She woke up slightly before the 6:30 alarm clock would shoo her out of bed, as usual. She was a good hour from shining her signature happy-go-lucky smile for the first time today -- not while still on her own at home, not while colleagues are yet to say hi and offer her the first of the day’s semi-stale pot of coffee. Early morning was the time of day when she could allow herself to be and feel raw Trisha, to take that particular discontent that brews deep inside at face value. The one that stems from still not having found that one man. That man who would satisfy her innermost desires, even the ones yet unknown to herself.

The ones thus far didn’t last and weren’t meant to last. While these romances did work on the surface and functioned especially well as fronts to show off to her friends -- alibi relationships that seemed harmonic and profoundly, utterly stable to outsiders --, each and every one of them lacked real, unadulterated spice and that crucial je ne sais quoi. So she felt compelled to end them each. This je ne sais quoi had always had something to do with sex, and some nameless attitude or orientation within these guys towards certain murkier dimensions of sex. The reason Trisha felt these domains to be murky was that she wasn’t sure herself what they are supposed to involve really. All she felt in her heart of hearts was that her exes all flunked this unnamed but crucial test.

This is where Hornyz stepped into the picture. Or sneaked rather, with its horns and hooves and tail. Hornyz was a new dating app descending upon Hornstown, more overtly sexual and daring than the plethora of attempts that came before it. It was a friend who recommended it to Trisha when it entered the scene under the radar, with much less fanfare than its predecessors were announced and promoted. That is a sure sign of its being genuine and more edgy than all the wimpy apps, the friend explained with a knowing half-smile. “It’s just what you need, hell it’s what I needed too, always did”, the friend promised.

Trisha installed the app the night before, minutes before she went to sleep for the day. It’s not like she had super high hopes for this one, but she wanted to believe her friend and share her enthusiasm regarding Hornyz.

It was 7AM when she slipped out of the shower, her pussy all moist from all the hot steam and her usual morning showertime thoughts of random kinkiness. Still naked, she stepped over to the coffee table where she left her phone the night before. Pressing a single button on it, the touchscreen brightened to life. A fancy but still understated purple logo, previously unknown to Trisha, immediately popped up conspicuously: it was Hornyz, and a bunch of male names were listed under it. Jeffy, Mikey, Stanley, Andy, Bradley, it was a minor wall of text, not overwhelming but still considerable.

Trisha casually flipped through some of these profiles while still drying her breasts and back with a towel with her free hand. Not one of these Bradleys and Joeys managed to catch her eye, at least on first glimpse ... Actually, one of them did. He was called or calling himself Leo. But for now, she had to get dressed and make her way to the boutique she worked at.

She was a popular girl in the boutique, meaning not just her female colleagues but also many of the male clients and guests, all in their immaculate white shirts and ties attempting to woo her on a daily basis, both overtly and more covertly. But they were meh, all of them, to be honest. Even if her relationship with them was limited to in-boutique banter and semi-random conversation, she could feel that they would make horrible lovers. If the particular je ne sais quoi was lacking even from those who succeeded in becoming her actual romantic partners, how much more these random blokes must have been found to be lacking?...

Over lunchbreak, she found herself going back to the Hornyz thingy -- apparently a more interesting pastime than the above-mentioned blokes --, reviewing her hastily thrown-together profile page, including the flighty self-description she wrote in under 5 minutes. It read:

“Trisha, 28 Heya! I’m your average young woman looking for love! :) I enjoy typical date-y things but also open to some new experiences. A dinner, a movie, a day at the beach - it’s all fine as long as we enjoy the time spent together. Mostly here for something long-term but okay with casual flings if you ask nicely enough. I do prefer going slow though.

I have been told I can get a bit crazy with my ideas from time to time but I mostly am really easygoing. I prefer sensitive, thoughtful men to typical macho dudes. I am a nice girl but I won’t be some trophy hanging from your arm.

Who am I looking for? A guy -- and only a guy, sorry girls :) -- who has similar interests. Be ready to treat me right and with respect and we will get along perfectly!”

The wall of text wasn’t very good, and was not supposed to be any good. At any rate, it was good enough to attract ... the Leo guy, among many other.

Trisha was about to dim her phone’s display at this point when the now-familiar purple logo popped up, along with a chat head. It was Leo. It felt unlikely and random, but also pretty damn uplifting. She sat right back i nher cafeteria chair and engaged in the chat about to begin. There was something about the photos of this guy, his eyes and smile and how he carried himself...

Leo: “Hi”

Trisha: “Hey there! I was just thinking about msging u! Isn’t that crazy?”

Leo: “You look really cute on your profile pic”

Trisha: “Thanks! I wanted to be a photographer when I was younger. Didn’t stick with it though”

Leo: “I gotta ask - what’s wrong with macho men?”

Trisha: “I guess that’s a bit misleading. I didnt mean anything bad by it. I like manly men just fine. Just don’t bring a shitty attitude”

Leo: “Don’t worry, I love to show off my sensitive side”

Trisha: “:) Good to hear. I’d love to bring out your sensitive side.”

The back and forth went on for a couple more minutes, slowly escalating into something more personable and in fact steamy. Steamy enough for them to cut it off for now and wanting to take it further as soon as tonight: within minutes, the date was set.

Leo felt somehow special, even through his mere online presence without actually meeting the guy. Still, Trisha tried her best not to work up any palpable enthusiasm that may prove unwarranted after the fact. She’s burned herself so many times, she stopped counting...

It was one of those mall movie dates, a bit cliché, but tried and true: meet at the front of everyone’s favorite Starcrocks Cafe inside Hornstown Mall at 6:30PM, at a point when the crushing mall crowds begin to subside. Then the casual couple is supposed to walk down to the nearby in-venue cinema to watch the chick-flick-of-the-week, for better or worse.

Starcrocks itself was a short walk for Trisha, strictly within her comfort zone. Arriving first, she sat in one of the outside chairs. Dreadlocked kids with ear stretchers and staid businessmen in white shirts were rushing to and fro across her vantage point -- but the guy, her guy, made her wait a little.

He finally arrived at 6:37. Leo approached the Cafe from the escalator across the long walkway. As he walked towards Trisha from afar, she knew at once it has to be him. His face and demeanor proved to be even hotter in real life than what would be filtered through his color-corrected semi-pro profile pictures. His wry half-smile, deliberate movement and I-am-cool gaze not only survived the translation from her daydreams, but filled her with a newfound enthusiasm for the approaching stranger.

Leo also recognized her right away, offering his hand with what would become his signature smile. As they shook hands, she felt a little tingle in her spine, it felt good.

On their way to the movie, they picked up where they left off in their online chat: Leo still checked out. He was quick, witty, charming but still sexily understated, dressed in an off-color white slim-fit chemise with its uppermost buttons undone. Their exchange set the mood for the movie, which was an okay flick: your standard chick flick with a bunch of ‘zany’ girls doing zany things. Leo even had a few laughs himself and Trisha was enjoying herself immensely. The interesting turn was that one of the more pathetic comic relief characters was named Leo himself. This would’ve been only mildly interesting at best but whenever he does anything especially idiotic, Trisha couldn’t help but glance over in Leo’s direction with a little grin. After a while she even started poking him in the ribs every time as if it was him on the screen behaving like a moron.