Written in the Stars (A Short Story) Read Online Free Page A

or Serenity’s message to pop up she took a closer look at him. He was kind of cute, and t he guides were right, she was a bit shallow when it c ame to the kind of men she went for . Over the years plenty of nice guys had asked her out , but she had turned nearly all of them dow n because she was convinced the perfect man was about to come along .
     
    When Greg started work in her department , she thought he had finally arrived, and their kiss at the Christmas party had just confirmed to her that they were meant to be together. Melanie had just been waiting since then for him to come to his senses and get rid of Tamara so they could live happily ever after.
     
    Serenity: Yep, they are saying he’ s right 4 you . Go 4 it. Pok e him all you want. It’s safe 2 meet him .
     
    Mel: He’s not a serial killer?
     
    Serenity: No , he’s a great guy . Good luck. Keep me up to date.
     
    Mel : Th nx Serenity. Will send you an invite 2 the wedding hahahahah a
     
    Melanie’s mood lifted a little as she sent James Devine a message. It had not turned out to be such a bad day after all.
     
    ****
     
    The morning of their first meeting dawned bright and clear. Melanie took it as an omen that it would be a great success . She was still glad she’d arranged to meet as this busy café in the park , rather than at her house as they had originally planned . Y ou could not be sure w ho you were talking to online these days , t here were a lot of weirdos out there.
     
    She had chosen a seat outside where she could be clearly seen from the park’s entrance. As the hand on her watch crept past one o’clock she began to get nervous and she checked her mobile phone again . There were no new messages or missed calls. Finally she spotted a familiar face in the c rowd and s he waved.
     
    “I was beginning to get worried, ” she said. “It’s so nice to finally meet in person.” She tried h ard to h id e her disappointment . The profile pho to must have been taken at least ten years earlier , or else it had been Photoshopped within an inch of its life .
     
    “Yes, you too.”
     
    There was an awkward pause and she tried to think of something to say. They had talked so easily online that she had no t ex pected them to struggle for conversation .
     
    “This just seems so bizarre , to be sitting across from each other after all this time . Does it seem weird to you?” she asked.
     
    “Not really, I’m used t o it. What would you like to talk about? ”
     
    S he shrugged. “ Anything you haven’t told me alrea dy. Whatever you’re willing to share . I’m glad I don’t have to fill you in on my whole history since you already know so much about me.”
     
    “Refresh my memory , if you don’t mind.”
     
    Melanie paused. “You’re joking right?”
     
    “I meet so many people online. I t’s hard to remember everyone.”
     
    She could only stare, open-mouthed for a few moments. “Bu t I’m not just anyone. We’ve been talking online for ages now . How could you not remember me?”
     
    “Of course I remember you , Mel, I just don’t remember every detail about you . Do you mind if I smoke? ” Melanie shook her head, too dumbfounded to say no even though it was one of her pet hates. “Now w here is that lighter?”
     
    Her companion put a large bag on the ground and began rifling thr ough it, and Melanie was le ft staring at the top of what she could now see was a really bad wig. After a minute had passed, she leaned forward to fin d out what on earth was taking so long .
     
    She caught a glimpse in side the bag of a thick pile of computer print ou ts . Alarm bells began to ring inside her head and she quickly got to her feet and grabbed a page out of the bag before she could be stopped . It was a copy of one of their online conversations.
     
    “ Oh , my God! W ere you reading this to remind yourself of my details ? I didn’t even know you could save these conversations. ”
     
    The saying ‘rabbit caught in