The Matchmakers

NINETEEN

"SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK about a picnic by the lake, or something?" Sophie asked, twisting at a lock of hair that had come loose from her ponytail around her finger as she glared at the piece of paper in front of her. In the past hour and a half she'd written "Ideas for My Date with Fitz."

And that was it.

The rest of the page was blank.

She was completely, totally stuck.

Biana's face twisted at the question and Linh made a non-committal noise in the back of her throat as she flipped the page of her book.

Sophie let out an exasperated groan. "Feel free to chime in, guys."

Biana shrugged and Linh made the noise again.

Sophie groaned. "Hey! I need help!"

Biana rolled her eyes as she reached over to pet Iggy, and Linh didn't move from where she lounged on the bed, reading about bottling hurricanes.

Sophie took a deep breath and wracked her brain. Planning this date was a lot harder than she'd expected it to be. And it had to be absolutely perfect. After all the thought Fitz had put into their dates...she was going to knock his socks off.

"Wait!" she abruptly shouted, startling her friends with the unexpected proclamation. "What if we went to the Eiffel Tower? It's the most romantic place in the world, and--"

"Are you kidding me?" Tam blurted, and despite herself Sophie was a little startled by his passionate objection. "That's a terrible idea! The Council is keeping a closer eye on you than ever, and you decide this is the time to take an illegal trip to the Forbidden Cities?"

"What are you even doing here?" Sophie frowned, regaining her senses and shooting a glare at the dark corner he was sulking in. If looks could kill, Tam would have spontaneously combusted.

Tam just rolled his eyes and settled back into the chair he'd dragged into the corner, turning his attention back to the book in his lap. Occasionally he peeked up at Biana and Iggy. Or rather, occasionally he looked down at the book page. The poor guy had been on the same page for the last 30 minutes; he wasn't very subtle. Luckily Biana was too busy playing with Iggy and braiding little sections of his fluffy fur to notice her admirer.

The pining almost would have been cute if it wasn't so annoying. Honestly, if not for the knock on her door, Sophie may not have been able to deal with it much longer.

"Hey?" she greeted as she opened the door to her surprise guest, but it was more of a question than a statement.

"Hey to you too," Dex told her with a dimply smile.

Sophie made a face. "Sorry, were we supposed to hang out today?"

Dex scuffed his toe and looked at the ground, his smile abruptly faltering as he awkwardly stood on the other side of the door. "No, I just hadn't seen you in a while, and I was wondering what you were up to. I can leave if you're busy."

"No!" Sophie objected, a lightbulb going off in her brain as the beginning of an idea began to take shape. "Stay! You can't possibly be less helpful than"--she vaguely gestured in the direction of her friends--"them."

Biana rolled her eyes, Linh flashed her most charming smile, and Tam shot Sophie a scathing glare, which Sophie promptly returned.

"What are you working on?" Dex asked, lying next to her on the floral carpet and looking at her blank page.

"I'm trying to plan my next date, but those three," she glared at the others lounging around her room, "are being the opposite of productive."

"Like you're having any brilliant ideas, Lady Iskra," Tam mocked.