Chapter 2 - Just One Conversation

Emma spent exactly three minutes staring at the app icon before locking her phone.

Ridiculous.

She had assignments to finish, laundry to fold, and two salt breads waiting on the kitchen counter.

A dating app shouldn't be the most interesting thing about her evening.

She reached for her pencil instead.

The public library floor plan lay unfinished across her tiny table. Erasing a line, she redrew the entrance, adjusted the reading area, and added a skylight over the central atrium.

Better.

She leaned back, satisfied.

Her phone buzzed again.

Lily: Downloaded it yet?

Emma smiled despite herself.

Emma: No.

Three dots appeared almost instantly.

Lily: Coward.

Emma: I'm busy.

Lily: You're eating bread and drawing rectangles.

Emma laughed out loud.

Emma: They're not rectangles.

Lily: Sorry. Fancy rectangles.

Emma shook her head.

Lily had an extraordinary talent for making architecture sound painfully unimpressive.

Another message arrived.

Lily: Promise me one thing.

Emma: What?

Lily: Just make an account.

Emma: And then?

Lily: Nothing.

Emma: Nothing?

Lily: You don't have to meet anyone.

You don't have to fall in love.

Just prove to yourself that talking to someone new doesn't have to be scary.

Emma's smile slowly faded.

Talking.

That sounded much less frightening than dating.

Maybe Lily was right.

Maybe she'd built walls so high that even ordinary conversations felt impossible.

She placed the pencil down.

"...Fine."

She opened the app.

A cheerful screen appeared.

Welcome to HeartMatch.

The registration process was surprisingly simple.

Name.

Emma.

Occupation.

Student.

Interests.

Architecture.

Baking.

Books.

Coffee.

The next question stopped her.

Age

She typed 21.

The app immediately displayed a message.

"Most of your matches will be between 20 and 25."

Emma frowned.

She wasn't looking for boys her own age.

Not intentionally.

But every time one smiled at her on campus, they reminded her how different her life had been.

While they worried about first dates...

She had once worried about making someone angry because dinner wasn't warm enough.

Her thumb hovered over the keyboard.

Twenty-one.

Delete.

Twenty-four.

The message disappeared.

Instead, the app expanded her recommended age range.

Emma exhaled quietly.

"I'm sorry."

It wasn't a lie she was proud of.

It was simply easier than explaining the truth.

She uploaded a photo Lily had secretly taken a month earlier.

Emma was standing outside the bakery, holding a tray of freshly baked salt bread.

She remembered complaining about the picture.

"My hair looks messy."

Lily had rolled her eyes.

"Your smile looks happy."

Emma hadn't argued after that.

She tapped Complete Profile.

Within seconds, faces began filling her screen.

Swipe left.

A shirtless man posing in front of a mirror.

Left.

Someone whose bio only said, "Future millionaire."

Left.

A man holding an enormous fish.

Emma blinked.

"...Why?"

Left.

Another profile featured six different gym selfies.

Left.

One simply read:

"Looking for someone to spoil me."

Left.

She couldn't help laughing.

Maybe she wasn't cut out for this after all.

Just as she was about to close the app, a new profile appeared.

Daniel.

Age: 35.

Occupation: Office Worker.

His profile picture wasn't professionally taken.

He stood in front of a bookshelf, wearing a navy sweater with the sleeves rolled to his forearms. No expensive watch. No sunglasses. No luxury car in the background.

Just books.

Emma tapped his profile.

Favorite weekend?

Finding a quiet café and pretending I don't have work waiting for me.

She smiled.

A habit I'm trying to quit:

Buying books I don't have time to read.

Another smile.

Biggest green flag:

Remembering how people take their coffee.

Emma found herself reading every answer twice.

There was something... calm about him.

Nothing felt rehearsed.

Nothing screamed for attention.

She almost swiped left anyway.

Thirty-five.

That was a fourteen-year difference.

He was probably looking for someone older.

Someone with a career.

Someone who had life figured out.

Certainly not a college student who spent half her paycheck on tracing paper and butter.

She locked the phone.

"No."

Five seconds later...

She unlocked it again.

"...Maybe."

A knock sounded at the door.

Mrs. Hernandez, her elderly neighbor, stood outside carrying a small potted plant.

"I bought too many herbs," she said. "Would you like some basil?"

Emma's face brightened.

"I'd love some."

"It's good for pasta."

"I mostly use it for bread."

Mrs. Hernandez chuckled.

"I know."

She glanced inside the apartment.

"It always smells like a bakery in here."

Emma accepted the little pot with both hands.

"Thank you."

"You young people don't decorate with plants anymore."

"I've been meaning to."

"Now you have no excuse."

After the older woman returned to her apartment, Emma placed the basil on the windowsill above the sink.

The tiny kitchen suddenly looked a little brighter.

She watered it carefully.

Maybe she'd buy another plant next month.

When she had enough money.

Her phone vibrated again.

Lily.

Well?

Emma looked from the basil to the phone.

Back to the basil.

Then to Daniel's profile.

He still smiled gently from the screen.

No flashy promises.

No dramatic declarations.

Just...

ordinary.

Maybe ordinary wasn't so bad.

Maybe ordinary was exactly what she'd been searching for all these years.

Her thumb hesitated above the screen.

Then, before she could overthink it...

She swiped right.

For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

Emma laughed softly.

"I knew it."

She was about to close the app when the screen flashed.

It's a Match.

She stared at the words.

Her heart skipped once.

Then again.

A chat window opened.

Neither of them typed.

Emma bit her lower lip.

Should she say hello first?

Or wait?

The blinking cursor seemed to tease her.

Seconds stretched into a full minute.

Then her phone buzzed.

A new message appeared.

Daniel: Good evening, Emma.

I hope you had a good day.

She read the message twice.

Simple.

Polite.

No pickup line.

No flirting.

Just five ordinary words from a complete stranger.

For reasons she couldn't explain...

They made her smile.