The Match Game: A Temptation Press Anthology

By Temptation Press, Wolfgang Domino and E W Farnsworth

In The Match Game, six emerging authors describe how newfound lovers live out their fantasies in person and online.

Shrouded by the glow of a screen, users can choose who they want to be— and who they want to be with. Whether they desire one sizzling night of delight to take their mind off a recent heartbreak, or they a

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zimbell House Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Apr 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781643901664

Temptation Press

Temptation Press is a new imprint for our parent company, Zimbell House Publishing. ZHP’s readership clamored for steamier romantic and erotic offerings of quality fiction and the result was the birth of Temptation Press. Our goal is to become the number one independent publisher of quality Erotic Romance Fiction. We want our readers to experience the best mental stimulation elegant writing can produce, allowing them total immersion in stories that meet their particular fantasies. We hope you’ll help us in that endeavor!For our authors, Temptation Press is dedicated to helping you lead the way to elevating the genre.For our readers, Temptation Press is dedicated to creating a safe, comfortable environment to explore some of the best fiction of this genre-from tasteful, yet steamy romances to escapism of a more graphic kind and everything in between.

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Acknowledgments

Temptation Press would like to thank all those that contributed to this anthology. We chose to showcase six new voices that best embodied our vision for this anthology.

We would also like to thank all those on our Temptation Press team for all their hard work and dedication to these projects.

Game. Set. Match.

Shanjida Nusrath Ali

CHAPTER 1

"A re you fucking kidding me, bro?’’ I groan, rolling my eyes and feeling frustrated.

Come on, Luc. I just did you a favor. You need to get laid,’’ Justin, my best friend, says with a shrug. I know Tania cheated on you with your brother, but move on, dude. It’s been three fucking months now.’’

The sound of her name clenches my heart. Yeah, it hurt finding my own younger brother fucking my girlfriend. It hurt seeing my three-year relationship shattered in front of my eyes, but what hurts the most is not being able to move on and still spending every day thinking about her.

Justin grabs my shoulder, bringing me back to reality. He offers me a sad smile, squeezing my shoulder lightly. "I know what happened was completely wrong, but forget about her, man. Just look at the app and troll for a while. And fuck Tania out of your system by getting a girl who’s ten times hotter and better than her.’’

With that, he leaves the locker room to go practice, leaving me with my phone in my hand, staring at the app Justin was talking about: Game. Set. Match.

The name itself sounds so stupid, who knows what type of girls I’ll find on here. I mean, dating apps aren’t for dating or to get into a real relationship—it’s all about fucking. They should be called fucking apps. I mean, come on, I have seen half of my friends and teammates using dinner as an excuse to fuck their date on their first meeting. So stupid.

But curiosity gets the best of me as I scroll through my profile to check what Justin wrote about me—at least, that’s what I tell myself.

Something sexual you’ve always wanted to try:

Library sex

Favorite color:

Black

Looks or personality:

Both (but personality more)

Favorite game:

Football

Physical description:

Five foot ten with six-pack abs. Sienna skin. Short and brown hair, on which I never apply any sort of gel because it looks hot without any products. Black eyes that I inherited from my dad.

Age:

Twenty-one (but who cares about age nowadays?)

Who you want to match with:

Definitely not a serial killer or thief, duh.

Specific qualities of your match:

Must be legal. Sensual. Smart. Funny. Good listener. Can cook (because I suck at cooking). Is not named Tania. Has an out-of-this-world middle name. Must be a Marvel fan.

That fucker. I can’t help but grin thinking about the reaction that I would get from the girls. I notice that all I have to do to make my profile active is hit the Set button. My thumb hovers over the button as I reconsider my options. I know I should forget about Tania after what she did, but I don’t know if this is a good idea. With a sigh, I lock the screen and make my way out of the locker room to go to my next class.

Luckily, I reach the room ten minutes early. I take a seat at the back and watch other students puttering around like ants. That’s when I notice Lily entering the classroom. Fuck.

Lily is Tania’s dormmate and younger sister, so her being in this class will make things ten times more awkward for me. I pray silently to God to not let her sit next to me, but it is an absolute waste. She notices me and takes the available seat on my right.

Fucking great. Seeing her immediately reminds me of Tania, making my nerves spike with vexation. My jaw clenches, and I take out my phone, pretending to be busy with some shit. Evidently, even that doesn’t stop her from talking to me.

"Hey, Lucas!’’ she chimes like she saw fucking rainbows and unicorns on her way to class.

"Hey,’’ I say, sounding disinterested because that’s exactly how I’m feeling. I won’t lie and say that Lily isn’t quietly beautiful. Long, black hair, deep-blue eyes, honey-colored skin ... she has it all, and not just physically. She is the class leader and has probably won five Science Olympiads. But she is just so ... I don’t know ... desperate. She will keep blabbering until you either tell her to shut the fuck up or you end up leaving the room.

