Matchmaker

“Living here? You? Why?” I asked Lorenzo.

“Not long term. My parents let me rent out a condo for the summer,” he said, smiling. His accent was very prominent. That’s a little better.

“Oh. Well… that’s great,” I said, putting on a fake smile.

“Well, bel fiore , I hope to see you soon. I hope you didn’t lose my number,” he said, taking my hand with a smirk. He kissed it softly and walked away.

Oh, good Lord.

Oh, sweet baby Jesus.

I took out my phone and scrolled through my contacts. Lo and behold, Lorenzo Ricci was under my L’s. I sighed and tucked my phone back in my pocket.

I had his number. It didn’t mean I had to call him.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, making me jump. I took it out, thinking it would be Lorenzo. I smiled when Rupert’s name showed up on the caller I.D.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hey there,” he said. I started walking back to my apartment.

“I figured I’d ask one more time if you were interested in the night picnic,” he said. I bit my lip.

“What time is it, anyway?” I asked.

“It’s only… nine,” he said. I sighed.

“How about this: Tomorrow morning, you and I will go to the park and watch the sunrise. Then breakfast. Deal?” I asked. I almost felt him smile through the phone.

“Alright. I’ll meet you at six, sound good?” he asked.

“It’s a date.”

************************
The next morning, I woke up nice and early. Actually… it was more because I couldn’t sleep. So I had to work extra to not look like the living dead. I got dressed and straightened my hair. I shoved my phone in my pocket and snuck out while Morgan was still asleep.

“Good morning,” Rupert met me outside the apartment. Right on time. I smiled at him.

“Hey there,” I said, crossing my arms, shivering a bit from the brisk morning air. Without hesitation, he slid his hooded sweatshirt off and wrapped it around me. I slid my arms in and smiled at him again.

“Better?” he asked. I nodded and we started walking in the dim morning light toward the park. “So, what made you change your mind about all of this?”

“Eh, my ex-boyfriend,” I said. He raised an eyebrow at me, making me giggle. “He lives here. For the summer, anyway. I’d rather not go into detail, but he’s kind of a jerk. Just being around him made me feel… like shit, basically. So I needed to be around someone that made me feel… better.” He smiled at me.

“Well, I’m glad you chose me. I was beginning to think you didn’t like me very much,” he said. I shrugged.

“It’s not that I don’t like you, it’s that I don’t want to like you,” I said. He stopped in his tracks.

“That didn’t make any sense,” he said. I stopped and walked up to him.

“Morgan has this crazy idea that I’m going to fall in love with you. I don’t want that to happen. I swore off boys a long time ago,” I said.

“Why would you fall in love with me?” he asked.

“You’re Rupert Grint, for God’s sake. You’re perfect. You’re cute, funny, sensitive… you’re the total package,” I said. He took a step closer to me, smiling. Wow.

“And you’re not in love with me?” he asked, his smile turning into a smirk.

“I just met you a few days ago…” I said, my voice softer and higher than I expected. He brought his hand up and brushed it against my cheek softly.

“You don’t believe in love at first sight?” he asked tenderly. His touch made my skin feel hot. I raised my hand up and placed it on his gently.

“I-I-I-…” my stutters were only whispers at this point.

“We’re going to miss the sunrise,” he said. With a smile, he dropped his hand, still holding mine, and we walked to the park.

Not liking him was harder than I thought.