Desire In A Kiss. Nicki Night
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Название: Desire In A Kiss
Автор: Nicki Night
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Короткие любовные романы
Серия: The Chandler Legacy
isbn: 9781474080675
isbn:
Chris downloaded the app and started putting together a profile using the name Chris Mullins. He completed every swipe, upload, and tap of a letter with trepidation. He selected a full-body picture so that his facial features wouldn’t be as prominent. His thumb hovered over the image. Once that finger connected with the screen, his profile would become visible to a vast pool of companion seekers. He hated to think that this would make him seem desperate. He tried to bear in mind the reassurance of his friends.
Chris had never been the kind to follow the herd, but this time, knowing that many others had searched for mates online seemed comforting. He wasn’t alone in this. He wasn’t the first. This would expand his options. He personally knew someone who had succeeded in finding a great woman online. Convincing himself worked. He touched the screen, making his profile public. It was official.
He sat up in bed and, resting against the headboard, closed his eyes. Letting out a deep sigh and then a grunt, he blew out his concerns. This couldn’t hurt him. In fact, it could prove to be interesting—fun, even. He didn’t have to commit to anything or anyone. He considered it a new method of blind dating, with the benefit of seeing what your date looked like before you actually met. Curiosity captured his focus as he thought about the possibilities.
He swiped through a few profile pictures, surprised at how many attractive women he found there, but wondered if the images they posted were depictions of what they really looked like.
“Ha!” Chris released a hearty laugh into the silence that enveloped his room. What if he got catfished? That would certainly make for a good story with the guys.
Reading through profiles, he formed a few opinions. There were several options for filtering his search, such as location, interests and ethnicity. The site offered a smorgasbord of women, featuring every type of personality. This he determined much from the pictures alone, which showed women in everything from business suits to minuscule bikinis that advertised all their major “assets.” He did come across one or two that he was tempted to send private messages to but seemed to be at a loss for what to say. That never happened when he was in front of a woman in real life.
Chris laughed at himself again. He still wasn’t one hundred percent sure about this, but he was now official. He was in the game despite his reservations. Connecting his phone to the charger, he lay back down on the bed and pulled the covers up to his neck. Nestling into his memory-foam mattress, he thought about the possibilities until his lids grew heavy enough to shut out all thoughts.
Serenity’s phone buzzed. She snatched it off the desk with one ferocious motion. Holding the phone against her chest, she felt it vibrate slightly at the same rapid pace of her heart. She didn’t know how much longer she’d keep that app on her phone. The constant notifications ran her battery down, but curiosity wouldn’t allow her to mute the alerts. With each buzz, a burst of air radiated in her stomach, sending nervous tremors through her core. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and exhaled. She looked up at the clock. She had three minutes before the third-period bell rang and a herd of seventh graders would come charging into the music room.
Entering the passcode on her screen, she opened the dating app. She had more private messages, one from a gentleman who looked like her favorite uncle. She scrunched her nose and deleted his message without reading it. She hadn’t actually read any of the messages fully. She only saw part of the first line, which was previewed under the subject line. She didn’t know if the sender could tell if she had opened the messages or not. Instead she let them pile up, reducing the likelihood of responding. She clicked on a few more profiles.
Despite her reservations, she was entertained by what people wrote in their profiles. Some kept their introductory lines simple, describing their interests and professions. Others got creative. She stopped short at the profile of a good-looking caramel-colored man with a smooth black goatee, assuming she’d be intrigued by his summary. Instead, what she found caused abrupt laughter to erupt from her mouth.
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
She read the words under his picture again.
Roses are red, violets are tan,
You finally found your perfect man.
Giggling, she took a screenshot of his profile with the cheesy poem and tapped a quick text to her girlfriends on their group chat and uploaded the image.
This is why online dating is a bad idea! LOL!
That text would serve as a source of amusement for the rest of their day. Returning to the dating app and shaking her head, she closed the window of his profile. The next one featured a full-body picture of what looked like a rather handsome man. Serenity zoomed in to see his face better. His summary said he loved music, travel and great wines. The information he provided was minimal, and for some reason that intrigued her. She looked at his zip code and realized that he was also from Nassau County.
The school bell rang long and piercingly. She flinched, launching from her seat. One hand flew to her chest, while the other tightened the grip on her cell phone to keep it from flying out of her hand. In that short amount of time, she’d forgotten where she was.
“Goodness!” She recovered her breath, sighed and opened the music-room door. The second bell rang, and students poured from classrooms, filling the halls with a high volume of chatter.
“Hey, Ms. Williams.”
“Hey, Melanie.”
Serenity held her hand up for Melanie and her other students to slap her high five. Some of the crowd carried their loud chatter from the hallway into her classroom. Girls snickered, boys laughed, friends promised to meet after class.
The next forty-three minutes would take her mind off the dating site. Serenity was thankful for the reprieve. She was curious about the man named Chris Mullins. She pushed him to the back of her mind and closed the door.
“Okay, everyone. Settle down, take your seats and take out your music books. We’re going to start by reading notes. We’re learning a new song today. Turn to page two-fourteen.”
“Sing for us, Ms. Williams,” one of her students called out.
“Open your books, guys.” Serenity smiled and shook her head. She loved everything about music, and she would sing or play one of several instruments for her class when they behaved well.
“Please?” students chorused.
“Yes, Ms. Williams. Please?”
“You promised!”
“I did?” She scanned the room with a skeptical gaze.
“Yes. You said if all of us handed in our papers on time that you’d sing for us next class.”
“Okay, okay.”
Serenity walked over to the piano, sat down, opened one of the music books and flipped through the pages. They loved when she taught them how to play popular music—especially СКАЧАТЬ