“Snap out of it!”
“Huh? Oh, right. Anyway, what I was saying is, just go out for one night and have a little fun. Just one. And if you hate it, I’ll never pressure you again. But after six years of being married to the same dude, you gotta go out and just let loose. Fuck the first guy you meet. Let it all out, and,” she grabbed the phone away from Tara’s hands, “it’s time you stop stalking Rowan. He’s with someone else. You need to let it go, and stop this obsession.”
“Fine, you’re right. I’ll give it a shot. But I get to choose the guy, and you don’t get to meddle. Got it?”
“Not a word from me.” Ashley pretended to zip her mouth shut.
“So, what’s this dumb app called anyway?” Tara began to rapidly swipe through her apps to get to the store. “Dating…”
The room fell silent. Ashley was nowhere to be heard as Tara continued to explore the hundreds of different dating apps. “Ash?”
Not a sound was heard.
“Ash!” Tara whipped her head up and saw her friend, still with a pretend zipper over her mouth. She rolled her eyes, “You can talk.”
“Whew!” Ashley let out a sigh. “Good riddance!” She scooted herself closer to where Tara was sitting on the couch. “Alright, let’s see… it starts with an X…”
Within minutes, a profile was created, and Tara found herself scrolling through pages upon pages of eligible bachelors.
“Ooo, that guy’s cute!” Ashley pointed to a blonde guy with a sparkling smile who likes to spend his time running and hiking.
“I thought you weren’t gonna meddle! Besides, he’s too active for me. I like to maintain a sedentary lifestyle.”
“You know you’re just gonna fuck him, right? No one’s forcing you to go on a five-mile run.”
“I know,” Tara said as she continued to scroll. “But I like to keep my options open in case we happen to get along.”
“You mean, in case he has a good dick?” Ashley teased.
“Shut up! Jackpot! Found someone. 6’2, muscular, sexy-ass eyes, and during his free time, he’s… a social media influencer?! No way!”
Now, it was time for Ashley to roll her eyes. “Of course, you pick out the one guy who’s EXACTLY like you. What’s his name?”
“Declan Hayes.” She paused. “Why does that name sound so familiar?”
“Probably one of your millions and millions of fans. I swear, I don’t know how you keep up with them. I would literally blow my brains out if I woke up to thousands of emails in one day.”
“You’re probably right. I’m just being paranoid.”
Tara Bardot: Hey, Declan! I’m Tara. Wanna grab a drink later?