Page 26 of Curvy Girl Summer

“Why wouldn’t I?” He turned away from me to take the order of the man who had just walked up.

I watched him as he grabbed various bottles and started putting a drink together. Unsure of why I trusted the man who had been roasting me for most of my time there, I pulled out my phone and downloaded TenderFish. Once I filled in the preliminary questions of my name, date of birth, gender, sexual orientation, and email, I switched to my photo album and selected a picture of me smiling.

“Oh, wow,” Ahmad commented, leaning over the bar.

My eyes darted up, catching him staring at my phone. “What?”

“You’re smiling. You’ve been frowning the whole time you’ve been here; I didn’t realize you knew how to smile.”

“I smiled when I first walked in here,” I replied. “Back when I had hope.”

He made a face. “Yeah, okay.” He pointed to the phone. “Finish your profile. I’m going to go take care of them.”

While he did his job, I lost myself in creating a bio that quickly and succinctly summed up who I was and what I wanted.

“Damn, you put your blood type and your credit score in there?” Ahmad joked as he approached me. “Why were you over here writing a novel? What did you put in your bio?”

I balked. “I just said a little about me and what I want. Now it’s asking for my celebrity crush.”

“Let me guess…” He squinted at me. “Your celebrity crush is probably Shaw Lockwood.”

“From that superhero movie franchise? The one who just got arrested for fighting on set? That everyone’s been calling mean and problematic?” My face twisted and my lip curled in disgust as the sexy yet troubled star came to mind. “You think my type is mean and problematic?”

He nodded. “You look like you like ’em mean. You know what they say… birds of a feather flock together.”

I rolled my eyes. “And your celebrity crush is probably—”

Before I could get my joke off, he interrupted me. “India Davis.”

Oh!

I loved India Davis. Her music resonated with my soul.

Because I had nothing bad to say about one of my favorite artists, I snapped my mouth closed.

“India Davis is the woman of my dreams.” He beckoned to my phone before crossing his arms over his chest. “Now, let me hear what you put in your profile.”

“No!”

“Come on…”

Once I’d added three additional pictures, my profile was complete. I shook my head as I hit Save and officially entered the world of online dating.

Even though he didn’t ask me again with his words, he stood there, silently begging.

I could use the feedback from a male perspective.

I took a long sip from my glass before I relented. “Fine.” I cleared my throat. “I’m an intelligent, communicative IT professional with no kids. I like to have fun, so karaoke sessions, museum trips, attending concerts, going skating, traveling the world, and trying new adventures are examples of great dates to me. Likes to drink, but no drugs. Likes dogs, but no pets. Likes sex, but no hookups. My ideal date is one that is planned for me with me in mind. So, if you are an honest, loyal, straightforward, funny, smart, thoughtful, single man with a successful career who knows how to plan a date, let’s connect!”

When I looked up at him, there was a confused look on his face.

“What?” I asked. “What do you think?”

“I don’t think anyone is going to read all that.” He lifted his shoulders. “I mean, they might. Your pictures are fire, so they might…”

“So, you think I should change it?”

He shook his head. “If you think all of that is important for someone to know before swiping on you, then I guess you should keep it. But… it’s a lot. I know I wouldn’t read all that, but I’m sure someone will.”

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