Page 5 of Every Time We Touch

“Potential compatibility.” Marcy shrugs. “I understand why you would say that, yet I know plenty of happy couples who met via an app.”

“Like my dad and Clancy.”

“Was that on the sugar daddy app?” Marcy says and we both burst into a chuckle.

“That’s not funny,” I say, although I’m still smiling.

“Maybe you should give it a try.” Marcy reaches for her phone. “Here.” She opens it and gives it to me. “Have a look in my app. See how it makes you feel to swipe some hotties.”

“Really?” Even though I have moral objections, the prospect is mildly exciting.

“Just don’t swipe right on anyone without my consent.”

“This is terrible,” I say, but I’m already swiping.

Marcy follows along over my shoulder. All the faces blur into each other—all of them perfectly fine, none of them even remotely making me feel something other than that I’m browsing through some artificial catalog of humanity.

There’s a yoga instructor from Silver Lake. A lawyer who lists hiking as a personality trait. A woman who has written ‘fluent in sarcasm’ in her bio, which makes me want to swipe left so hard, it makes my thumb ache.

“See?” Marcy says, not reading my vibe at all. “There’s lots of potential.”

“It’s exactly as bad as I thought it would be.” I keep swiping, though—like my thumb has become autonomous from my body. “And as soul-crushing.”

“Uh-huh,” Marcy emits, meaning ‘yeah, right’.

Despite myself, my eyes are glued to the screen. It’s as though there’s an endless supply of women out there and while the prospect of having them presented to me in this emotionless fashion irks me, part of me is—reluctantly—thrilled.

My thumb abruptly stills while I do a double take.

“Finally see someone you like?” Marcy asks.

“What the hell?” I bring the phone closer to my face, as though I don’t already know what I’m seeing. It’s a little hard to believe, though. But there she is, staring back at me, her gaze aimed directly at the camera. All strong body, confidence and—frankly—way more black lace than necessary. “This is my dad’s new girlfriend.” I look at Marcy, as though she can explain this to me.

“Hm.” Marcy leans in closer. “Fuck me. She is hella hot.”

I glance back at the picture in the app, making sure it’s really her. Perhaps she has a twin sister, too. The username is TinyDancer and while her twin might also be a dancer, it’s too much of a coincidence. Besides, I know it’s her. She has the same dark eyes that don’t give much away, yet demand attention. I click on her profile. It just says: Dancer & Teacher.

“I can’t believe this bitch,” I say.

“Hey.” Marcy holds out her hand. She probably wants her phone back, but I’m not ready to give it to her. “This could mean many things. Try not to jump to conclusions.”

“Why is she on an app for women?” I drum my fingers on the table. I want to call Heather and tell her about this, but Marcy is also right.

“Duh,” Marcy says. “She’s probably bi. Or fluid.”

“But she’s with my dad.”

“How long have they been seeing each other? Maybe she just hasn’t removed herself from the apps. Trust me, it’s super common.”

“Two months.”

“Two months is nothing,” Marcy says.

“It’s something when you introduce her to your family.” I glance at Marcy. “Would you swipe right on her? For me?”

“To what end?” Marcy is up for a lot, but deception is not really her thing.

“To see if she still responds on the app.” I nod. “If she doesn’t, it will tell us something.”