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alexbelleclatofiles · 11 years ago

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The Matchmaking Agency || Three.

“Isabelle, do I really have to go?” Alex groans for what Isabelle counted as the ninth time since the time she informed him about the lunch date that is happening in approximately four minutes now.

Isabelle rolls her eyes in response. She grabs him by his shoulders hard and literally kicks his butt out the door. Alex’s eyes widen in complete surprise, having no idea that someone as tiny as Isabelle can do just that. He sees her with only her head poking out the front door.

“I really can’t do this—”

“A-a-a! I don’t want to hear another word from you, Alex. Now shoo! I just got an SOS from Jackie, and I need to be there pronto!”

“Then what are you still doing there?” Alex questions, hoping that if he keeps their conversation going, he’s going to be late for the lunch date and will reason that there’s no point in going anymore. He’s planning to say that since girls don’t like guys that are always late to dates, he’s pretty sure that Irene already hates his guts.

“Because I need to make sure you’re not going to ditch your date!”

Alex raises his hands in surrender. “All right, fine! I’m going, I’m going!”

“Go! Shoo!” Isabelle waves at him dismissively.

Hearing the front door closing, Alex waits for exactly five seconds before making a U-turn and planning to enter the house through the back door, and stay at the game room for the entire lunchtime. He’s pretty sure his plan will work since Isabelle rarely goes down to the game room.

Before he can put his “genius” plan to action, he hears a knock coming from the front windows. He swivels around and sees Isabelle peeking through the curtains. She meets his eyes and gestures to him that she’s watching him closely—very, very closely.

And now, Alex has no option but to go to that lunch date. He starts to walk again only to look back and see Isabelle still standing by the window, and this time, she has her arms crossed over her chest and when she sees him looking, she taps her wrist to gesture he’s running late.

Please, let this be worth my time.

…

“Isabelle!” Leven calls from the top of the stairs.

Isabelle abruptly swivels her body the second she hears her name.

“I know, I know. I’m coming!” She responds.

“What are you looking at anyway?” Leven asks as she starts to descend the stairs. “You do know Jackie just sent us all an SOS, and you know how she is when one of us is late. Her hair’s going to be redder than usual.”

Isabelle turns back to the window. “I’m just making sure Alex is not planning anything devious to ditch his date. I feel sorry for Irene.”

“Alex? Ditching his date? Irene? What the heck are you talking about?”

Before Isabelle can answer, she closes the curtains and starts heading up the stairs, Leven following closely behind.

“Well, it wouldn’t be fair for the other agents if I tell you now, right? So, what I would suggest for you to do is to wait until it’s my turn to report. In that case, I don’t have to retell the same story over again.”

…

Alex arrives at the Luau Restaurant and claims the reservation Isabelle apparently had set out for him and Irene. A tall and tanned waiter leads him to the back of the restaurant at a table set for two.

As soon as he is seated, the waiter asks him if he wants something to drink while he waits for his girl. Alex considers telling the waiter that Irene is not his girlfriend—he doesn’t even know her at all to begin with—but decides not to anyway. It’s none of the waiter’s business. And so, he tells him he only wants water in lieu.

Since Alex chose the seat facing the entrance of the restaurant, his eyes don’t fail to take notice of the girl walking in. He assumes she’s around five-eleven in height, and her blonde hair cascades down in a fishtail braid. Her figure-hugging yellow dress pretty much gives away all the curves she posses, and her long, slim legs look so smooth and delicate to the touch.

He knows she’s Irene. And he also knows how much of a douche he is for even thinking negatively about the girl.

Irene sees Alex gawking at her, and she smirks when she recognizes him. She saunters her way to his table, making sure she sways her hips just right, before settling herself down in front of an almost drooling Alex.

Huh, she’s not so bad after all.

…

“About time the two of you arrive!” Jackie raises her voice as soon as Isabelle and Leven enter her bedroom.

“It’s not my fault. Point your finger at Isabelle! She’s the one who couldn’t keep her gaze off of Alex.” Leven explains, claiming the empty spot next to Amandla on the bed. “I know he’s got a nice ass and all, but, let me give you an advice: try to be subtle the next time, ‘kay?”

Isabelle opens her mouth to defend herself but nothing comes out. She raises her hands in disbelief.

“Wow, Is, never thought you had it in you.” Jackie winks.

“I wasn’t looking at his…behind— ”

“You mean his ass?”

