Free It's a Match! by Zoë Marshall

her head and nibbled at another piece of bread.  
    “I’m surprised you stay so thin with all of those carbs,” Chad said.
    Sutton was speechless. This was already the most awful date she had ever been on. Why hadn’t she arranged for Cole or Ava to call her to fake an emergency, in case of the already necessary emergency exit from this date? She had completely tuned Chad out when she heard him clear his throat.  
    “Are you even listening to me?”
    No, she wasn’t, in fact. She just wanted the gross eggplant to arrive so she could take one bite, then fake a stomach ache.  
    “Sorry, my head is just pounding.”
    “Ah, the old headache trick. Is this date that awful?”
    Sutton was silent for a moment as she thought about how to approach answering the question. She figured she’d go with a classic. “I’m just still having such a hard time getting over my ex.” She knew how much guys hated it when you brought up exes on a date.
    “Yeah, me too. So, this will be good for both of us.”
    Sutton was discouraged. There was simply no shaking this guy.  
    “Speaking of my ex, that bitch texted me the other day. She had the nerve to ask me for her shirt back. I mean, she obviously left it on purpose, in the hopes of seeing me again. Girls are so pathetic.”
    Sutton thought that the only thing worse than bringing up an ex on a date was bashing one. She could only imagine how he would be talking about her to his friends after this date. She couldn’t wait to get home and rip Cole a new one for setting her up with this jerk in the first place. Had he done it on purpose? He had to know she would never go for a guy like this. She began plotting her revenge. She wanted to pick a girl Cole would enjoy a date with as much as she was enjoying this one. But that wasn’t really Sutton’s style, so she would never actually do that intentionally, no matter how much he deserved it.  
    Sutton needed to try a different tactic. “Yeah, guys are the worst. All of them. My ex was selfish and arrogant and only ever talked about himself.” She shuddered as she said the words, because she didn’t like to speak badly of anyone. Aiden had played her pretty hard, but she still cherished the good memories they had, like the time they went to a Kings of Leon concert together and stayed up until 6am talking about their hopes and dreams. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t focus on the negatives, though there were plenty. Sutton just wasn’t one to hold a grudge. She was sad and heartbroken, but she had loved the guy and chose to try to see the best of him, even through the wreckage. She still thought of him often, though a part of her knew she never even crossed his mind. This monstrosity of a date was supposed to be a distraction, but it only made her think of Aiden more.  
    The awkward silence continued as the food arrived and Sutton moved it around on the plate with her fork.  
    “Did you want to grab a drink after this?” Chad asked after a couple minutes, with his mouth full of pasta.
    “Um … no, thank you. I don’t have an ID. Plus, I’m not a big drinker.”
    Chad scoffed. “You’re boring is what you are.”
    Sutton had a lot of patience, but it had worn too thin. She threw her napkin down, grabbed her purse and walked out, never once looking back. She wasn’t sure how she was going to get back to campus, but she didn’t care. She also didn’t care about how Chad was going to pay for dinner. She’d walk the few miles, if that was what it took to get away from him.
    Instead, she called a cab. She wanted to text Cole, but she thought she’d better wait until she was less irritated. She knew she would snap on him and, though he did deserve it, she always liked to think before she spoke.
    After the cab ride back, she walked into her room, grabbed her phone before tossing her purse on the desk, and immediately lay down on the bed, staring at the blank ceiling. She had calmed down enough that she was ready