Match

Poe meets his on-line match on Halloween.

Written for the Year of the OTP 2025 Challenge for October. Rated Teen. Just a fun meet-cute. Prompts are Costumes and Online dating.

Poe Dameron walked into the front door of the restaurant, looking around warily. The place was crowded and more than half of the customers and all of the staff were dressed in costumes. Why he had chosen tonight of all nights for this first date? But to be fair, when he had said ‘Friday night’ he hadn’t noticed that the date was October 31^st.

He looked to his right, knowing the person he was meeting would be sitting at a table on that side of the room. She had messaged him just before he had gotten here, letting him know she had managed to snag a table for two on this busy night. He felt anxiety and anticipation as he looked for this woman he had never met. It wasn’t a blind date, as they had met on-line on Match two weeks ago, and had been sharing conversation and pictures with each other since then, but tonight was the first time they would meet in person.

Poe had hated using an on-line dating site, but he hated dating in general and after breaking up with Zorii last year he had not had much success in meeting people in ‘real life.’ Now in his mid-30s, he had a great desire to ‘settle down.’ On Match, he had found someone who appeared to be just what he was looking for: Attractive and smart, a lover of animals and the outdoors, a grad student who was quite a bit younger than him but still mature enough to know what she wanted, and she wanted children someday. She was, ‘on paper,’ perfect.

He spotted her and headed for the table she was sitting at just as she saw him. A smile lit up her face and she stood to meet him, holding out her hand. “Finally! We meet! Hello, Poe.”

He laughed and took her hand. “Hello, Kaydell!”

They both sat and Poe felt relief fill him as they started up a relaxed conversation. There were benefits to meeting someone on-line before meeting them in person. All the basic info had already been shared. Simple get-to-know-you stuff like ‘what do you do?” “what music do you like?” “what’s your favorite color?” had already been answered. What other people would consider small talk was comfortable and not forced. While they talked, Poe observed his companion. She was as pretty as her pictures showed, her brown eyes warm and her smile genuine. She laughed easily and she listened as well as she liked to talk.

He liked her, but there was no immediate feeling of ‘she’s the one.’ That was okay. He had never been a believer in love-at-first-sight anyway.

Suddenly, a big red shape appeared on his left. Startled, he turned his head to see a giant ketchup bottle standing next to their table. He quickly realized, thanks to the two menus in the hands of the person in the bottle, that this was their server. He gave a little laugh as he looked up at the face of the person in the costume, a red hat representing the ketchup bottle lid sitting jauntily on the woman’s head. His laughter died.

She was gorgeous.

“Hi,” the woman said. Her eyes were cast downward and her voice was tired. “I’m Rey. I’ll be your server this evening.” She had an English accent.

“Hey, Rey!” Kaydell said with a smile.

The woman’s eyes finally came up as she looked at Kaydell. She gave a brief smile of recognition. “Hi, Kay.”

Kaydell shook her head, a grimace crossing her face. “I am so sorry,” she said, looking Rey up and down.

Rey gave a shrug, barely noticeable thanks to the costume. “The tips are good.” She smiled again, a tired but real smile this time. It was obvious it had not been her idea to wear the costume. She handed Kaydell a menu, then as she handed the other one to Poe she asked, “Can I get you both anything to drink?” Her gaze finally landed on him and she seemed to do a double take. She looked away quickly, pulling an ipad out of the pocket of the short apron with the restaurant’s name on it tied around the bottle’s waste.   

Poe finally pulled his gaze away from her face. Why was he staring at one woman while on a date with another? He had never been ‘that guy’ before! “I’ll have a Bud Light, please,” he said, opening the menu and perusing it as casually as possible.

“I’ll have a Stella Artois,” Kaydell said.

Rey nodded smartly. “Okay,” she smiled again. “I’ll be back to get your order.”

Poe looked at her just as she glanced at him and turned away. Why was his heart racing? He took a deep breath and looked over at Kaydell, who was focused on the menu. She glanced up at him. “Rey goes to Tech, too,” she explained. “We’ve known each other since our undergrad years. Even though we had different degrees, we always seemed to get the same classes and lived in the same dorm.”

Poe nodded, then looked at his menu. He knew Kaydell was working on her Masters in Sports Psychology. He couldn’t help but wonder what Rey’s degree was.

They chatted a little while they both chose their meal, and it wasn’t too long before the ketchup bottle was back.

“Are you ready to order?” Rey asked as she set two beer bottles and two empty glasses on the table. Poe noticed that she seemed to be avoiding looking at him, focusing more on Kaydell. She got her ipad out again.   

Poe nodded to Kaydell and the young woman gave her order to Rey, then Rey looked at him, her eyes flitting up then down rather than maintaining eye contact with him. Poe told her his choice. Then as Rey started typing on her pad, she asked, “And will these be on separate bills?”

“No,” Poe answered immediately. “I’m paying.”

“Poe! We talked about this!” Kaydell argued.

Poe looked at her and shook his head. “This place on this night was my idea. I’m paying. No arguments.”

Kaydell huffed a laugh and nodded. “Okay.”

