delete it
D: Don’t. Give me your number
S: No
D: Why not?
S: Because I don’t want to
D: You realize every girl would love to be in your position right now?
I scowl at my phone.
S: You’re so full of yourself
D: Yet you’re my match
DEREK'S MATCH Page 2