“—I was only trying to make sure he’s not going to ditch his date.”

“Geez, why so defensive?”

“Stop!” Amandla yells, covering her ears. “I’m sensing some spoilers here, so please stop talking!”

The group finally simmers down enough to actually discuss about Jackie’s sudden SOS in a profound manner.

“Amandla is right when she said there’s going to be a clash coming up soon. And it’s only what? Our third day here at the beach house?” Jackie starts, and when everyone nods in agreement, she precedes. “Apparently, Josh and Jen are both giving the other silent treatments. I hung out with the two this morning, and I’ve never seen them interacting with one another.”

“What happened?” Isabelle questions, resting her chin on the palm of her hands.

“Their significant others happened. That’s what.” Jackie answers.

“And…?” Leven asks.

“I tried speaking to Josh and Jen separately and both had provided me the same answer. Even before the trip, Jen’s boyfriend wasn’t really thrilled about her going with us because he knows Josh is going to be here as well. And you know how Josh and Jen’s relationship works, right? They have this odd friendship where they act like they’re a couple rather than best friends.”

The three other girls nod.

“Jen’s boyfriend wasn’t happy because he knows Josh and Jen will be living under the same roof for three weeks. He thinks something’s bound to happen that will ruin his relationship with her.” Jackie explains.

“Do you know what I think would ruin this relationship more?” Leven says. “Him being distrustful. If he really trusts Jen, then why would he worry about her flirting with a guy—Josh—who clearly is in a relationship as well?”

Amandla points at Leven. “Good point.”

“Wait,” Isabelle pipes in, “what about Josh’s girlfriend?”

“Same.” Jackie is quick to answer. “According to Jen, she’s been feeling some kind of tension with Josh’s girlfriend every time she sees her. She even told me that there was this one time when she went on a double date with Josh and his girlfriend, and since Josh and Jen just had this kind of magnet between the two of them, like they would often have touchy-touchy moments, the girlfriend started feeling jealous and couldn’t stop sending glares at Jen.”

“Possessive much?” Amandla comments.

“But thinking about it, if you were in the boyfriend and the girlfriend’s situation, I think it would be understandable if you get jealous once in a while,” Isabelle says. “Because to be honest, Josh and Jen have a tendency to complicate things. The boyfriend and the girlfriend just have to give them all the trust they have, and in return, Josh and Jen should keep their loyalty in tact.”

“And this is why you’re in the Agency, Is, you’re such a natural,” Leven compliments.

Isabelle thanks Leven before turning to Jackie.

“When are you going to have a talk with the two again?” She informs.

Jackie shrugs. “Not sure yet, but I’ll try maybe some time after this meeting.”

There is a short moment of comfortable silence after.

“Okay,” Amandla starts. “Now that’s been worked out—Isabelle? I believe you’re working on a new assignment that we know nothing of. Care to shed some light upon us?”

“Last night, Alex walked up to me and asked for some help with his one-night-stand-kind-of-guy problems. He told me that he originally asked Jackie for help, but since you know how their relationship works, this girl—“ she says, pointing at Jackie, “—decided his hopeless case is better off in my plate.”

“Did you happen to be in the kitchen after our meeting yesterday?” Jackie questions, her eyes slowly dilating.

“Everyone was basically just ignoring the mountains of dishes in the sink, so I decided to do something about it.” Isabelle answers.

Jackie lets out a guffaw, her hand soon covering her mouth to block out the loud and embarrassing noises she’s creating.

“Were you really? Like, seriously?”

“Yes, I was. Do you think I’m joking?”

Jackie wipes the tears building up in the corners of her eyes before her laughter finally begins to die down.

“I am so confused.” Isabelle states, still looking at Jackie in complete bafflement.

“So Alex told you I was the one he originally asked for help, right?” Jackie asks.

“Yes, why?” Isabelle responds.

“I never really wanted to indulge into the matchmaking process with Alex as my client, so I told him to go to the kitchen and he’ll find the person who’s willing to help him with his problem.”

“And unfortunately, I was that person.” Isabelle says tiresomely as she finally had everything figured out. “Oh, joy.”

“Listen, I’m really sorry. I never thought someone might really be in the kitchen when I told him to look there. If I had known, I wouldn’t have suggested it.” Still giggling, Jackie apologizes.

“Look at the bright side, though,” Amandla joins in, “he’s lucky you’re the person he found in the kitchen last night—one that works for a matchmaking agency, and actually have skills. Just imagine if it were Dayo who decided it was a good night to be productive.”

