pushed into the bathroom and leaned against the sink, breathing hard and fast. Fuck my life.
It took me a full minute of deep breathing to stop shaking. I inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, shaking out my arms. Then I ran my fingers through my hair, plucked my cheeks and wiped under my eyes. Okay. I would march out there, say good night to Jerome, get my phone from where I’d left it in my chair, and go to bed. No harm done.
But when I opened the bathroom door, Shawn pushed off the wall and stood before me, peering down with genuine concern in his eyes. His nearness made my heart sputter.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I almost told you, but I didn’t want you to think I was assuming you were interested in me or something. I was just really enjoying our conversation and your company.”
“It’s okay,” I said, swallowing again. “I should probably just go to bed, though.”
“No, please.” His eyes were pitiful, making me sigh. “Just a little while longer? You don’t have to talk to me anymore if you don’t want. But I don’t want to chase you off. We can be friends, right?”
I wanted to tell him I had enough friends, but the sweetness in his eyes made me tamp down the fire I felt. “Sure.” I didn’t want to be friends, but I also didn’t think he’d meant to do any harm, so I would try to let go of my disappointment and just enjoy the night.
He grinned and headed back to our seats, but I was snagged around the waist by Jerome as “Get Low” hit my ears. Oh, yes. This I could do. I laughed and raised my arms up as the entire freaking room began to dance. Literally, not a body was still, and everyone shouted the lyrics. To the windowwww, to the wall! I laughed as we danced, and through the movement I caught sight of Shawn in his chair, just watching us with that half-grin, his eyes looking thoughtful. I might have done my sexiest dance moves, letting my ass fall in rhythm all the way to the floor. Whoopsie. Soldiers hooted all around me, making me feel like an entertainer extraordinaire.
We all cheered when the song ended and I hugged Jerome before making my way back to my drink. I probably shouldn’t have had anymore, but self-control when it came to alcohol had never been my strong suit. I threw it back, making Shawn raise his eyebrows.
“You good?”
“Yeah,” I said, though I felt a little pissy at him for not being single. The nerve.
I picked up my phone to look at the time and that stupid firework icon was still there. Only it had a notification bubble with the number 100 on it.
“What the hell?” I whispered. I needed to get rid of this annoying thing. I clicked it. To my shock and confusion, a picture of me came up on the screen with my name and age. Was I hacked? I looked at the top of the screen. This was not some kind of update. It was an app. My heart slowed and then gave a hard thump that got harder and faster. I fell into my chair.
“Sparks, huh?” Shawn asked.
“No,” I breathed. I’d never downloaded this app. Something was wrong.
“No shame in it,” he went on. “Most of these kids are on it, too.”
“No,” I said a little firmer and louder. “I’m not on Sparks. I’ve never done online dating.”
“Uh…” He pulled a face and glanced down at the app.
We both leaned in together as I clicked my picture and it opened a profile. I scrolled down and read the bio out loud. “Hey fellas. I’m a flight attendant from Virginia Beach. No kids, never married. Looking for some fun, and then the one. What the fuck?!”
“Wait, are you saying you didn’t do this?”
“No!” I raised my face but my eyes couldn’t focus. My head shook side-to-side and I suddenly remembered Holly on the phone earlier, asking me how mad I was at her.
“Oh, my God.” My eyes cleared as I looked at Shawn. “My friends did this. Holy shit. I’m going to kill them!”
His face lit up in a genuine smile and he laughed. “Are you kidding me? That’s fucking hilarious. Let’s look at it!”
“No!” Panic flared in my chest. “I need to delete it!”
But first I needed to see the damage. I scrolled down a bit further until it showed my life’s “theme song.”
“Fat Bottomed Girls