"How is practice going for the next football game?’’ she asks, leaning forward a bit, looking intrigued.

Ugh, here comes the interrogation.

"It’s going well.’’

"I’m sure you will win again. You really are amazing with what you do. You are truly the star of the team and ...’’

Lily continues yammering, and my eyes start roaming. They find the only two people I am avoiding: my brother and ex-girlfriend. Holding hands as they enter the room, they giggle and smile at each other, looking like fucking Romeo and Juliet.

Just like that, anger boils inside me, making my jaw clench. My hands form a fist as I try my best not to get up and beat the shit out of my brother. When Tania leans in and kisses him, my fucking heart shatters into millions of pieces. It races furiously as I witness the scene.

"Lucas, are you okay?’’ Lily’s voice drags me back from my breakdown.

I nod my answer as I really don’t want to fucking talk. And before I know it, I open the app and scroll down my profile, hit the Set button, and watch my profile being activated.

I will move on from Tania. I will get a way fucking better girl than her.

CHAPTER 2

Surprisingly, I get a match on the app later that night. After taking a shower and changing into my T-shirt and boxers, I lean against the bed to see who I matched with: Ann.

I click on her profile, learning about her likes and dislikes as I scroll down. After a few more seconds, I tap on her profile picture, and what I see takes my breath away.

A picture of Ann from below her neck fills my phone screen. She has smooth, flawless skin, a push-up bra revealing a bit of cleavage, and tanned legs that are to die for.

But what catches my interest the most is her detailed tattoo. It’s a butterfly with half of the wings looking so damn gorgeous, and the other half of the wings breaking apart with a dispersion effect. Holy fuck.

Before I could contemplate how to approach her, a text pops up. It’s her.

Ann: You have been online for a while now since we matched, but I haven’t heard anything from you. Too busy checking me out?

Pretty straight forward. I like it. Letting out a deep breath, I type out my response:

Lucas: It’s hard not to. Pretty sure every guy ogles you for hours.

Fuck, that was so stupid. I sound like a teenager. I roll my eyes, expecting her to say how idiotic I sound.

Ann: That’s so sweet of you, but guys don’t usually ogle me. You are the first.

I start to type out a response, but she beats me to it with another text.

Ann: I thought guys usually start flirting from the first text, but why do I feel like you are a bit uncomfortable with this whole dating app thing?

How does she know?

Lucas: Yeah ... you could say that. You must be thinking I’m a loser for such low performance. But believe me, I would give myself a 10/10 on my usual charm.

Ann: Oh, really?

Lucas: Really.

Ann: Prove it ;)

A sly grin spreads across my lips from her challenge. Game on.

Just like that, we keep texting back and forth for the next few days, day and night. We talk a lot to each other as friends, building our relationship, but sometimes, we get flirty, intensifying our connection. I look forward to coming back to my room and talking with her every night—not only for sexting, but also to know how her day went and what she was up to.

What surprised me the most was when she revealed that she goes to the same university as me.

Lucas: Why didn’t you tell me before? Are you in any of my classes?

Ann: You could say that.

Lucas: But I’m pretty sure there is no one named Ann in my class.

I haven’t seen a girl with that tattoo, either. Does she look at me when I’m focused in class? Does she think about me? Does she come up to me and talk while I’m unaware of who she is? A bunch of questions start roaming in my mind, and I get giddy with the anticipation of getting answers from her.

Ann: We talk to and see each other. To be honest, we have known each other for a long time.

I furrow my brow in confusion. I have known her for a long time? Does this mean she already knew that I was using a dating app?

Lucas: So you knew about my breakup and that I was getting involved in a dating app?

I need answers. For some reason, I feel betrayed. I feel as if I have been played or pranked.

Ann:  Yes.

Yes? That’s all she has to say? She has been playing with me this whole time, and I fell for it like a fool. Anger surges through my nerves. I feel like screaming at her as if she is standing in front of me.

Before I can reply, another message chimes on my screen:

Ann: You may feel that I have betrayed you, but believe me, I don’t want you to feel that way. I have always wanted to be with you ... for a very long time, but I never had the courage. This app showed me a way to let you see me, to know me. I don’t know how you will react when you see me for the first time, but I really like you. I don’t want this to end. But I also didn’t want to keep you in the dark any longer, so if you think you don’t want to talk with me anymore, I’ll understand. Just think about it and let me know.

After reading her text, I don’t respond back to her for the next two days. Now that I know she is in my class, I look over my shoulder every now and then to see if someone is watching me. Every girl who comes up to talk to me just feeds this feeling ... this unknown excitement to discover who Ann is.

But I can’t deny how much I have missed talking with her and seeing her pictures these past two days. I know it sounds weird that I’m already missing someone who has been hiding herself from me