"What are you into?" his message said.

It was a week old and she felt a tiny pang of guilt about it.

"Music and Pilates" she typed back.

She heard a ding and a new message from him showed up.

“What kind of music?” it read.

She hesitated for a brief second, unsure if she was ready to let all of herself be known, but decided if she was really going to do this, then she had to be her most authentic self.

“Metal,” she typed back.

“Like the headbanging stuff?” came his reply, immediately, accompanied by a head banging emoji.

It made her chuckle quietly. She heard another ding, looked down and saw she had another message before she could write her response.

“Who are your favorite artists or bands?”

She pondered his question for a moment, wondering how to answer the question. She could give him a simple answer, or she could provide him an in depth thesis on metal music. She decided simplicity was best.

“Dream Theater, In Flames, Sleep Token, Lamb of God, Mastodon, In This Moment, Avatar, Plague Vendor…..” she typed and pressed send.

“Wow, that’s a lot and I don’t know any of those bands.

She felt a familiar punch of disappointment. Music was a big part of her life, and she wished to meet someone who not only shared her love of music, but a companion to attend concerts with. If he didn’t know any of her favorite bands, she didn’t think it could work out.

She heard another ding sound indicating a new message.

“I just quickly pulled up Dream Theater on Spotify and their music is not bad.”

“Not bad? Are you being serious right now? John Petrucci is one of the best guitarists and song writers of our times.” She typed and sent the message before she even had time to process her irritation.

She got up, paced around her apartment for a minute to settle her slowly rising irritation. If she was going to do this, she had to learn to control her emotions when other people’s opinions were different from hers. She decided she should change the topic. Despite his obvious lack of knowledge about metal music, she enjoyed talking to him.

His profile name was MountainMan456, accompanied by a picture of him sitting on a boulder with some mountains in the background. It was a good photo. Great lighting and his face looked radiant. He was not traditionally handsome but there was something about him that drew her in. He seemed like someone she could spend quiet mornings with, sipping coffee or tea, watching the sun rise.

It was why she opened his message. Why she gave in and responded, after deleting almost a hundred messages from other guys whose profiles ranged from creepy to desperate.

She sat back on the couch and typed.

“Enough about me, what about you? What do you like to do?”

“Fishing, rock climbing, camping, and music”, came his always quick response.

A small thrill tickled her heart. At least they had something in common.

“What kind of music?”

“Country, Rap, Folk, Classical.”

“Wow, that is quite an eclectic selection. Who are your favorite artists?”

“Miranda Lambert, Post Malone, Tyler Childers and so many more.”

"Miranda Lambert? Who is that?"

"Only the best living female country artist of the modern era."

She bursted out laughing and couldn’t control herself. Somehow, this little quip from him made her laugh harder than she had done in months. When she was able to catch her breath again. She continued the conversation.

"Hmmm, interesting. Never heard of her." She typed back.

She had a good feeling about this one. He may not be a headbanger, but he had potential.

Two Months Earlier

Katherine looked at the app on her phone, sighed deeply and started to type, shoulders slumped, a sense of defeat permeating every word.

She had finally given in, after years of resisting like a horse led reluctantly to water, kicking and screaming. She felt proud of herself that she fought a valiant fight. She held off for as long as she could. After all, she was the only person she knew who had never tried it. All her friends met their partners and spouses online and they made fun of her by calling her a "dying breed".

Katherine found the whole concept repulsively unromantic, despite it being the most popular way relationships got started.

Katherine grew up in the golden age of romantic comedies. Movies like: How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days; The Holiday; and Nothing Hill, were the subjects of her day dreams. But they paled in comparison to the movie Serendipity with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, which was her all time favorite movie. On days when she felt lonely, especially after spending time with any of her friends and their partners, she would put on her fluffy unicorn onesie pajamas, crawl into bed with a bowl of popcorn and a glass of Moscato, and live vicariously through the other famous Kate.

She completed her profile, read it over a few times, made some tweaks, grimaced and moved on to the tab for pictures.

Her friend Emily had given her some advice for online dating, which came to mind now.

"Cleavage. Legs. Ass. You want to post pictures that highlight those body parts. But not in a slutty way. Just enough to be interesting."