The Matchmakers

TWENTY TWO

"YOU'RE HANGING OUT WITH Fitz again?" Dex groaned through Sophie's Imparter as she brushed some gloss onto her lips.

"It's a family dinner thing for his graduation, not a date," she corrected, plopping the lid back on the pot of sticky pink gel with a pop! "Alden invited me, so I can't exactly skip it."

And she couldn't. This was a big deal: the first Vacker family dinner she'd been invited to attend. Well, to be more accurate, it was the first Vacker family dinner she'd been invited to attend outside of Everglen; she'd eaten at their family mansion a plethora of times, but she'd never gone out to dinner with the entire clan. And not just out to dinner, out to dinner in Eternalia. To celebrate Fitz's graduation from Foxfire. It was a big deal.

"But we haven't hung out since break!" Dex complained. The image projected on the Imparter shifted as he slumped back into his chair.

"Well you don't exactly have the clearest schedule," Sophie pointed out, gesturing to the elaborate system of bubbling vials and tubes visible on the desk behind him. Dex had started working after school at Slurps and Burps once classes resumed, and while Kesler clearly needed the help, Dex's new part-time job definitely complicated his social life.

"At least I don't spend every weekend with my boyfriend," Dex sulked, absently swirling the vial in his hand.

"I don't spend every weekend with him," Sophie objected, starting to brush mascara onto her lashes. Not that Sophie eating lunch every day with Fitz and Keefe in the Silver Tower helped at all. Between his crazy schedule and her romantic relationship with Fitz—which was, to Dex's colossal chagrin, growing more serious each day—Dex was perfectly justified in his complaints; they practically never saw each other anymore.

"Really?" Disbelief tinged Dex's voice. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

Sophie paused for a second before sighing and admitting, "I'm going to Everglen."

"See?"

Sophie didn't mention that weekends were the only time she could see her boyfriend outside of the Silver Towers. She didn't mention that he was sequestered away all week studying. She didn't mention that she and Fitz were in a serious committed relationship, and it was important to make time for him when she could. Instead she offered, "Well, let's hang out Sunday. I'm free then."

"Perfect!" Dex said, his voice perking up. "Cause I have something I need to tell you."

"Can't wait," she told Dex distractedly, giving herself a quick once over. Her hair was relatively tamed, her face looked about as pretty as it was going to get, and her teal dress would perfectly match Fitz's eyes; she'd made sure of it when she bought it, even dragging Biana along to the store with her as a comparison in a rare moment of insecurity. Sophie was ready to go.

And not a moment too soon. Her heart nearly stopped when she glanced at the clock on her wall, noticing she only had fifteen minutes until Alden had told her to be at Everglen. "Dex, I really have to go. I'm going to be late."

"You look great!" Dex laughed before hanging up. "See you Sunday!"

"See you Sunday," Sophie agreed, but Dex's image had already faded.

Sophie checked herself in the mirror one last time, making sure to get the—grudging—all clear from Vertina before pulling out her Pathfinder and leaping to Everglen.

The gate was closed when she got there, but she made her way to the side and licked the access strip. The Vackers had added her DNA to the system about a month ago—they claimed it was because Everglen was like her second home, but secretly she suspected Fitz was just getting tired of coming to the gate every time she visited. Or at least she did, until the large gate door swung inward to reveal Fitz in his nicest cape, holding out a bouquet of flowers.