As a result of Amandla’s statement, the four of them burst into fits of laughter.

…

“You know if we’re actually trying to get to know each other by now, I wouldn’t mind you staring.” Irene ventures tediously, playing around with the pieces of meat in her plate.

Alex feels his face becoming hot. He looks down at his fidgeting fingers with a sheepish smile. That’s just how he naturally is when he’s with a girl he finds attractive, he tends to gawk at her and then his fingers will be moving quite a lot. He even often plays thumb wars all by himself, and he thinks it’s very embarrassing and unappealing to women.

“I’m sorry.” Alex mutters.

“You remind me so much of my ex-boyfriend.” Irene says, leaning away from the backrest of her chair.

“How so?”

“Same blonde hair, same blue eyes, almost the same built, but you’re just a tad bigger than him. I always catch him staring at me. In fact, that’s how we met . . . at a pub squished in between a fine dining restaurant, and an elegant boutique.” Irene rambles on.

Alex notices she’s staring off into space, so lost in her story.

“I remember I was wearing the same yellow dress, walked the same way as I did when I walked in this luau. I made sure my hips sashayed seductively as to grab his attention even more. I sat at the bar, constantly glancing over my shoulder to check if I still has his full attention. And that’s when I notice him walking over towards me. It’s funny how no one ever claimed the stool next to me, it’s as if everyone in the pub knew it was for him . . .”

Irene still has her eyes on the same spot, focused on an object somewhere behind Alex. Meanwhile, Alex doesn’t know what to do. He never recalls saying anything that led to this conversation. Heck, he hasn’t even said anything but a muttered apology; he hasn’t even properly and formally introduced himself.

He knows the ex-boyfriend is not really the most pleasant and appropriate topic to talk about on a first date—especially a blind one. But the way she talked about him intrigues Alex. He may not understand how women thinks, but he knows for sure that the girl sitting across from him is clearly not over her ex-boyfriend just yet. He even thinks it hasn’t been a week yet since they broke it off.

For all he knows, Irene probably only sees him as a rebound. And honestly, it angered Alex.

“He offered to get me a drink, but I refused. I didn’t know why I did, I wasn’t thinking clearly that night. He took me someplace else after turning down his offer to purchase me a drink. It was indescribable, what I felt that night. We just drove around the city of Los Angeles, talking about ourselves—he even told me how many olives he wants in his pizza; I think we even hung around Santa Monica beach for a while despite the cold breeze the ocean brought. He lent me his jacket that smelt so much like him—sugary; it seems, but very manly and just so sexy. I was in heaven, Cloud 9 actually. I felt like a teenager once again.” Irene finally averts her eyes away from that one object she’s been staring at to gaze at Alex.

“Irene, I don’t think—”

“I had two full happy years with him, and then he just became . . . distant. He rarely speaks to me, rarely acknowledges me when I visit him at work, he rarely takes me out to lunch or for dinner. Valentine’s day has been nothing but silence between us. I didn’t know what I was doing wrong to make him act that way towards me.” Irene inhales sharply before letting out a ragged breath.

Alex knows she’s on the verge of breaking down, and he’s starting to get freaked out by it.

“And then one night . . . I came home to our shared apartment, and I heard laughter. I thought he had some friends over, so I was smiling and all that, happy because I get to show off my cooking skills. And when I went to our bedroom to change out of my work attire, I found him . . . on the bed . . . with a different girl. I remember her so clearly. A brunette with pretty Parisian curls, perfect bubble ass, flawless skin, and curves that could shy mine away; she was a Barbie doll, so to say. And I had nothing against her. Nothing.” Irene’s shoulders start to shake violently, and Alex’s eyes widen having no idea how to exactly comfort a girl.

Of course, since he has Jackie, Isabelle, Amandla, Leven, Willow, and Jen as friends, he obviously knows a thing or two about consoling a girl, but he always look and sound awkward in doing so. He has a tendency to make matters worse.

The best thing Alex can of think of doing at the very moment is to reach across the table and hold her hand. He squeezes it gently, and Irene only gives him a nod in response, probably suggesting that she appreciates his efforts in comforting her.

“He was also bad at comforting a girl . . . just like you.” And that resulted into even more hysterical sobs.

Ouch, Alex thinks, that hurt.

People in the luau start to shoot some quick glances toward their table, and Alex cannot help but feel irritated since people are probably labeling him now as the douchebag who broke a goddess-looking girl’s heart at a luau restaurant.

