Page 62 of Fling

‘Diamonds are formed under pressure, Tara. You taught me that. We both know why you’re really annoyed,’ Emily said cheekily.

‘What do you mean? I’m just stressed over the pitch, I swear,’ Tara lied.

‘Swear on ABBA,’ Emily demanded.

Tara couldn’t do it. ‘OK, fine! I miss Jack, are you happy now?’

‘I should have warned you. If a man’s name begins with J, you’re in for an emotional rollercoaster.’

‘But that’s the problem, Emily. I miss the rollercoaster. I want to get back on. I can feel this emptiness coming back into my chest. Jack made me feel so alive. I’ve been trying to get him out of my mind, but last night, while Colin and I were . . . you know . . . I was fantasizing about Jack the entire time! He’s all I can think about. He’s like a song I can’t get out of my head,’ Tara said, flustered.

‘In my experience, the only way to get a song out of your head is to sing it all the way through. You need to text him,’ Emily said.

‘I wish I could but it’s too late. I stood Jack up and deleted the app in the heat of the moment. My profile is gone,’ Tara said, putting her face in her palms.

‘No it’s not. You just need to sign in again once you re-download it. Here, give me your phone,’ Emily said, holding out her hand.

‘Oh my God, Emily, are you serious?’ Tara said, handing over the phone.

‘That’s literally how all apps work. I swear, you’re hopeless with technology.’ Emily had Fling re-downloaded in a few seconds. ‘OK, let’s see . . . Alias Claire . . . password AbbaGold and . . . look at that, we’re in,’ she said, handing Tara back her phone.

Tara was in shock. She had just assumed that by deleting the app, she had lost Jack forever. It was yet another example of her being behind the times when it came to technology. But now, as she looked at her phone, she could see that Jack was still there in her inbox. She opened their conversation to see the several heart-breaking texts Jack had sent while waiting for her outside The Vine.

‘Oh my God, he waited outside The Vine for over an hour!’ Tara said.

‘What are you waiting for? Text him back already!’ Emily said.

‘But Colin and I are in couples therapy to try and save our marriage. And I can’t do that while having an online affair. God, I used to be a good person,’ Tara sighed.

‘Good people are just bad people who’ve never got caught. Send him the text already before I download Fling and steal him from you,’ Emily said.

‘OK, here goes nothing,’ Tara said, typing out the message.

Claire: Hey there, stranger x

I’m so sorry I disappeared on you

Can we chat at 11.11 tonight? x

Tara didn’t know if Jack would be willing to forgive her for standing him up, but even if she never heard from him again, at least she would know she tried. Still, the idea of him not replying was terrifying for some reason. The mere thought of Jack rejecting her was devastating.

‘Oh my God, what am I going to do if he doesn’t reply? What if we were meant to be together and I ruined everything?’ Tara panicked.

‘Tara, I’m all for you meeting Jack, but don’t you think you’re getting a little emotionally involved? This should really be a no-strings-attached kind of thing,’ Emily said, concerned.

‘I hear what you’re saying, Emily, but there’s just something about Jack. We have this strange connection,’ Tara said, staring off into space.

‘Yeah, it’s called Wi-Fi. He’s still a stranger on the internet, remember? Let’s reserve judgement until you know what he actually looks like.’

‘It’s not even about looks, Emily. Neither of us know what the other one looks like but we really see each other, you know?’

‘You need to stop romanticizing men online. I made that mistake on that sugar daddy website.’

‘What happened?’

‘He took me for lobster but I ended up with crabs,’ Emily said, shrugging her shoulders.

‘Yikes. But Jack is different, Emily, I can feel it in my bones.’

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