Page 63 of April

Assuming it wasn’t actually Stephania who’d messaged her but someone else who was hiding behind a real woman’s identity, Asher was tempted to ignore the message altogether, but she kept glancing at her phone as she sat at her desk at work. She knew she was right; she knew it. Someone was just trying to get her to meet up with a model, but it would end up being a fifty-year-old man who did this for fun because he lived with his aging, sick mother and had no friends. It had to be that, right?

Asher Hahn: This is a joke, right? A trick? If you’re not Stephania, can you just tell me now so that I don’t waste my time? It’s not like anything would happen if we met in person and you turned out to be someone else. I’m not sure many people would want anything to do with a liar who’s pretending to be a famous person.

She hit send on the message before she could talk herself out of it, set the phone back down, and opened her work email on her computer. Seconds later, she received a notification. Great, someone was confessing, and she would no longer have to wonder if she was being lied to. Asher opened the app again and noticed that there was a request to receive a video message. The app did that when someone received a video from someone else for the first time. Asher didn’t click on it, but as she was trying tofigure out what to do, a regular message came in right below the file.

Stephania: I promise, it’s not a dick pic. It’s just a video of me proving to you who I am. I get this a lot. Yes, it’s me. Yes, I’m on this app. I’ve been on it for years. I travel a lot, so it’s hard to date and meet people sometimes, and every so often, I scroll through profiles. I rarely reach out, but I saw yours, and I wanted to. If you don’t believe me, that’s fine. Watch the video. Hopefully, that helps. If you want to chat here for a while, that’s cool. I’m in New Orleans for the next three weeks, but I’m actually buying a house here, too, soon, I hope, so I’ll be back.

The message ended with a smiling face emoji.

Asher couldn’t resist. She clicked on the video message and prayed she wasn’t about to get an unsolicited video of a guy getting himself off or a woman doing the same. She also prayed that she wasn’t about to get some malware or virus installed on her phone.

“Hi, Asher,” Stephania said in the video. “It’s Stephania.” She pointed to herself. “Really me. I’m in New Orleans at the studio today, doing a shoot for a magazine.” She moved the phone a bit so that the camera showed one of the local film studios behind her. “And I’d love to talk to you on the app or meet for coffee. Public place; I know. I’ll wear a hat or something.” She laughed. “Anyway, if you’re interested, let me know. If not, I get it, but it really is me.”

The woman smiled again, and the video ended.

“Shit,” Asher said in disbelief.

She’d said her name. Stephania had said Asher’s name, so it wasn’t an old video that someone was using to trick her. Stephania, the sexy supermodel with the husky voice, wanted to talk to her.

Asher Hahn: So… It’s you, huh?

She didn’t expect to get a message right back, but within a few seconds, there was Stephania’s reply.

Stephania: Yes, it’s me. Told you so.

While Asher chuckled at that, another message came in.

Stephania: I joined this app about seven years ago now, I think. I’d been doing some local stuff in LA at the time, and I had just come out. I was twenty-three and thought the best place to meet eligible women would be an app. I got scouted by my now-agent a few years later, but I never deleted the thing. Now, I’m a little more well-known but still single, and I come on here usually when I’m bored to see if there’s anyone wherever I’m going who I might want to talk to. I have rarely met the women in person, but one time when I did, I met my girlfriend of seven months. That ended amicably, but I keep the app because, I guess, sometimes it works. So, now, I’m messaging you. Hi!

Asher laughed at that last little word. ‘Hi!’ It was so cute that she had to smile, blushing at the same time.

“Hi,” Linden said.

Asher looked up, still smiling.

“What’s going on? Why do you look like a giddy schoolgirl?” She walked into Asher’s office.

“It’s her.”

“What is her?Whois her, technically?”

“Stephania. It’s really her.”

“What? How do you–”

“Hey, we’re here,” Sophie announced from behind Linden as she walked into the office hand in hand with Bryce, looking very much in love.

“Hey, Asher.” Bryce smiled.

“Hey. How are you?” Linden asked as she pulled Bryce into a one-armed hug because Bryce wasn’t going to let go of Sophie’s hand.

“I’m good. You?”

“Yeah. Good,” Linden said, but not in the same excited tone she had used when she’d just seen Bryce. “Are we doing lunch?”

“Yeah, let’s go. Are you ready?” Sophie asked Asher.

“Uh…” Asher really wanted to say no and skip lunch, but she’d promised Linden that she would be there to act as the distraction for whatever she and Bryce were up to. “Yeah. Just give me one sec.”

---