by Anya Nowlan
When he professed his love for her, Karen finally broke it off. She didn’t feel the same. That’s when the crazy came out – non-stop calls, texts, messages on Facebook.
At first she tried reasoning with him, consoling him even. But when his words turned nasty, she decided not to add any fuel to the fire and stopped responding altogether. Not that it deterred him.
Later that evening, in her shoebox of an apartment, Karen opened a bottle of wine and fired up her tired little laptop. She checked her social media pages, wrinkling her nose at all the photos of diamond rings and baby bumps. Karen felt left behind – no career, no family of her own, only thoughts of restraining orders keeping her warm at night. Perhaps her mom was on to something after all. Isn’t life meant to be shared?
To her mild horror, Karen found herself switching between browsing Instagram and looking up dating sites. It was a brave new world out there. Meeting people online was totally normal, right?
Amish Connection? How are they even supposed to sign up? Karen thought, scrolling through the options.
Finally, she found a page that looked like it would attract the least weirdos. Bonus, signing up was free. She took another sip of liquid courage before typing in something that could have counted as a witty screen name.
What’s the harm, right?
Plus, this could have the added benefit of getting her mom off her back. Lying about non-existent men and imaginary dates was only going to get her so far.
Let’s do this, she thought with a sigh.
Karen recalled the last time her mom had set her up with someone and shuddered. There had to have been better options out there.
She could hear her phone buzzing in her purse and ignored it.
Scrolling through the profiles of one hyper masculine hiking and/or fishing enthusiast after another, she finally realized she had stumbled upon a dating site for humans and shifters. Shifters had come out of the closet, so to speak, a while ago now, but still liked to mostly keep to themselves. Some people were still uncomfortable with the clear physical advantage they had over regular humans and felt either threatened or jealous. Karen was unperturbed.
Well, this is a nice change from the hipsters and aspiring screenwriters of New York, she mused. She poured herself another glass of wine and clicked on a few profiles. Who the hell likes Nickelback? Next. Oh, hello there, Evan.
If there ever was an embodiment of the tall, dark and handsome cliché, it was him. Tan, built, hazel eyes and luscious dark brown hair. They seemed to have similar tastes in movies and music. His pictures showed someone very outdoorsy and adventurous, which brought back happy childhood memories of her grandparents’ farm.
The grin he wore on his profile picture was mischievous, but his eyes were kind. Intricate tattoos peeked out from under his rolled up sleeves. Karen gulped down her glass of cheap chardonnay, poured another and started typing.
So what do I write? ‘I’m new at this whole Internet dating thing, we seem to have some similar interests and I can’t quite stop staring at your face?’ That’ll get me a date.
She rolled her eyes.
It was supposed to be more of an inner monologue, but once she had typed it out, it was just too honest to delete. She hit send, giggling like a little girl. She felt brave and invigorated.
Maybe I am ready to date again?
It was either that or the rather large glass of wine she’d consumed. Either-or.
* * *
Karen awoke at seven thirty to the sound of her alarm, like she had for almost a month now. But the worker she was subbing for was due back any day and her attempts at finding a more permanent solution had not yet been fruitful.
She grabbed her phone from the nightstand. 12 missed calls and 7 unread texts. But what was that? A notification from the dating site?
Someone has replied to my message?
Don’t’ worry, I’m new to it too. I like your honesty... among other things ;) Evan
Ooh! I like him already, Karen thought, pulling herself out of bed and mentally crafting the best response.
By the time Karen got to work, she and Evan had already exchanged a couple of flirty messages. She let him know that she may not reply for a while – sadly they did not pay her to message hot guys.
Wouldn’t that be great…
On her lunch break, Karen took the opportunity to have a more thorough look at his profile. With disappointment, she saw his location was Wyoming.
Crap!
How had she not noticed that before? She shot him another message.
I’ve just realized we live states apart.
Karen’s phone dinged just a couple of minutes later.
Sweetwater is a great place for some relaxation and fresh air, in case you’re thinking about taking a little vacation.
Now that was practically an invitation. He was definitely one delicious man, but she was not just going to up and get on a plane to Wyoming to see someone she had never met and who could very possibly be an axe murderer.
Plus, this was just supposed to be a little dip back into the dating pool so she could get her mother off her back. Going to visit him would have been more of a deep-dive. She decided to leave the message unanswered for now and get back to work.
As she was making some copies, her manager Cheryl walked up to her.
“Hey, Karen, do you have a minute?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Felicity’s mom is doing a lot better and she’s ready to come back to work. You’ll still come in tomorrow, but on Monday we’ll no longer need you. I’m sorry, you have really done a great job, but it was always going to be temporary.”
“Thanks for letting me know,” Karen responded, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
It’s not like Karen didn’t know that it was coming. She’d just really grown to like the place. It was nice and quiet, and Cheryl was a good boss. Karen contacted the temp agency again, but they didn’t have anything to offer at that moment. After finishing up her day, she grabbed some take-out on the way home.
She still hadn’t answered Evan’s message, which was bugging her, but she just didn’t know what to say.
