Jordan could tell her the truth: that his ex-girlfriend cheated on him with a guy who looked like he modeled for Abercrombie catalogs in his spare time, that he spent two weeks in a gooning spiral, that heād rage-bought this package at two in the morning while crying and eating gas station ramen.
Or he could lie and say something normal.
"Curiosity, I guess," Jordan said, picking the middle ground. "You seem cool. Thought itād be interesting to meet you in person."
Chloe nodded slowly. "Thatās probably the healthiest answer I couldāve gotten."
"What were the other options?"
"Obsession. Parasocial fantasy. Secret plans to follow me home." She said it casually, but Jordan heard the edge underneath.
This was her job. Meeting strangers from the internet for money. Of course sheād thought through worst-case scenarios. Of course sheād probably told a friend where she was going and when to call if she didnāt check in.
"None of those," Jordan said. "Promise. Iām just a guy who made a financially questionable decision and is now committed to seeing it through."
"Financially questionable is an understatement." Chloe leaned back in her chair. "Three thousand dollars is a lot of money."
"Yeah, well." Jordan picked at a thread on his napkin. "It was a weird week."
Their food arrived faster than expected. The server placed the plates down with practiced efficiency, asked if they needed anything else, and vanished when they both shook their heads.
Chloe stared at her salad. Jordan stared at his burger.
"This feels weird, right?" Chloe said. "Like, I do this thing online where Iām this character, and now Iām sitting here in real life and I donāt know how to be that person without a camera."
"So donāt be," Jordan said. "Be whoever you are when the cameraās off."
Chloe pulled down her mask just enough to take a bite of salad. Jordan caught a glimpse of her lips, plump and pink, before the mask went back up.
His brain short-circuited for a full second.
Breathe. Normal breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Donāt be weird.
"Thatās easier said than done," Chloe said after swallowing. "The whole point of doing this anonymously is so I can keep those parts of my life separate."
"Then whyād you offer the coffee dates at all?"
"Money." She said it flat, no shame. "The package was three thousand dollars. Do you know how long it takes to make that much from regular content? A month, maybe two if engagementās good."
"So this is purely transactional," Jordan said.
"Yeah." Chloe stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork. "I mean, no offense. You seem nice. But I donāt know you."
"None taken." Jordan bit into his burger. The flavor exploded across his tongue, beef and cheese and sauce combining into something that probably justified the thirty-two-dollar price tag.
His phone buzzed again.
āØ TRANSACTION PENDING āØ
Estimated meal cost: $60 + tip
Current attraction: 11%
Rebate calculation: 0.22x multiplier
Projected return: $13.20
Net loss: $46.80
Proceed?
Jordan closed the notification.
Forty-six dollars down the drain for this meal. Plus the three thousand heād already spent. Plus the two hundred sixty-three on his new outfit.
"Can I ask you something else?" Jordan said.
"Sure."
"Do you like doing it? The content creation thing."
Chloe set down her fork. Her sunglasses reflected Jordanās face back at him, twin versions of himself staring from dark lenses.
"Sometimes," she said finally. "Itās good money. I can make my own schedule. I donāt have to answer to anyone."
"But?"
"But itās exhausting." She picked up her fork again, pushing lettuce around her plate. "Keeping up with DMs, editing photos, coming up with new content ideas, pretending to care about every subscriberās fantasy. Itās a lot."
"You donāt have to pretend with me," Jordan said.
Chloe looked up. "What?"
"Iām not expecting you to be Calypso right now. Weāre just two people eating overpriced food and having a conversation. You can drop the act."
A long silence.
Then Chloe laughed. Really laughed this time, not the professional giggle from her videos. Her shoulders shook.
"Youāre weird, Ricky."
"I get that a lot."
She pulled her mask down again to take another bite. This time Jordan forced himself not to stare at her mouth like a creep.
They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes. The sun filtered through the umbrella above them, creating patterns on the white tablecloth. Other diners chatted and laughed around them. Someone at a nearby table was celebrating a birthday, the staff bringing out a dessert with a single candle.
"So whatās your deal?" Chloe asked. "Business Econ major. Expensive school. Dropping three grand on a coffee date with an internet stranger. You donāt exactly scream trust fund baby."
"My parents own convenience stores," Jordan said. "Three of them. Comfortable, not rich."
"And theyāre paying for Pacific Crest?"
"Yeah."
