The night, which typically would have felt lonely, was instead filled with drunken laughter as my friend Tessa rambled on about her current relationship, urging me to get back out there in the dating world. "A month is fucking long enough," she slurred, greedily slurping down another mouthful of the cheapest wine we could find at the nearest supermarket. "I know for a fact it's been a good year since she"—Tessa pointed down at my jeans—"has been wet or seen any action." She raised an eyebrow at me, a playful challenge in her gaze, before shrugging nonchalantly.
She wasn't wrong. My recent relationship with Mark, now forever dubbed 'the one who shall not be named,' ended about a month ago, but honestly, my sex life had dwindled long before that. "You have a point," I admitted, rolling my eyes at her remark. I took a sip of my wine, which surprisingly was quite tasty—something I could drink easily without wincing at even the hint of alcohol.
"Let me make you a dating app profile," Tessa interjected before I could respond, her fingers already reaching for my phone. Despite having consumed the same amount of wine—and sharing a similar clumsiness—Tessa's reflexes were quicker than mine. She snatched my phone, punched in the code, and continued her relentless assault. Feeling a mix of amusement and resignation, I surrendered to her enthusiasm, my mood to fight back completely evaporating as I let her take control.
"Here, I know someone who works in the whole computer business—knows a lot and does a lot," Tessa rambled on excitedly. "The app is called SoulMatch. I went ahead and made you an account, and there are already people liking your profile, all from around here and neighboring areas." Her eyes remained glued to the screen, watching the number of likes climb without ever meeting my gaze.
Later that night, after Tessa had gotten a ride home, I lay in bed, curiosity coursing through me as I glanced at the new app icon on my home screen. Unable to resist, I clicked on SoulMatch and began swiping no on the profiles that popped up. I enjoyed the ego boost it provided, but none of the faces sparked my interest. I couldn't imagine feeling comfortable around any of them at this point in my life.
Just as I was about to give up, I stumbled upon one last profile of the night: Jett Stone, a thirty-one-year-old. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at his pictures. His profile stated he stood at six foot three, owned a restaurant, and had lived in the area for about five years. His dark brown hair just brushed against his deep brown eyes, and his body was adorned with tattoos that seemed to tell a story of their own.
Catching myself before I drooled, I swiped yes without a second thought. Just moments later, the app notified me that we had matched, and within about three minutes, I received a message.
Jett Stone: Hello beautiful.