Dating IS the job.

You catch your reflection in the window — the evening light turning your hair the color of flame — and for a heartbeat, you almost don’t recognize yourself. The girl from Chicago, freshly graduated and freshly married, has somehow become this woman standing in a Kansas City apartment full of promise and cardboard boxes. You tilt your chin, studying the curve of your lips, the bright confidence in your own eyes, and it thrills you to think this is the woman you’ve become — beautiful, brave, on the edge of something. Behind you, Tom is fussing with the boxes, sleeves rolled to his elbows, trying to fix a wobbling lamp. He looks up at you like he always does, as if he can’t quite believe his luck, and you smile at him — sweetly, indulgently — before turning back to your reflection. You look confident, poised even, but inside your stomach twists with questions. What if the newsroom is harder than you imagine? What if the stories don’t come, or the editors see through you — see that you’re just pretending to belong? You smooth a hand over your hair, as if that might quiet the thoughts. Tom calls from the kitchen, his voice warm and steady, and for a moment you borrow some of his faith in you.

When the knock at the door comes, you’re grateful for the interruption. The delivery bag smells like sesame oil and ginger — comfort, in paper and twine. The delivery guy is friendly, a little chatty, smiling wider than the moment seems to warrant. You smile back, polite, thinking Kansas City might not be so unfriendly after all. When you close the door, Tom laughs softly from behind you. “You know you’re wearing practically nothing, right?” he says, amusement flickering in his eyes. You glance down — tank top, bare legs — and shrug, more embarrassed than you expected. You hadn’t even thought about it. Sometimes you forget how people see you, how easily their attention finds you, as if it’s something that happens to other women, not you.

(NOTE for Contributors: please add any new Story Arcs as different Matches in Chapter 7.1 The Adventure Beginnings!)