Page 9 of Love on the Line

Mathias chuckled. “No. Just followinglogical thinking. The engineer in me.” He paused, and before she could sayanything more, he asked, “Amelia Jane, I’m going to take a leap and ask if youthink it’s too soon to plan to meet one another on Saturday?”

She remained silent as she let the whisperof her name from him float through the air. She couldn’t even stammer aresponse. Her mind suddenly flooded with yeses andnos,with pros and cons, with a host of scenarios playing out in her head.

“We could continue to talk with oneanother, get to know more about each other little by little every day leadingup to Saturday. Because what I’ve heard so far has me wanting to know more.”

“Really?” she squeaked out, surprised heseemed to feel the same way she did. And surprised at herself for feeling thisway so quickly. “You want to spend your Sunday evening talking to a stranger?”

“Yes. Really.”

AJ grinned from ear to ear, ridiculouslypleased and nervously hopeful. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

“So, now what?”

“Now, we get to know more about eachother. So how long before you get over this road bump?”

“Wow, right to it. Um, I’m not sure. Myagency has been great, but I seem to be lacking my drive.”

“And you need a confidence booster. Oryou’re reevaluating whether to stay in the profession. Or you’re recoveringfrom a pulled hammy while doing the splits during practice out on the ice.”

More laughter. “What is it with you andthis ice girl fantasy?”

“Well, they’re terrific dancers intremendous shape. They’re usually gorgeous and wear those sexy little outfits. What’snot to like?”

“So it’s all about appearances, is it?”she asked teasingly.

“Absolutely,” he returned, his sarcasmevident. “Isn’t that what we’ve learned from social media these days?”

“So you’ll be thrilled when I tell you Ilook just like Miley Cyrus. Because that’s the look I’ve been going for thesedays. She’s all the rage,don’chaknow, what withbeing such a marvelous judge on TV and all. Not to mention her eye-fetchingattire and sassy attitude.”

“Then you’ll be happy to hear I likesassy. And I look exactly like ChrisHemsworth. Andeven though Miley preferred Liam, let’s just say maturity has its advantages.”

“And let me just say I actually preferolder guys, and due to my diligence at staying in shape, twerking on the ice isa sight to behold.”

Matthew’s deep laughter washed over AJ,infusing her with joy and comfort. It’d been much too long since she felt thisat ease, and with a complete stranger no less.

“Oh, AJ, you are a joy.”

“I know, right?” She couldn’t help thegiggles that escaped her. Followed by a snort. But only a little one. “Ohmy gosh, I’m sorry.” But she proceeded to continue herlaughter, followed by more snorting.

“You’re on a roll. I’m glad I could be soentertaining.”

“I haven’t had this much fun in, well, insome time.” As she began to calm down, she extracted herself from the couch andmade her way into the kitchen for something to drink.

He must have heard her noises as he asked,“Is it time for cocktails?”

“No, just needed some water.” After takingher drink, she said, “So, Mathias, you obviously don’t think much of socialmedia, yet here you are using this chat service. Care to explain?”

“It’s not that I don’t think much ofsocial media. I think it’s all in how it’s used. The saying is true that it’s acurse and a blessing. While it may bring people closer together, making theworld seem smaller, there are definite dangers. Too many have become dependenton the different platforms, their lives are immersed in it. There’s not enoughhuman interaction these days. And not everything is portrayed truthfully, sopeople need to do their research. They need to distinguish between truth andfalse truths. People just need to be smarter about it, and children and teensdefinitely need guidance and monitoring.”

“That’s quite the soapbox.” AJ teased.

Mathias chuckled. “Yeah, I can really getgoing on a subject.”

“Well, I happen to agree with everythingyou just said. And I admit, when social media came along, I was a junkie. I wasable to reconnect with faraway relatives as well as school friends no longer inthe area. Now there’s a plethora of sites that can make it all overwhelming, butI love being able to not only follow celebrities and authors, also newschannels and charity sites. I can be entertained by dancing dogs one minute andmotivated by a yoga practitioner the next. In the past I was checking my phoneevery thirty minutes it seemed. Now I’ve learned to control my obsession bylimiting the sites I engage in while dedicating no more than an hour of my dayto them. Otherwise, I could easily spend hours upon hours at it.” She endedwith a chuckle.

“I know what you mean. I was the same fora while also. But setting limits, even for adults, is a good thing. It’s crazyhow it’s taken over many lives. I was waiting in my physician’s reception areajust a few weeks ago, and out of a dozen people there, I was the only one whosenose was not glued to their phone. They even had a sign posted on their desk,giving the office’sWifiguest passcode. That alonetells you something.”

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