As she reached the steps of her apartment building, she heard someone calling her name. Turning around, she saw Kyle walking towards her. He was a tall, lean man with a thin face and pointy features. Dirty blond curls peeked out from under his hoodie. He was handsome in a tortured musician type of way.
The polar opposite of Evan, she mused with some morbid humor.
“Kyle, I have nothing more to say to you. Please leave,” Karen started with a sigh.
“Look, I’ve had some time to think and I really believe we are good together. We made each other happy, remember? What else could you ask for?” he said, spreading his hands as if he was expecting her to run right back to him.
“Love. I deserve to be with someone I truly love and you deserve to be with someone who truly loves you. I’m sure you’ll find that person, but it’s not me,” she said sternly.
Kyle needed someone whose life revolved around him, while Karen was looking for more of a partnership.
Kyle’s tone turned from whispered pleading to angry iciness, “Oh, so you think I don’t deserve you? A little stripper whore with nothing going for her? You should be begging for me to take you back!”
“Fuck you,” Karen said, fury in her voice. She turned to her apartment complex and started to walk up the stairs.
Kyle grabbed her arm and pulled her back with such force that she almost fell on her ass.
“Who do you think you are? Don’t you walk away from me while I’m talking to you!”
“Let go of me or I’m calling the cops,” Karen hissed at him.
A group of twenty-somethings rounded the corner, laughing and talking amongst themselves, prompting Kyle to let go of her arm and take a step back.
“Don’t ever show up here again,” Karen said, leaping up the stairs.
She practically ran
the steps to her place, only stopping to listen if he was following her. Her heart was beating so loud that it was almost deafening. As she locked the door behind her, she noticed how badly her hands were shaking.
That son of a bitch!
Karen wasn’t exactly proud of her past, but she didn’t deserve to be shamed for it. Fuck people’s prejudices and double standards, and men who think calling women whores makes them a tough guy.
She opened her laptop and started typing.
Three
Evan
With a sigh, Evan sank into his couch. He had just gotten back from dinner with his brother Ethan and his new wife, Jennifer.
Ethan had always been the more serious and responsible one, even back when they were kids. Maybe it was because he was the oldest and had to look after his brothers, or maybe it was because he always knew he would be Alpha one day. He commanded respect, was brave but never foolhardy. He only let his guard down when amongst those closest to him – that was when you could coax out a smile or a couple of laughs.
The Ethan Evan saw now was almost like a different man. Jennifer brought out the more easygoing side of him, made him less stern. The way he kept glancing at her during dinner, held her hand under the table, the way he laughed, no longer concerned about showing weakness... It made Evan wonder.
He was going to just grab a beer from the fridge but ended up pouring himself a glass of whiskey instead.
He thought he had found love too, once. Seeing his brother happy made him happy, but it also brought back memories of his own joy turning to ash.
Evan sat back down and opened his laptop. He had a new e-mail from Tom, confirming another match for next Friday. The bear inside him growled, remembering the last fight and itching for some release. Evan put on a playlist of his favorite tunes and refilled his already empty glass.
Then he filled it again.
And again.
He thought of Rita, his ex, and the way her hair smelled when she had just gotten out of the shower. The way her soft hands felt running down his arms. He thought about how Ethan looked at his wedding when Jennifer walked down the aisle. He thought about many things, and then none at all.
Evan woke up, still clothed and on his couch. The sun was barely up, but he knew that once awake, he would no longer fall back asleep. An empty whiskey bottle lay on its side next to the couch. Groggy and slightly nauseous, he dragged himself into the bathroom and took a shower. Het put on some clean clothes and made his way to the kitchen.
The fridge was empty.
Of course it is.
Evan’s head was beginning to pound so he downed an Advil, plopped back down on the couch and grabbed his computer from the coffee table. He had two unread messages – one congratulating him on successfully registering to SassyDates and another saying “Someone messaged you!”
Evan groaned into his hands.
He should have known better than to mix whiskey and self-pity. He vaguely remembered setting up a profile before passing out. Evan briefly thought about deleting it, but decided to check out the message first.
Hello, Karen. He read the message and chuckled. Straightforward, I like it.
They seemed to have similar tastes, so he scrolled to her picture.
Wow.
Fiery curly hair framed a heart-shaped face with the cutest little button-nose and sensual full lips. She seemed to be at a park, leaning casually against a tree. A simple white t-shirt hugged her hourglass shape, black jeans accentuating her ample hips.
The bear inside Evan perked up. Drunken decisions were almost never good, but this one had potential. He decided to reply as honestly as she had.
After some messages and Karen saying she really should get some actual work done, Evan threw on his leather jacket and made his way to Maisy’s Diner – nothing like a greasy breakfast to cure a nasty hangover.
Evan’s house was pretty close to the diner in the center of town so he decided to walk. He arrived before the breakfast rush, if you could call it that in sleepy Sweetwater. Grabbing a booth, he checked his phone without even thinking.
That hooked already? he thought to himself. Guess so, he concluded, seeing no new messages from Karen and setting it down with a slightly disappointed sigh.