Great, just what he needed to add to his portfolio of douchebag-ness.

…

The meeting has been dismissed approximately ten minutes ago, and now everyone in the group except for Alex is gathered in the living room, video-calling Jack, who is in Connecticut because of college.

“Dude, when are you going to be done with school?” Josh asks, shoving a handful of corn chips in his mouth.

“Um, well this week should be the last week of hell. I’m almost done with my documentary project, and as soon as I turned that in, I only have to tend to the other minor matters and then I’m done. I should be there soon, though, so don’t miss me too much.” Jack responds, smirking cockily at a certain redhead.

Jackie scoffs. “In your dreams, Quaid. Honestly, we were just talking about you last night over dinner, and we all had this sudden realization that we’re better off without you.”

“I miss you too, Emerson.” Jack teases.

Jen coos at the two’s interaction, looking back and forth from Jack and Jackie.

“I’m sensing something here.” Jen suddenly speaks.

“What now?” Willow asks.

“I smell something fishy between Jack and Jackie. I’m getting these chills down my back, and my cheeks heating up. And, oh! So much love in the air!”

Jackie hits Jen playfully in her arm.

“What was that for?”

“You need to control your mouth, missy.”

“Listen guys, I gotta go. I need to retake a scene for my documentary and I still have a few clips to edit. Need to get this done sooner, so I can catch up with you guys.” Jack says. “Hey, where’s Ludwig by the way?”

“He’s out on a date.” Isabelle answers.

“Oh, then he has some explaining to do when I get there.” Jack responds. “I gotta go, bye peeps!”

“Byeeeeeeee!!!!!”

No one really wants to click the End Call button, not even Jack, who still keeps on waving at all of them. Sadly, Josh clicks the forbidden red button, and the call ends.

“Well, I gotta run!” Jackie announces, standing up from her spot on the loveseat.

“Where are you going?” Leven questions.

“I’m heading up to my room. Today has been a very eventful day, I guess.”

“But we haven’t even done anything.” Jen says.

“And doing nothing made me exhausted, so I’m taking a nap.”

The group separates soon after. They are all busy minding their own businesses that no one notices the excitingly—and nowhere near exhausted—goofy grin plastered on Jackie’s face as she happily ascends the stairs.

…

Laptop in hand, Jackie flunks down on her bed as her Skype call keeps on ringing. She knows he picks up the call right after the second ring, and it has been ringing for almost five times and still nothing.

Finally, on the sixth time, just as she’s about to drop the call and redial, he answers.

Jack’s smiling face appears on her laptop screen very clearly.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Jackie scolds right away.

Jack’s smile fades, and his expression turns into a mix of worry and confusion.

“What? What did I do now?” He asks disbelievingly.

“Are you out of your mind? Do you think it’s okay for you to flirt with me when we were talking with our friends just a few minutes ago? Especially with Jen around! You know how she is, Jack. She even had a sense that something’s going on!”

“Jackie, calm down. It’s probably just a joke. Besides, I know we established that we want to keep our relationship a secret for a while, and that we’re going to choose the perfect moment to drop the bomb on our friends, but can you really blame me for missing you? I mean, you’re in California and I’m in Connecticut. That’s like almost 2,500 miles apart!”

“Jack, when did you become this cheesy? Because really, drop it, it’s not working for me.”

“Oh, come on, you know you love it.”

“You wish.”

“Come on, say it.” Jack teases in a singsong voice. “Gosh, how I wish I could tickle you right now.”

“Yeah, so not gonna happen.”

“But, seriously though, Jackie, I really do miss you. And I cannot wait for this dumbass documentary to get done and turned in, so I can fly all the way to California to see you.” Jack admits, his face turning into something serious.

“And to meet up with the rest of the group?” Jackie raises her eyebrows.

“Yeah, that too, but mostly I’m excited to see you.”

“Jack, you’re doing it again.”

“Doing what again?”

“Being cheesy. Stop it. Sooner or later, I’m going to be puking rainbows in front of your pixelated unicorn face.”

“I just love it when you talk to me like that.”

Suddenly, Jackie hears a loud closing of the front door followed by Alex angrily shouting Isabelle’s name at the very top of his lungs.

“Who was that?” Jack asks.

“You heard that?”

“Well, yeah, obviously.”

“It was Alex, and I think our little Izzy might be in biiiig trouble.”

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