She let out a bitter snort as she paused on one profile of a man claiming to be forty-nine. ‘In your dreams, pal,’ she muttered. There was no way the grey-haired man in the photo was anything under late fifties. Why did these men think they had to resort to lying about their age? Unless they weren’tlookingfor women in their own age bracket. She gave a shudder and went back to the messages.
Albert. Fifty-one. She studied the not-too-shabby image of a bald, neatly dressed man in the small photo. Hobbies: Beach walks, movies, dining out.Seems safe enough, she thought, opening the message attached to the profile photo.
Hi there, beautiful lady. You’re hot. I really want to—
Jenny let out an indignant gasp and clicked delete. Did men honestly think they had a right to say these things to complete strangers? Worse yet, did they actually expect women to respond? He’d looked halfway normal too!
As she was about to shut the page, her computer dinged and an envelope emoji popped up on the screen.Caffeine_ Addictwants to chat!it announced excitedly, and the little envelope jumped and jiggled about on the screen.
Aww.
Stop it, she told herself sternly.It’s not cute. It’s creepy.
And yet, for some reason, she didn’t continue her search for the delete button. With an irritated sigh, she reached over and clicked on the envelope then picked up her glass to take a sip.
There was no photo on the page that opened and Jenny went to delete the message, but she hesitated when the cursor started flashing, indicating that whoever had sent the hello was continuing to type. Well, it was kind of rude to delete a message while someone was in the middle of writing something, she supposed, and clicked on the profile tab to see if there was anything worthwhile reading while she waited for the little cursor to stop jumping.
Easygoing, polite, laid-back with a good sense of humour. No photos as discretion required by employer and occupation, she read. Discretion, huh? Well, that was something that most people on here didn’t seem to think about very often.
The message box popped up and she paused before putting her glass down.
Caffeine_Addict
Hey, Florence … as in Nightingale, I presume … or perhaps not exactly … the original Florence Nightingale didn’t look quite that good in uniform, to be honest.
That bloody fancy dress outfit!Oh, you knew her?she typed back, then gave a disgruntled murmur. Why was she even encouraging this?
Caffeine_Addict
Not well … she was always off somewhere doing something heroic like tending the ill and wounded. No time for fun, that girl.
Florence_71
How inconsiderate of her.
Caffeine_Addict
Exactly. I like your profile. It seems to list an impressive number of extracurricular activities. Hiking, rock-climbing, visiting museums, the theatre … dining out and pottery. You’re a very versatile woman.
She rolled her eyes.Thanks, kids…
Florence_71
Yours, on the other hand, seems very mysterious.
Discretion required by employer and occupation?
Curious.
Caffeine_Addict
Well, you know the drill … I could tell you but then
I’d have to kill you.
Real original, Jenny thought sarcastically.
Caffeine_Addict
