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Marina tells Jill about her attempts to match me with a few of her Stanford customers. Jill is all excited for me, her eyes bright.
"That's too bad that none of them worked out," Jill says, her voice sympathetic. "I thought you and Jon were going to be a thing."
Marina glances at me quickly and then frowns. "Jon is a manslut. India wants someone stable and dependable. Jon's the last person she should be with."
"I think he's secretly in love with you," Jill says, a sparkle in her eyes. "He's such a dreamy guy with those big biceps and tattoos. Plus, you gotta admire his face. He's gorgeous. Rich. Alpha…"
"Jon's into casual sex and that's it," Marina says, folding her napkin primly. "India isn't. So they most definitely are not a match, even if Jon does want to fuck her. He wants to fuck every woman he finds attractive."
"And most of them want to fuck him back." Jill raises her eyebrows. "Am I right?" She looks between Marina and me. "Don't you ever wonder what he's like in bed?"
Marina practically glares at Jill. "Look, I've been trying to keep India away from Jon's clutches for years. Don't encourage her."
"I think they'd be a perfect match."
"You're such a romantic," Marina says and takes a drink of her coffee.
"Says the woman who designed a dating app," Jill replies with a laugh. "I can't believe they're not together now. They're like two peas in a pod."
"You're completely wrong. Believe me. They are the last two people who should get together. Jon would have to have an epiphany about life and love, or India would have to give up any hope of having a real partner who loves her. Jon is a dedicated manwhore and I doubt anything will change him anytime soon."
Marina glances at me, and I don’t say anything. Instead, I push my food around on my plate, wondering if I'm ever going to be able to tell her about us and what will happen when I do.
"You're right. He is that," I say finally, when I realize it would look strange for me not to agree with Marina.
"He'll settle down when he finds the right woman," Jill says. "Don't you want him, India? We've always thought you two would finally just give in and get together. Stop all of us placing our bets and wondering. Especially after Blaine left you like that and you decided to stay instead of go with him. That was such a shocker. I thought you stayed because of Jon."
"I stayed because Blaine didn't want to tell me what I’d be if I moved with him. He thought I should just move and take a chance. Give up my stake in Pacifica for nothing. I couldn't do it."
"We all thought it was Jon you couldn't stand to leave, not Pacifica. I expected you to fall into Jon's arms for comfort. Remember, Marina? You said it wouldn’t happen?" She frowns and looks at Marina expectantly.
"I don't remember. It doesn't matter, anyway. Jon wouldn't know how to be a real partner, so India's better off being single rather than being with him."
"Jon will settle down someday," I say, frowning at Marina. "He's just not ready. He's not a bad person. He's really very smart and nice."
"See?" Jill says and elbows Marina. "She's secretly in love with him."
I don’t sa
y anything. I'm not going to lie.
Marina answers for me anyway. "She's not in love with him," she says, and squeezes my arm. "They're business partners and friends. India knows she can’t throw her heart away on a guy who can't make a commitment."
Jill shrugs. "I'm surprised your app didn't match the two of them together."
Marina opens her mouth to speak, but thinks better of it. Instead, she forces a smile and drinks her coffee.
I don't say anything because I don't want to risk the wrath of Marina, but the truth is that Jon and I have been circling around each other for five years. If her app hasn't matched us, it really needs work.
Jill seems happy, probably because she's said her piece and got in the last word. Which is unusual in a conversation with Marina.
We move on, but I think Jill gets the hint that the subject of me with Jon is verboten.
When we're leaving, I stop by Marina's car while she searches in her bag for her keys.
"You know, Jon isn't a bad person," I say, wanting to defend him. "He's really very decent. He treats his staff well, and he's a very loyal son to his mother, especially after his dad died. He's always been good to me, and he agreed to help you when you wanted to test MATCHED on him, even though he's not the dating type. I don't know why you hate him so much."
"I don't hate him," Marina says and finds her keys. "I'm just realistic about whether he'd be good for you." She comes to me, her hand on my arm. "I was with you after Blaine left. I'm just trying to prevent you from having a broken heart again."
