He rubbed at the condensation on the edge of his glass of Stella. “Have you…uh…been active on your dating apps recently?”

My eyes locked on his fingers stroking the glass. Then his question registered. Dating was the last thing on my mind since leaving Pleasant Hollow. My pain was too raw—yellowtail-sushi-roll raw. But answering “no” would be akin to confessing I still had feelings for him. Then again, my story already had.

Wait. I sat up straight. Did this mean he was dating again? Already? Hookups didn’t require open hearts or emotional availability, but there was no need to rub it in my face.

“Adi?”

“Huh?” My glass shook in my hand and I carefully placed it on the table as my phone pinged a text message.

911. Call me NOW. Use FaceTime.

I froze. Kate didn’t resort to 911 lightly. I jumped off my seat and pointed in the direction we’d come. “Be right back. I need to make an urgent call.” I weaved through the patrons until I reached the exit. Outside, I paced in front of the entrance and called Kate back. The first thing I noticed was her super rosy complexion. “Have you been drinking?”

She pressed a hand to her cheek. “No! It’s excitement, and some irritation.”

I tensed. “Did you have an allergic reaction to something? Did you eat shrimp by accident? Where’s your EpiPen?”

She glowered at me. “Irritation at you, Adi. I’m irritated at you for ignoring my calls!”

I whispered, “I’m with Finn,” and glanced over my shoulder to make sure he hadn’t followed me outside.

She squealed. “You saw it and didn’t tell me?”

Before my eyes, her blush advanced from a subtle pinkish-reddish hue to a deep cranberry color. “Saw what?”

“I was on Hinge and—”

I groaned. “Not this again.”

Her shoulders slumped and her eyes turned glassy. “I’m tired. So very, very tired from studying.”

“So you thought you’d troll the dating apps?”

She pouted. “I was checking up on Finn. Which brings me to my call. Calls,” she repeated, enunciating the s. “His updated dating profile is a love letter.” She paused dramatically. “To you.”

My mouth dropped open. “It’s a what to who?”

Kate grinned. “I’m texting you screen shots now. Don’t call me back. You’ve kept your man waiting long enough.” She ended the call.

A series of texts came flurrying in right after, and I enlarged the various screenshots of Finn’s Hinge profile as the phrase “your man” whirled around my brain.

You should leave a comment if:

You are Adina Gellar and you are interested in a long-term, monogamous relationship with a new and improved version of me.

I gasped.

The dorkiest thing about me:

I have recently become addicted to romantic comedies on TV, especially the ones with a woman trying to save her small town from development by an outsider.