Page 78 of Fling

‘You met her on an anonymous affair app under a fake name. The whole point is to be someone else!’

‘Well, maybe I like being Jack more than I like being Colin.’

‘Now is not the time for an existential crisis, Col. This is about sex, not premature e-Jack-ulation,’ Rory said.

‘You’ll understand how I’m feeling one day, Rory,’ Colin said.

‘It’s nothing a healthy dose of post-nut clarity wouldn’t cure anyway.’

‘What’s that?’

‘It’s when your feelings for someone magically disappear after you’ve had sex with them. Just wait and see, it’ll happen after you get with Claire tonight,’ Rory said.

‘Not if the sex is life-changing,’ Colin said as they arrived at his ball on the green. ‘Putter.’

Rory sighed and took Colin’s putter out of the bag. ‘Put her in any position you want, you’ll still lose your feelings for her after you do the deed. And if you don’t, well, then it must be love,’ Rory said, handing him the club.

‘Time will tell. I guess now all I have to do is enjoy my well-earned game of golf while I wait for this evening,’ Colin said, gripping his putter in his hand. He tapped the ball and watched it roll into the hole. ‘Good thing we’ve got seventeen more holes to go.’

‘I thought we agreed nine holes!’ Rory said, fuming.

‘You’re the one who’s always saying every hole’s a goal,’ Colin smiled.

‘I WASN’T TALKING ABOUT GOLF!’

Chapter 25

Tara spent her Friday lunch break getting the one thing that can give any Irish woman the confidence to do anything.

A curly blow-dry.

She didn’t often indulge in such a treat but she was determined to make the best impression possible with Jack later that night. When she arrived back at her office, her hair bounced with limitless volume.

After each late-night rendezvous that week, Tara felt closer and closer to Jack. He told her about how his wife didn’t let him be the man he truly was, but that with Claire, he felt he could be his true masculine self. And Jack made her feel so comfortable in her femininity. She felt like she had accessed some higher plane of existence where she could embody the divine feminine. It was a feeling of sensual power.

She wasn’t planning on sleeping with Jack but the thought had certainly crossed her mind. After all, he made her feel things she hadn’t felt in years. The way Colin used to make her feel. Tara had given herself to Colin completely on the first night they met but it didn’t feel rushed. It felt right. And somehow, she felt the same way about Jack. But she knew that didn’t make any sense considering she didn’t even know what he looked like. Anonymity was sexy in the fantasy realm of Fling, but there was no way to be anonymous on a real date. The blindfold had to come off. And yet, her instincts told her that her feelings for Jack were real. She felt completely aligned with her destiny, ready to take a leap of faith to discover her fate.

But first things first, Tara still had work to do. Her pitch for Dick Mulligan was on Monday morning so she asked Emily to help her put the final touches on the slides. Everything was pretty much ready but she still hadn’t come up with a catchy slogan to tie the campaign together. It was still missing a hook.

‘What about . . . “You have the ring, now find a fling”,’ Tara said.

‘Hmm, it feels a bit forced. And I don’t think it needs to rhyme,’ Emily said, unimpressed.

‘OK, what about “Have your cake . . . and eat it too”,’ Tara suggested.

‘It kinda just makes me want cake.’ Emily shrugged.

‘Ugh, me too. And I haven’t eaten a single carb all week,’ Tara sighed, suddenly remembering how hungry she was.

‘I saw you eat a biscuit this morning,’ Emily said, calling her out.

‘Don’t tell me there are carbs in biscuits? I thought they were full of fat?’

‘You probably should have researched this diet more,’ Emily laughed to herself.

‘OK, well, today can be my cheat day then,’ Tara decided. ‘Wait, would that be a good slogan? “Everyone needs a cheat day”?’

‘It makes me think that there’s a specific day of the year to cheat. But that’s actually not the worst idea in the world. One day a year where you’re allowed to have an affair without any consequences. Like a national holiday,’ Emily said, thinking out loud.

---