Cougar

Find a Friend App

Gareth was all of 24 years old when I met him through the Find a Friend app. I completely and unabashedly admitted to myself that I was not looking for a friend — not by any stretch of the imagination. And the Find a Friend app served a uniquely specific purpose: to find other people looking for a good time, a hook-up. And that was Gareth.

He was also hot — hot in that youthful, time-is-on-my-side, the world is an oyster way only the young can be. Weightlifting, according to his profile, had become a recent interest of his, and his body showed it. Strong shoulders, a well-defined chest, abs that flowed in curved muscle down to those hip bones that drive women (and many men) insane. Combined with strawberry blond hair and light blue eyes, Gareth was pure eye-candy for anyone who wanted to look. And I wanted to look.

Why he would want to hook-up with someone old enough to have been his mommy (a young mother, but still. . .) hinted to me that perhaps the kid had some issues of his own. However,
I could not fault him for it. We all have issues, I thought as I continued to peer at his photos. I know I do. Why else am I considering connecting with a guy nearly half my age?

The blinking-green "connect now!" button glowed with audacity. I had started to get over the hump post-divorce. It's not like this would be my first time meeting up with a guy, but one I met online? Hooking up online has all the markings of a bad joke. It also seemed too cliché, the older divorced woman looking for a young hottie on a dating site. Is this where I was at in my life?

My life. I sighed inwardly, scrubbing my fingernails through my long, dark hair. The weight of the waves lay on me like a blanket, still damp from my late-night shower. Both Jenna and Cade were in bed, sound asleep in their new bedrooms. The only light on in the new rental house,
other than the one above the stove in the kitchen, came from the glowing screen of my laptop on the bed. This felt secretive, taboo even, and I giggled to myself. How much more taboo than meeting a one-night stand set up by your best friend? Or hooking up with a guy at the bar?

And if I were honest withmyself, I knew that my idea of secret or taboo seemed tame compared to whatothers did. After all, I was a mom first, worked in an office to pay the bills— how impetuous was I, really?

Not very, I admitted to myself. But meetinga guy from an online dating site? I would have to be careful.