Worst Cupid Ever

He's Kinda Like Me

From her spot on the roof, Ada watched Raymond drive through the tall wrought iron gates of the senator's home and disappear past a bend.

Moments before he arrived, Ada and Genevieve had had a teensy little fight. Genevieve was being unreasonable. She had insisted on putting Raymond through some series of silly tests for her amusement. Ada had begged her to at least share what the tests would be about.

You're a cupid. Pry into my mind with your strange magic and figure it out.

That's not how it works. We can't read minds.

Too bad then.

Ada had been mortified when she saw how Genevieve planned to meet Raymond. The shirt she wore had stains on it. Stains! And that ridiculous beauty product she had smeared all over her face? Nothing she said had convinced Genevieve to wash it off.

Now seated on the roof with knees drawn to her chest, Ada couldn't stop Luke's words from playing on a loop in her mind. The fear of getting dropped, whatever that means, wouldn't let her truly relax. Things weren't going according to plan. Genevieve was supposed to follow the direction of the love expert, which Ada was... or was she?

Ada felt Teddy's presence before he settled next to her. After some minutes of silence, he bumped his shoulder against hers. "Why the sad eyes?"

"Hey," Ada mumbled as she glanced his way. Teddy's usually frizzy hair was a tad tamed today. When her gaze dropped to his feet, she smiled. "You got rid of those awful boots."

He sent a cheeky grin her way. "You asked politely." Splaying his hands behind him, Teddy stretched his legs and began knocking the tip of his converse together. "So, how's it going?"

"Badly. She's not cooperating. What if..." Shutting her eyes, Ada voiced her worry. "What if this match is a trap? Something to ensure I fail and—"

"Nah, I don't think it's that deep. The One Up High is not cruel."

Ada opened her eyes and frowned as an odd thought occurred to her. "What if there's no One Up High? What if it's all the Helmets doing? Matches and everything."

"Well, I know that thoughts like that wouldn't help make your match go smoother," Teddy said with a shrug. "What you have with—what's her name?"

"Genevieve."

"What you have with Genevieve is unique. Go with the flow. You can't force love and attraction."

"Yeah, yeah, Love 101. I know." Ada absently traced circles on a roof tile. "But it feels like she's sabotaging what should be easy. I told her who her love interest is going to be, and even showed her his picture. That is priceless information. Many humans would die to know that."

"Die?" Teddy lifted an eyebrow and chuckled. "Wrong analogy, Ada-soda."

"You know what I mean." Sighing, she hugged her knees tighter. "It gets worse. The file says the match will have a rifter."

Teddy whistled low. "Damn. Those beings are—" He sat up. "Want to do something fun?"

"I'm not in the mood for a race," Ada said dismally.

"Who said anything about racing? Let's trail the dude. What's his name?"

"Raymond." Ada straightened too, curious but also wary. She had never really used that method before. For every match she was assigned to, she limited her contact to the main assignment, in this case, Genevieve.

Standing, Teddy straightened his jacket over his shoulders before offering her a hand. "Come on. This will be fun. It's a good thing to know what you are up against."