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Nate couldn’t even look at the two of them in the silence. He let the words sink in, just as Alisa came through the door. “Who’s Colby?” she asked.
Zane groaned dramatically and covered his face with his hands. Todd put his head down on the conference table. “She’s only this chick that our boy Nate here fell for in college, stood up on one date, and never got over. Now he’s somehow managed to start dating her on the First Sight app.”
Alisa looked really confused. “What? Back up—Nate, you’re dating on the app?”
He nodded.
“And she doesn’t know it’s you, I’m guessing?” Todd asked, his voice muffled. He still hadn’t picked his head up off the table.
“No…she doesn’t know. But the algorithm did pair us up. I didn’t happen to find her and force it to happen. When we signed up and let it pick pairs for us, she was one of the matches for me. Maybe it seems dumb, but it seemed like too much of a coincidence.”
“If you say that it was a sign, I’m going to punch you in the face,” Zane said.
“I don’t understand,” Alisa said. “Why are you guys so angry about this? Nate already liked the girl and the app paired them up. What’s the big deal?”
“Besides the fact that she’s going to be pretty ticked when she finds out that it’s you, after all these years. Is she even going to believe that it was the app that matched you guys? Or is she going to think that you used your product to try and hook up with her again?” Todd looked up now, staring so intensely at Nate that he had to look away.
“Alisa, how would you feel?” Zane asked. “You’re the girl in this situation. Guy flirts with you for like five months, asks you out, doesn’t show up or call or anything, like ever, then suddenly you find out that he’s the one you’re dating on a blind dating app.”
Alisa looked at Nate, then at Zane. “I mean, if it was a random pairing on the app, I’d think it was—”
“Don’t say a sign,” Zane said.
She glared at him. “I’d think it was fate. But if he manipulated things to secretly get me back and couldn’t actually handle calling me to say why he didn’t show up for our date…yeah. I’d be mad. Sorry, Nate.”
Nate leaned back in the chair and covered his hands with his eyes. “Well, what the heck do I do now? We’re talking on the app. Oh, and I ran into her in person yesterday. She’s on my mail route.”
“WHAT?!”
All three of them were talking at once now and Nate wanted to laugh, but he couldn’t. It was too much to be funny. When they finally all stopped shouting, at him and also at each other, Nate stared at their faces.
“Look, I didn’t plan for this. Sign or no, this all just happened. I made the choice to talk with her and now I have to figure out what to do about that.”
“And we have an app to launch,” Zane said. “You know, just a tiny little detail I don’t want you to miss.”
“You know,” Todd said, “this is like four years ago all over again. Did you think about that?”
Zane went still. Alisa still looked confused. “I did.”
“And you’re…okay about this?”
“Why are you guys making this such a big deal?” Alisa asked. “Is everything okay, Nate?”
While Zane and Todd worried incessantly about his anxiety, even if they didn’t always say it out loud, Alisa didn’t know.
Nate could tell her. Looking at her face, he knew she would be understanding. She came from an incredibly strict background, where she was still expected to do things like marry a Korean guy, but she was always open and easy-going. Plus, Nate liked her, but wasn’t super invested emotionally in her. If she responded badly, it wouldn’t hurt so much.
Nate tested out the words in his head. It wasn’t complicated. I’ve been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I’ve got medication now, plus daily routines that help. I’m fine.
A lot felt like it was riding on how Nate answered that simple question. Telling Alisa would be a huge step forward. Maybe it would mean he could tell Colby. It would be good practice.
After what felt like an incredibly long and pregnant pause, Nate sighed. “I’m fine,” he said. “Everything’s fine.”
