I scroll through my various reading apps—yes, I have multiple—and try to get into a story. But all I hear when I read something juicy is Mona’s voice nagging in the back of my head. RED FLAG! RED FLAG! RED FLAG!
Frustrated, I stare up at the ceiling. Damn you, Mona.
Beta Test
Not sure how much longer I have until my roommate’s latest conquest leaves, I grab my phone to look at social media. Which celebrity couples broke up. Which ones are hooking up. Who cheated. Who got knocked up.
An ad catches my eye, and I hate how our phones listen to us. It knows just how to make me feel pathetic most of the time, but this one has me sitting up in bed. It’s a form to be a beta tester for a new dating app.
“No shit,” I mutter, looking through the images in the advertisement. “A dating app called Fairy Tale. Targeted for book lovers in search of a love like the greatest stories ever told.”
It’s a little rough image-wise, but the concept is amazing. Considering it’s in the beginning phases, I have to make sure my expectations are realistic.
The categories match book tropes. Enemies to Lovers. Friends to Lovers. Age Gap. My interest is more than a little piqued now.
I’m not sure how some of them will be pulled off, like Fated Mates and Surprise Pregnancy, but others seem prettystraightforward. And when I see my favorite tropes, I damn near bounce on the bed like a little kid excited to have pizza and ice cream for dinner: Bad Boys and Cowboys. Yes, please.
Men rough around the edges who are only soft for their women make me swoon. I have yet to meet a man like that in real life, but maybe—just maybe—this could work.
The application isn’t difficult, and I have it submitted within ten minutes. There’s a requirement to provide feedback if I’m selected to test the app. As a woman who has reviewed almost every item I’ve ever bought in the past five years, I’ve been training for this.
I scroll through the screenshots one more time, and the front door shutting shakes the wall my headboard leans against. It signals the end of Decker’s date, and I take off my headphones.
The idea of dating men based on my romance book preferences sounds so intriguing that I don’t know how I’ll sleep tonight as I wait to find out if I’ve been selected. More than that, I can stick it to Mona that datingcanbe just like the books. How many guys will I have to date before I findthe one?
I have an overwhelming feeling that this will be the solution to my current dating dilemma. Not only do I know deep down that I’ll be picked, I know this app will bring me to my Prince Charming.
I walk out to get a glass of water, still thinking about the possibilities. I spill water on my shirt and nearly jump out of my skin when Decker’s voice interrupts my thoughts.
“Didn’t turn you on tonight?”
Whipping around, I see him leaning against the side of the kitchen island wearing just a pair of gray sweatpants—fitting the totally drool-worthy stereotype, by the way—and smirking at me.
“Excuse me?” I ask, coughing as I inhale the water rather than drink it.
“Normally, when you come home while I’m with a date, I hear you.”
I fight the flush creeping up my neck, but it does no good. “Hear what?”
Grabbing a towel, I dab at the wet spot on my shirt, making a big production of it. I really just need something to focus on other than Decker fucking Thomas.
“I usually hear the vibrator click on. And moaning when you come as you listen to me bury myself balls deep inside my chick of the night.”
Fuck. “In your dreams, Decker.”
“In your fantasies, Holly Jordan,” he says, and when I look up, his cocky smirk has turned into a wide smile. “I’ll do better next time. Your date didn’t go well?”
He moves toward me to grab a glass from the cabinet right behind me. The golden ring in his nipple is right in front of my face, and I hate how much I want to just jut my chin out slightly and bite it.
“Date sucked. And not in the good way yours tend to end up from the sounds of it.”
“If you ever need someone to help scratch that itch, just say the word. You may be my best friend’s little sister, but you have a killer ass.”
“And how would Will feel about you having your way with his sister?” I counter, even though I want nothing more than to give in.
“Does he need to know?”
The look he gives me says we both know how he’d feel. Will would throw a hissy fit if he knew Decker just offered to fuck me. I can only imagine how he’d react if Decker actually did.