"Thatās forty-five thousand a year."
Jordan blinked. "Howād you know that?"
"Lucky guess," she said quickly. "All private schools are expensive."
Jordanās brain started connecting dots it probably shouldnāt connect. Communications major. Freshman. Eighteen years old. Pacific Crestās tuition down to the dollar.
No way.
"You go to Pacific Crest," Jordan said.
Chloeās water glass stopped halfway to her mouth.
"What?"
"You go to Pacific Crest," Jordan repeated. "Thatās why you knew the exact tuition. Thatās why you didnāt want to say where you go to school."
Chloe set her glass down carefully. "Youāre reading into things."
"Am I?"
Her jaw worked behind the mask. Her fingers drummed against the table.
"If I did go there," she said slowly. "Which Iām not confirming. It would be a really bad idea for you to know that."
"Because?"
"Because my entire business model depends on anonymity. If someone from campus recognized me, Iām done. Scholarship gone. Social life gone. Everything gone."
Jordan held up his hands. "Iām not gonna say anything."
"You donāt know that."
"Yeah, I do." Jordan leaned back in his chair. "Iāve got my own shit I donāt want getting around campus. We can both keep secrets."
Chloe studied him. The sunglasses made it impossible to read her expression.
"What kind of secrets?" she asked.
"The kind where my ex cheated on me on Christmas and I spent two weeks in my apartment crying and eating ramen," Jordan said. "Not exactly something Iām putting on my resume."
"Oh." Chloeās voice softened. "That sucks."
"Yeah."
"Is that why you bought the coffee date? Rebound thing?"
"Probably." Jordan picked up his burger again. "Like I said. Weird week."
His phone buzzed one more time.
āØ ATTRACTION UPDATE āØ
Chloe Kim: 11% ā 15% (+4%)
Note: Vulnerability and shared secrets build trust. Moderate gain registered.
Current Rebate Rate: 0.30x
Youāre doing better than expected!
Fifteen percent.
Still terrible. Still in the red. But better than eight.
Jordan finished his burger. Chloe finished her salad. The server brought the check without being asked, and Jordan handed over his card before Chloe could protest again.
Total: Seventy-three dollars and forty-two cents including tip.
The transaction went through. Jordanās phone pinged with the rebate notification.
āØ TRANSACTION COMPLETE āØ
Amount Spent: $73.42
Chloe Kim Attraction: 15%
Rebate: $22.03 (0.30x multiplier)
Net Loss: $51.39
Keep building that chemistry!
Fifty-one dollars in the hole.
Jordan pocketed his phone and stood. Chloe stood too, adjusting her purse strap.
"So," she said. "That was the forty-five minutes."
Jordan checked his watch. Three forty-seven PM. Theyād actually gone seven minutes over.
"Yeah," he said.
"This was..." Chloe trailed off, searching for words. "Not what I expected."
"Good unexpected or bad unexpected?"
"Good, I think." She pulled her mask up higher. "Youāre not as creepy as I thought youād be."
"Barās on the floor, but Iāll take it."
Chloe laughed one more time. "Thanks for lunch, Ricky."
They walked toward the parking lot together, the silence between them easier now. Less performative. Less transactional.
Chloe stopped next to a silver Honda Civic. Jordan stopped next to his white Honda Civic three spaces over.
They both stared at each otherās cars.
"No way," Chloe said.
"2019?" Jordan asked.
"2020."
"Close enough."
Chloe shook her head, still smiling behind her mask. She opened her car door, then paused.
"Hey, Ricky?"
"Yeah?"
"If I do see you on campus..." She bit her lip. "Just pretend you donāt know me, okay?"
"Deal."
She climbed into her car and started the engine. Jordan watched her back out of the parking space and drive toward the exit.
When her car disappeared around the corner, Jordan finally let out the breath heād been holding.
His phone buzzed with one final notification.
š DAILY QUEST COMPLETE š
"Path to Becoming Adonis"
Reward: 3 Quest Tickets
Total Tickets: 13
New Achievement Unlocked: First Date (Technically)
Bonus: +5 Quest Tickets
Total Tickets: 18
[Gacha system now accessible]
Jordan climbed into his Civic, rested his forehead against the steering wheel, and laughed until his stomach hurt.
Heād just spent seventy-three dollars to learn that his OnlyFans crush went to his school.
The universe had a really fucked up sense of humor.