Swipe Left for Love
Macie left it at that. She wanted to tell Lauren everything, but she also enjoyed watching her squirm.“Why not?” Lauren smacked her arm. “Stop playing. Just tell me. What’s going on?”
“Once graduation is over. There’s just too much to do right now.” Her head dropped to her chest. “If I’m even in the city. I still don’t have a job. Or even an interview at this point. You know I’ll have to go home if nothing opens up.”
“We’ll figure that out.” Lauren squeezed her arm. Macie laid her head on her friend’s shoulder for a moment. They stuck by each other, even after some of their more monumental arguments. They always came back to this point, this friendship. Macie couldn’t lose Lauren. “You can stay with me for a while. Ford’s going to live with his parents until we’re married. That’ll give you a few months.”
“Wait. What? Why’s he moving out?” It didn’t make sense to move out after living together for almost a year. Plus, the looming wedding.
“Oh, it’s the school he’s going to work for.” Irritation covered Lauren’s face, but she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, a technique she’d learned when she thought she was going to be a yoga instructor. Macie helped put the kibosh on that. Lauren was a programmer first and foremost. “I get it, though. They don’t want any improprieties by the teachers. Even if it is the twenty-first century.” She pursed her lips. “And you know Ford, he’s so straight and narrow he might as well be a tape measure.”
A snort escaped Macie’s lips. It wasn’t intentional but comparing Ford to a tape measure was too accurate. Lauren’s lip quirked up, but she never let her smile show. Ford was a man of his word, and that was one of the most attractive qualities about him. He was loyal and cared about everyone. Macie envied that about him. Years of cynicism made trust hard for her.
“Thanks, Lauren,” Macie said. Her phone vibrated on the table. It was still early for a Monday, but she wasn’t expecting any calls. Her mom was at work for the evening and Lauren was here. The number was local and...a job? It had to be. This could be huge.
“Answer it,” Lauren snapped.
Macie pulled herself back to reality and swiped the phone to answer. “This is Macie Regan.” She closed her eyes. That sounded so fake, she expected the person to hang up. Or worse, say they’d made a horrible mistake, then hang up. Or even worse, it was a damn telemarketer.
“Ms. Regan, this is Nancy Carter with NewsFirst Six.” The woman’s voice was sharp and demanding. Macie liked her already. “Our graphics department has an opening. HR handed me your portfolio, and I’d like you to come to the station at two tomorrow.”
“Two sounds great.” Macie’s hand shook as Nancy Carter gave her the address and directions. It wasn’t far from campus or the area she wanted to live. But it wasn’t Rivot, either. “Thank you for the opportunity.”
“I look forward to meeting you.” Nancy Carter hung up without allowing Macie a chance to reply.
Her eyes wide with fear and excitement, Macie turned to Lauren. “I have an interview.”
Lauren squealed, and they jumped in the air like sitcom teenagers.
Macie had to repeat it just so it would seem real. “I have an interview.”
“I heard,” Lauren said. “With?”
“Channel six.” Macie’s face screwed up as she thought about it more. She hadn’t sent her resume into channel six. A budget cut crisis ten years ago shut down the news division. They’d only recently started it back up about a year ago. Her business management class spent three weeks reviewing the situation last fall. Macie thought they’d make the same mistakes and close shop again. That was why Macie didn’t send her resume.
“What?” Lauren asked.
Macie shook her head and smiled. It wasn’t a big deal. A job was a job. But she still needed to answer Lauren. “What am I going to wear?”
Lauren held up a finger. “I’ve got that covered.”
THE CABIN HAD BEEN nice, but it wasn’t what Zac remembered. It was more of a shack than the home away from home he’d imagined. The one room building was weakened by years of neglect. At night the light breeze off the nearby lake felt like a hurricane inside. Zac half expected the walls to fall in on him.
Instead of relaxing by the lake, he was too busy swatting mosquitoes off his skin. His father enjoyed it more, and that was worth the bites and Bactine. His dad’s health worried him more each day. The weekend getaway gave him some color in his cheeks. Zac hated to admit it, but he kept waiting for a heart attack. His father worked too hard and too many hours. The board should have him slow down.
The time away had given him some perspective on his mystery girl. They’d both used finals as an excuse to curb their conversations. Their last messages had been brief and nonchalant. Zac wondered why, but he took his cues from her. On the drive home, while his father slept, Zac replayed every step to see if he’d crossed a line somewhere. They would take two steps forward, three steps back. That was the epiphany he’d had in the cabin as his dad snored away while Zac sat on the couch unable to sleep. It hit him like a bullet train in the middle of the forehead.
“What’s on your mind, son?” his father asked. They sat in the breakfast nook at his father’s house, drinking coffee and having a doctor approved dinner of baked chicken and broccoli. His father speared a floret and sneered at it before popping the offending vegetable in his mouth. “You’ve got that look your mother used to get when something bothered her.”
Zac smiled and dropped his head. His mom died when he was in elementary school. They only talked about her when his stepmother and half-sisters weren’t around. Amanda didn’t