Thou art beautiful

Chapter 10: On tour

Gwen's POV, 3 months later:

"We're going on tour guys! All around the UK!" our director announced after rehearsals one day. He was so excited to be taking his version of 'Midsummer' on the road and I was so happy for him.
He ran through the list of dates and locations with us and an alarm went off in my head when I heard one city in particular, Jo's hometown. Luckily my other projects weren't due to start filming yet so I was available for at least another month. The excitement fizzed inside me, I had to track her down somehow while I was there. I was so desperate to see her and apologise.

Ever since the day I lost her at the station I'd thrown myself into my work. I started using social media more, mainly to see if she would like one of my posts or leave a comment. But nothing. I missed her terribly, her voice, her laugh, her chocolate brown hair, her eyes...god I was a sucker for those lovely hazel eyes.

I would put on my usual happy-go-lucky facade at work then revert back to being sad and lonely when I got home. It was exhausting. I would often go out with my co-stars to wind down after a show, it was a good distraction from my thoughts.
"How the hell are you still single Gwen?" my co-star Oliver drunkenly said to me one night.
"Don't go there Oliver, it's complicated" I said, throwing down another shot.
"You should be with someone! You're lovely! Everyone adores you!" he praised and I was flattered by his words.
"Give me your phone" he said with his hand out.
"Why?" I said, very suspicious.
"Just give it!"
I sighed giving in to him and handed my phone over. He searched online for a specific app.
"Oh no! Not a dating app!" I protested.
"Let me show it to you first!"
He took me through how to use it, it seemed OK but I always preferred meeting people the old fashioned way. I made the mistake of going to the bathroom and leaving my phone on the counter, when I came back he had signed me up to it.
"Don't worry I haven't uploaded a photo or anything! You're just 'Gwen C' for now" he said when he saw the look of horror on my face.
"Just look at some of the women on here! They're gorgeous!" he said as he scrolled through.
"Wait! Go back!" I said when I spotted a familiar face, one I'd longed to see for months. Jo.

I snatched my phone back from him and stared at her photo. She was sitting at a table outside a Parisian-style cafe, she was resting her chin on her hand and her hair was pushed back by her sunglasses. My heart melted at seeing that pretty little face again. I'd finally found her! Underneath was a small description:

Name: Joanne Reed
Age: 30
Location: Somewhere up North
Likes: Literature, art, theatre, Italian food, fantasy films, cheesy pop music, yoga, hot chocolates in winter.

"She's cute, is she your type?" Oliver asked, looking over at my screen.
"Yes, very much so. How do I message her?" I asked.
"Wow you're keen! Just tap the envelope icon there" he said.
There was so much I wanted to say but I didn't know where to start. In the end I just settled on something simple:

G: Hi Jo. How are you? X