The Soulmate System

6. First Interaction Does Not Constitute The Future of The Relationship

That Thursday morning, Bryce sat in his chair while his feet danced on the floor, a nervous smile spread across his face; he was exhibiting an intense amount of anxious energy that could've been mistaken for excitement. Bryce lacked attentiveness and respect for personal boundaries, and for the first time in a long while, people were genuinely uncomfortable around Bryce Houghton.

Dylan, meanwhile, strolled into work fifteen minutes late, a glare permanently cast on his face. He drifted between passing out and agitation quite easily; using that frustration as motivation to finish his work as quickly as possible, ready to return home and collapse into his bed for some desperately needed silence.

"...'Clear evening, with winds from the northwest at six kilometers per hour'," the newspaper reported. Bryce read the printed words carefully before placing the weather section down.

Amber strolled in and sat down across from him. "Hi," she noted cheerfully, but her greeting went unnoticed. She cocked her head and examined the section of the newspaper before noting, "Why're you reading the weather?"

"What's happening?" asked Travis as he sat down beside Amber.

"Bryce's looking at the weather," she repeated, taking a spoonful of tuna salad into her mouth.

"You've never been interested in weather," Travis noted.

"I know!" she exclaimed. "What's wrong with you?"

"Well, besides in winter, when you complain about the temperature."

"Something's happening," Bryce whispered, eyes darting across the page to absorb as much information as possible. He wanted to be certain the weather was going to be clear that evening.

Amber looked to Travis, who seemed to see the same amount of unusual enthusiasm that she saw. "I've never seen you this excited before," commented Amber, taking a bite of her tuna salad sandwich.

'Nope, I'm actually terrified,' Bryce mentally retorted.

"What, did you win the lottery and you're picking it up tonight?" she asked.

Bryce looked up from the paper. "No." He considered the scenario where he won the lottery and added, "I wish I won the lottery. That would be fantastic."

"So what's your news that makes you look willingly at the weather?" asked Travis, opening his bag of crisps with a pop. "Are you moving flats or something?"

Bryce shook his head and groaned. "I would be so happy about that. Katie's been driving me mad all week." In actuality, Katie had been reminding him about his upcoming date with Dylan. In fact, everyone had been reminding him about his upcoming date with the unnamed Soulmate.

"So, what? Promising date or something?" Bryce tapped his nose, though only a portion of her question was true. "Really?" asked Amber, eyebrows rising in surprise.

"Yeah," he admitted quietly, reaching back to scratch his neck.

Travis brought his plastic water cup to his lips and asked, "Why is it promising?" before taking a sip.

Amber's eyes widened. "Are they a meteorologist?"

Travis bobbed his head in agreement, and kept nodding. "That could explain the weather?" Travis' eyes moved to Amber, the woman pursing her lips and nodding in agreement. "Are you trying to impress this meteorologist? Use the word 'confluence'."

Bryce waited for a moment. "What, uh...what does it mean?"

"Oh, I have no idea," Travis admitted. "I heard it on the news."