Maisy appeared next to him with a smile on her face and a menu in her hand. She was in her early thirties, but the freckles made her seem younger.
“Rough night? Getcha some coffee?” she chirped.
“I’ve had rougher,” Evan said with a wink. “But coffee would be great.”
“Yeah, no visible bruises, I see,” Maisy replied cheekily. “Anything to eat?”
“A stack of bacon pancakes and some fried eggs would be heavenly.”
“Coming right up!”
Evan and Maisy liked to tease each other and got along great in general, which had at first prompted people – his brother Everett in particular – to hint at romantic possibilities. The truth was, they were more like brother and sister, neither of them entertaining thoughts of anything more.
He didn’t have to wait long for his food, and after having sufficiently clogged his arteries, he felt so much better that he went back to his house, grabbed his duffel bag and hit the gym.
By lunchtime, Evan had already finished his workout, gone to the grocery store and was now in his kitchen, drinking a protein shake. He was painfully aware that he was checking his phone about ten times more often than usual. His bear was also growing more anxious than normal.
What is it about this woman?
When his phone buzzed, he practically leapt at it. In her message, Karen was worried that they lived so far apart. He hadn’t even met her, but he felt like he knew all he needed to already.
His animal side was lashing out, impatient and angry, as if saying, She is ours. Don’t let her get away.
She was funny, smart and made his bear lose its mind.
Love via first text? Maybe.
He wanted to hear her voice, smell her scent and taste her lips. He tried to word his reply in a way that would be an invitation, but wouldn’t put too much pressure on her. After typing in the text and hitting send, Evan attempted to go about his day, but as the hours passed with no response, he started to fear he’d come on too strong and scared her away.
The thought terrified him and his bear – something that had never happened to Evan Grimpaw.
Around seven, as Evan was trying really hard to concentrate on watching TV, his phone finally buzzed with a message from Karen.
Got any good hotel suggestions?
Evan’s heart began pounding. She had better not have been joking, or he might just have to go get another bottle of whiskey, or five. Just a minute later, his phone lit up again.
P.S. I used to be an exotic dancer and if that bothers you, you can kindly fuck off.
Evan burst out laughing.
This girl just might be the end of me. I can’t wait.
Four
Karen
Turbulence almost made Karen spill her vodka soda all over her dress. She wasn’t usually a day drinker, but she had never been a fan of flying and this was one of the bumpiest rides she had ever had. And she hadn’t uprooted her life to go visit a sexy lumberjack in the middle of nowhere before either.
The alcohol helped... a little.
She started scrolling through her messages with Evan to get her mind off the fact that she was probably going to plummet to her fiery death very soon.
And they say I’m not an optimist.
After Evan had responded to what she thought could be a deal breaker with a playful “I’m actually a horrible dancer. If you can live with that, I think we’re good,” they had been messaging each other quite regularly. They also Skyped once, just so Karen could be sure she wasn’t being catfished.
I mean, what are the chances a guy who looks like that is still single?
He was definitely who he said he was, even holding his ID up to the screen so Karen could check. But that didn’t mean h
e still couldn’t be a crazy killer waiting to stab her through a shower curtain. Karen certainly hadn’t pegged Kyle as the absolute jerk he had turned out to be. So when Evan said she was welcome to stay at his place, she politely declined, saying she wouldn’t dream of such an imposition. Evan didn’t press the matter.
“There aren’t exactly many hotels in Sweetwater, but a buddy of mine runs a little bed and breakfast near the town center. He’ll probably give you a discount.”
Karen jumped at the chance. She had finished up her week at work with no prospects in sight. Luckily, she had some money put aside, but with no stable source of income, she had to stay frugal. To her surprise, Karen was okay with how things had turned out. That job wasn’t going to be forever, anyway. Plus, she hadn’t had a vacation in… pretty much ever.
If Kyle was still lurking around her apartment, he was in for some majorly disappointing stalking. Of course, her mother was thrilled a nice country boy was interested in her daughter. If she’s believed in such nonsense, Karen might even have called it fate.
The pilot came on through the intercom and announced they would be landing in 15 minutes. Karen downed what was left of her drink and started fussing with her dress, trying to smooth out any wrinkles. It had been a while since she had foregone the comfort of jeans or slacks and she was feeling a bit self-conscious.
Am I trying too hard? she thought.
It was just a simple yellow cotton dress paired with black tights and lace-up boots. Her leather jacket was tucked away in the overhead compartment. She grabbed a compact from her purse to see if she needed to powder her nose or touch up her mascara. As the plane started its descent, Karen’s stomach filled with butterflies, and for once, it had nothing to do with the flight.
Karen disembarked and made it to baggage claim in a flurry of nervous energy. She picked up her weathered little suitcase and headed to arrivals, where Evan had said he would be waiting for her. She scanned the endless mess of hugging spouses and family members with increasing anxiousness. Had Evan chickened out? He was the one who had invited her... or had she assumed too much and he’d just been too polite to correct her?