Thirst Trap
by Shannon FayAugust 18, 2022
Cara sits in the hotel restaurant, laptop open and back to the wall so that no one will see she is photoshopping scantily clad pictures of herself. She looks hot in all of them, but they still need some polish before she uploads them to her dating profile.
There is only one other customer in the bar, a twenty-something woman wearing hoop earnings and date-night makeup. From what Cara can tell, she is friends with the bartender.
"He seems nice, but you never know with these tinder guys," Hoop-Earnings is saying. "We're meeting at the steakhouse downtown. If I don't text you by 10, give me a call, okay, Sheryl?"
Sheryl the Bartender promises she will and Hoop Earnings leaves for her date. Cara watches her go. This is exactly why Cara never goes after women. They always told someone where they were going, who they were meeting, and when they'd be back.
Men never did. It never occurred to them that they might be in danger.
In the photo Cara is editing she is looking out of a hotel room at a city skyline. It is nighttime. She looks wistful.
She makes a copy of herself and inverts it, putting a hazy filter over it before moving it over into the window.
There. Now it looks like she has a reflection.
She uploads the pic. The messages start coming in. All Cara has to do now is pick one, reply, and wait for dinner to deliver itself.
About Shannon Fay
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