The Sound of You **on hold**

Chapter 2

"Whose bright idea was this anyway?" Simone scoffs as she cowers behind a beam near our table at O'Brien's Pub late Tuesday night, peeking around it across the bar.

"Oh come on, this will be fun!" Pauline says as she sways to the party anthem playing over our heads. She takes Simone by both shoulders and shakes them, attempting to loosen her up. We are looking through the large book of songs deciding what we will sing for karaoke when it starts later. I sip my gin and tonic and let it warm my body as it slides down my throat.

Simone looks around and announces, "I'm going to get another drink. Someone come with me?" Pauline jumps up since she's hardly able to keep herself still in her seat as it is. She dances over to the bar with Simone and they have a seat while they wait for the attention of the bartender. I see a couple of good looking guys in the bar and I decide to open my phone and find the Tinder icon. I immediately swipe left on the first two, then the third one catches my eye. Twenty-six, blonde, well-groomed short hair, olive skin tone and a prize winning smile. I flip through the photos and I can see he's a hockey player and a dog lover. Definitely a right swipe. The next one has a bit longer, light coloured hair, dark eyes, and a modest, closed mouth smile. He's gorgeous, and I'm curious to know what he looks like when he's wearing a genuinely happy smile. I flip through his photos and scan down his profile. He's twenty-four, and he seems to enjoy the outdoors and snowboarding. I hate winter and getting dirty, so I swipe left.

"Ouch! Hard pass eh?" A strong voice says from above me. Eep! I look up and the outdoorsy, snowboarding, dark-haired grinner is leaning over the half wall that separates the raised platform side of the bar from the area I'm seated in.

I grin sheepishly, willing myself to shrink and become invisible. I've never been called out on rejecting someone before. That's the whole point of Tinder! Shameless match ups based on minimal information and the option to pass on someone for minor details. "Sorry." I shrug apologetically, "I'm not interested in snowboarding or canoeing."

"But what if I'm a great lay!" He holds his arms out in disbelief at what I said. He flashes me a smile, and my questions are answered. When this man smiles, his whole face smiles. He exposes the dimples he was hiding online. His eyes sparkle and I can see lines next to them that suggest he laughs a lot. I notice two beauty marks on his right cheek that are barely an inch apart, which some would fault, or wish to be removed, but they definitely belong on his gorgeous face. He folds his arms across his broad chest and I see his biceps bulging beneath short sleeves. His forearms are covered in tattoos and my eyes concentrate on a cross on the part of his arm facing me.

I mentally slurp in the drool I imagine dripping from my mouth and realize what he actually said out loud to me. A great lay? He is ironically self-assured. Not what I would have expected from his profile. I suck up my embarrassment and narrow my eyes.

"Sorry." Not sorry. "I'm not that kind of girl." I tilt my head, bat my eyes, and give him a fake smile. He narrows his eyes at me, raking his eyes down what he can see of my body hidden behind the table in the shadows. His eyes settle on the scarf around my neck, probably disappointed there isn't any cleavage to look at. The music suddenly quiets and the karaoke host starts introducing the night's festivities.

"I didn't think you were." He unfolds his inked arms and kicks his foot casually against the wall he's leaning on. "Maybe you should try some new activities. You might like it." He gives me a wink and walks off to an area with pool tables as Sweet Child of Mine starts playing for the karaoke host. I glance towards the stage and see the punky girl with black hair start singing with a powerful raspy-rock voice. I look over to the pool tables and he's gone. I look around the bar and don't see him. I realize I never looked at his name when I – possibly prematurely – swiped left. I smile. His profile photos did not do him justice. And they certainly didn't give any indication that he had beautiful art on his body. His photos included a selfie in a hoodie, the canoeing picture in what looked like fall – where he was also wearing a hoodie or jacket, and a snowboarding picture.