Page 11 of XOXO

I smiled, grateful for the distraction.

C++98 – Doing great and I might be a morning person depending on if you are.

C++98 – If you hate mornings, then so do I, but if you’re awake then I’m assuming you might be a morning person. If that’s the case, I love early mornings.

The typing bubble popped up for a few seconds as I held my breath.

XOXO22 – Not really a morning person unless coffee and a croissant are readily available, but today is an exception because I am visiting the Eiffel Tower. I am on the first tour at nine, but they told me to be there early because security lines have been long.

Glancing at the clock beside my bed, it was almost seven.

C++98 – Coffee and croissants, I’ll remember that. I live right by a great boulangerie and I have a pretty great espresso machine, even taught myself how to make pretty foam art.

XOXO22 – SOLD. What would make this even better is if you were a coder who learned to code on C++. Bonus points if you know at least 3 coding languages.

XOXO22 – I’ll go first. I learned coding on C++ but I preferred C++98. Right now I use C++, JavaScript and Python the most, and sometimes I’ll use Typescript since nowadays it’s becoming more popular.

I laughed, wondering who the hell this girl was. Most people knew my C++ reference, but knowing three more languages was sexy as hell. My heart raced at this new possibility. It had been years since I felt like this and messaging her suddenly felt like fate.

Times like these I wish I was suave like Matteo. I tried to be witty but it sounded fake, so I decided I didn’t need to be something I wasn’t. My fingers flew over the keyboard with my response. She messaged back immediately and our conversation was flowing the rest of the day.

By the time I went to sleep that night we had talked about more than just generic things and I was craving more information. For once I was thinking about someone other than Matteo. He didn’t invade my every thought throughout the day as I waited for a response from XOXO22. I felt optimistic she might be the person who would finally help me get over my best friend and for the first time, I was a little excited about it.

4. Violeta

Paris the city of hot as hell men…and good wine.

My latest match on Rendezvous was not what I had expected. He was funny, sweet and was in no rush to meet me. We had exchanged messages for a few days and I thought maybe all he wanted was someone to talk to until he finally asked if I was free today, like during the day. I had never been out on a Rendezvous date during the day, it was exciting, unprecedented and my expectations might have been pushed a little high.

He was cryptic about what he had planned. The only instructions were to wear comfy shoes, bring a sweater and he would pick me up. I was worried at first, but it was a day date, so I guessed it couldn’t be that bad.

Right?

I sighed as I walked down the stairs of the hostel I was staying at, excited, but a little nervous. No matter how many of these dates I went on, I always worried because you never knew who you were meeting. Which was why I was meeting him at the boulangerie down the street from me.

A ping alerted me that a message came through on Rendezvous as I arrived to the delicious smell of pastries. I took my phone out, reading that he was also here. Looking around I scanned the crowd, when a tall, broad-shouldered man walked toward me.

Aye dios mio. Was this my nerdy program writing date?

He waved, answering my silent question. The photo on his profile did not do him justice. He was sexy as hell with dirty blonde hair, a shy smile and those metal-rimmed glasses. If it wasn’t weird, I’d fan myself like that GIF of Santana from Glee. You know which one.

“Vi?” His voice was just as delicious as the rest of him.

“Levi?” I didn’t mean for it to sound like a question, but this man was making me loopy.

“Yeah,” he said, smiling shyly.

“It’s nice to meet you.” I held out my hand, thankful I remembered I had manners like a fucking lady.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, shaking my hand in a firm grip.

We stared at each other stupidly for a moment and god, I hope he was having similar thoughts about me, or else this was embarrassing.

He cleared his throat. “My moped is around the corner, you ready?”’

“Oh!” I yelled excitedly for something different.

“Bad oh, or good oh?” He bit his lip.