Page 15 of Fling

‘Emily, this is strictly market research for the pitch,’ Tara insisted.

‘Relax, it was a joke. Plus, I can hardly judge. I’m literally a nymphomaniac.’

‘Oh don’t say that. You know there’s no male equivalent term for a nymphomaniac? A man just gets called a legend when he has a lot of sex. You’re just a . . . a . . .’

‘A libra?’

‘Exactly! Well, the Lads think only men know how to sell sex in a presentation and we’re going to prove them wrong,’ Tara said, getting herself worked up.

‘Alright, it’s downloaded. It’s asking if you want to turn on notifications for the app?’

‘Absolutely not,’ Tara said, afraid Colin might see a pop-up message by mistake and think she was having an affair.

‘OK, we’re good to go. Are you ready?’

‘I’m ready,’ Tara said, as she began to pace anxiously around her office. Emily opened the app.

WELCOME TO FLING

CLICK TO SIGN UP

The app had a gorgeous sky blue interface design, which was surprisingly aesthetic considering the seedy nature of the app itself. Emily clicked the icon which brought her to a new page labelled: RULES.

‘OK, here we go. Welcome to Fling, the discreet cheating app to find an anonymous affair online. Discretion is key to the Fling experience, so there are some rules to ensure privacy is maintained,’ Emily read aloud.

Tara felt surprisingly excited. It was as if she had entered some kind of secret club and she immediately wanted to learn more.

‘Go on,’ she said, continuing to pace.

‘Rule number one. Never use your real name. Always use an alias,’ Emily read.

Tara started to feel like some kind of double agent and was intrigued by the idea of being someone else.

‘Rule number two. Do not send photos of your face. Face pictures could be used to blackmail you. Anonymity is essential.’

Tara was a little worried about this aspect. A person could literally be talking to anyone. And arranging to meet up with someone without seeing their face could potentially be dangerous. But that made it feel all the more exciting. There was something so sexy about a perfect stranger.

‘Rule number three,’ continued Emily. ‘Always meet in a public place to determine if you would like to begin a Fling. Never go directly to your match’s home, hotel room, etc.’

‘OK, so it’s kind of like a blind date,’ Tara said. ‘Go on.’

‘Rule number four. When creating your profile, be honest about what you want. Our matchmaking algorithm needs reliable data about what you’re looking for in order to find your matches.’ Emily looked up from Tara’s phone. ‘OK, are you sure you want to do this?’ she asked.

Although Tara tried to convince herself it was purely market research, she felt an unexpected rush of adrenaline. Driving in the bus lane didn’t even come close to this kind of high. She was in too deep to turn back now. ‘In for a penny, in for a pound,’ Tara said.

Emily clicked CREATE PROFILE on the screen and a new window popped up that said ALIAS and PASSWORD.

‘OK, what do you want your fake name to be?’

‘Hmm, I don’t know. I love the name Blanche,’ Tara suggested.

‘No, makes you sound like you’re in a nursing home,’ Emily said, ruling it out.

‘OK, what about Margaret?’

‘Makes you sound like a ghost who’s haunting a nursing home.’

‘OK, OK! How about Claire? I love that name.’

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