Page 2 of Paired with the Mountain Man

“Yo, earth to Adalynn, you in there?” Suzie elbowed me in the side, and I sprung back to reality.

“Yeah, sorry.”

“Another Forrest fantasy huh? You’ve got it bad, girl. Just ask him out already.”

I looked at her like she’d grown three heads. “I think you’ve had too much wine. You’re cut off.”

“Oh relax. Jack will get over it and himself, and you and Forrest will live happily ever after. I see the way he looks at you, Ads. Stop denying it already.”

“He doesn’t look at me in anywayexcept ew, she’s like a little sister to me.” I grimaced, my stomach all twisted in chaotic knots I’d never be able to untie. Not when it came to how this man made me feel.

I needed to forget about him. I moved my finger along the trackpad towards the exit button when Suzie grabbed my arm. “Wait. I have an idea.”

With the wild look in her eyes, I knew her idea wouldn’t be good. Suzie was a bit of a troublemaker even if her heart was in the right place.

“No,” I groaned, drawing the word out. “No way. I don’t want to hear one of your ideas. Knowing you it’s?—”

Suzie cut me off with a loud laugh and I couldn’t help but join my best friend, both of us in a fit of giggles fueled by too much wine. “We’re making you a profile.”

“What? That’s crazy. You’vedefinitelyhad too much wine.”

Suzie nodded her head and tried to grab my laptop, but I held on tight. “Fine, you can make it. I’ll sit here and help.”

“I’m not making a profile on Mountain Mates. Especially not when Forrest is on there.” I snapped the laptop shut and set it down on the coffee table. I grabbed the wine bottle only to find it empty, so I headed to the kitchen to grab more. And maybe some chips. I needed something salty and delicious. Suzie followed behind me, hot on my heels.

“You just need more wine.” She said when we walked into the kitchen. She uncorked the wine while I dished out some pita chips and french onion dip.

“Please explain to me how you think a profile of me on there would help anything. Forrest would see it, tell Jack, and then they’d have a field day roasting me. No thanks.” I sat down at the table and began devouring the chips and dip.

“What if we changed a couple of things?” Suzie said before she disappeared into the living room and returned quickly with our wine glasses.

“Bad idea, nope, no way am I catfishing anyone.”

Suzie poured our wine and laughed, causing her to spill some on the table. “Catfish? Ha! Like the TV show?”

“Yep, bad idea, Suz.”

“We’ll only change your name and your picture. Everything else will be you.”

“Nope. Now pass me that wine. All this talk made me extra thirsty.”

We spent the rest of the night drinking way too much until we passed out on the couch. I remembered doing something on my laptop again, Suzie typing while I laughed and took selfies.

But it was all very hazy, my memories unclear.

Until the next morning when I opened my laptop, the bright screen making my headache worse, only to find a message from userAppleMtnMan43.

Wasn’t that the username from Forrest’s profile?

AppleMtnMan43: Hey! Looks like we matched! What’s up, girl?

I clicked on the profile and zoomed in on the picture.

Forrest’s handsome face filled my screen. Dark brown eyes, a sexy as fuck full beard with clean shaven lines, and all the ink I wanted to lick. It should be a crime to look that good.

But then I froze when my mind truly comprehended the situation.

Uh oh.

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