Poe grinned and looked back at Rey. She was watching him intently, a wistful look on her face. When his eyes met hers, she jerked her gaze away, looking back at her ipad and nodding. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll have your order out as soon as possible. Just give a wave if you need anything in the meantime.” She looked at Kay and smiled before turning.

Poe watched her walk away in the silly costume. He had a feeling her natural stride was much longer than was allowed by her get up. He couldn’t help but laugh softly. He looked at Kaydell, who was also watching Rey and smiling.

“Poor girl,” she said. Then she looked back at Poe. “She’s Mastering in Aeronautics, by the way. You two have a lot in common. She loves to fly! She’s always talking about how she wants to name her kids after famous pilots.” She laughed. “She’s trying to get her pilot’s license, but is having a hard time getting hours. Maybe you could help her?”

Poe felt his eyes widen. He was currently working as a private helicopter pilot, giving tours and working charters up in the Naboo Mountains. While he and Kaydell had a lot in common, one of the things she had mentioned that had made him nervous was that she was scared to fly. He had always envisioned taking his future wife up in his chopper and proposing to her in the sky.

But that was putting the cart well before the horse. “Hmmm…” he hummed noncommittally. “How’s your thesis coming along?” he asked, changing the subject.

Kaydell smiled and immediately started talking about her work. Poe honestly found it interesting listening to her. The subject matter was fairly obscure to him, but he was learning a lot from her. He had always been open to learning new things. However, as the discussion went on, he realized that it was more than a little beyond him. He had never been much interested in general sports, and the workings of the human mind were far too complicated for him.

Their food arrived in good time. Poe had long ago determined that the busier a food establishment was, the faster the kitchen seemed to run. He watched as Rey set the plates down with efficiency, despite the ridiculous costume.

“How late is your shift?” Kaydell asked her friend. “You’re not here ‘til close, I hope.”

Rey shook her head as she straightened up. “No. I’m off at ten. A couple hours later than normal because we’re so busy, but well before close.”

“Going to any parties afterward?”

“Ha!” Rey snorted. “Yeah, right.” She smiled at Poe, her tired eyes softer than they had been earlier. “Enjoy your meal.” She turned and left, heading for another table to take their order.

Poe looked at Kaydell, arching an eyebrow.

“We both like to tease each other about how introverted we are,” Kaydell explained. “She more than me, but neither of us have ever been big on parties.”

Poe nodded, then turned his attention to his food. About half-way through the meal, Kaydell asked about his job. He started telling her stories about some of his clients that he thought would appeal to a non-flyer like herself, and though she seemed interested, he could see her gaze become unfocused from time to time, as if she was having a hard time not thinking of other things while he talked. He knew his job wasn’t something she was interested in, so he didn’t take offense. She was trying to be polite and give as much as she got from their interactions, and he appreciated it.

But he knew before he was finished with his meal that this relationship would not go farther than this night.

Rey came to check on them once, then when they were finished came to get their plates, nodding politely when they both told her their meals were very good. She made eye contact with him once more, but seemed flustered afterward, frowning and glancing at Kaydell with a guilty expression. She nodded toward the little POS box on the side of the table. “Your bill is ready whenever you are. Thank you both for coming.” She nodded sharply and turned to leave them.

Poe watched her go with a frown before turning to the POS to pay the bill. He made sure to add a tip much more than the recommended 15%. He looked at Kaydell, who was watching him with a soft smile, her chin resting on her laced fingers.

“So,” he started.

“So,” she responded.

“Can we meet again?” he asked tentatively. While he was quite sure this was a one-time thing, he wasn’t sure where she stood. If she wanted to try another date…

“I don’t think so,” she said softly. “I really like you, Poe. But…”

He nodded. “Yeah. I know.”

She grinned, then moved to collect her purse. “Thank you so much for dinner. It was certainly not a waste of time getting to meet you, and I know you’ll find who you’re looking for. Sooner rather than later, I think.”

Poe cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

She grinned and stood. “Rey said she gets off at ten.” She winked. “Goodnight, Poe.” With that, she turned and headed for the door.

Poe looked at his watch. It was almost ten. He scanned the room. It was a lot less busy than when he had gotten here, the late hour sending people off either to Halloween parties or home. He couldn’t see a human-sized ketchup bottle anywhere.

Feeling a sudden sense of urgency, Poe stood and headed for the door. Once outside in the brisk night air he looked around, trying to decide where the employee entrance was. Without giving it much thought, he turned right and swung around the corner of the building. Just as he did so, a door opened and a woman stepped out. A tall, athletic brunette in a white uniform blouse and black pants with a very familiar face. She looked at him, her eyes widening in surprise, then she glanced behind him.

Poe also looked behind him, then back at her. “Kaydell headed home. She and I won’t be seeing each other again,” he told her bluntly.

Rey looked at him, her mouth falling open slightly in surprise as she contemplated his words. “Not a match?” she finally asked.

He shook his head. “No. Not a match.” He reached his hand out. “I’m Poe.”

Smiling softly, she took his hand. “Rey.”

“I know.”

THE END