ZED had hardly been home for ten minutes when the buzz of the intercom cut through the air of his flat. With a loud groan, he rolled over so that his back was to the door. Perhaps if he pretended he was asleep, the unexpected visitor would kindly go away. It was his first proper night off since taking the new position and he certainly didn’t want to waste it. When the intercom buzzed incessantly once more, it became clear that he possessed no such luck. So, with a deep sigh, he stood from his comfortable place on the sofa to acknowledge his guest.

'Hello?'

'Took you long enough! Let me in; it's cold as tits out here!' Zelda whined through the speaker.

He resisted the urge to humour her, instead frowning slightly as if she could see him. 'Zel? What are you doing here? You do know what time it is, don't you?'

'Yes. Of course, I do. It's time for you to let me in before I die of hypothermia!'

'Get in here, you big baby,' he said with a grin, pressing the button to grant her entry.

Mere seconds later, the front door swung open violently, nearly nicking the nose off of his face. A colourful blur zoomed past him to where his sister promptly sat on the sofa, bouncing her leg rapidly.

'Christ, what are you on?'

She rolled her eyes and patted the seat next to her. 'I'm on a mission. Now, sit down and give me your mobile.'

Against his better judgement, he did what he was told with a furrowed brow. 'Is it even worth asking what you're doing?'

'Nope.' She didn't even spare him a glance, all of her focus on the screen of his mobile, fingers working furiously.

He knew Zelda well enough to be certain he wasn't going to get answers unless he found them, himself, so he moved to peer over her shoulder. Once he realised exactly what she was doing, however, his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

'Are you downloading… a dating app?' he screeched.

'No. Of course not,' she deadpanned. 'Now, back off.'

'Zelda Beatrice Higgins-Jones, why on Earth are you making me a dating profile?!'

'Because you're lonely, Zachary Bartholomew Higgins. It’s taken me a few weeks, but I finally found one that suits you.’

Zed opened and closed his mouth with all the grace of a cod fish as he searched for any words at all. 'I'm not lonely,' he finally managed to sputter.

'Uh-huh. Sure. And I'm the Queen of Spain.'

'Zel, I'm not,' he insisted.

'The best kiss you've had in months was your boss, for Christ's sake. You're lonely! There’s only a little shame in that.'

Zed sighed deeply. 'Fine. Maybe I’m a little bit lonely.'

'Obviously,' she replied, still working on filling in his profile.

'Look, I honestly appreciate that you're trying to help, but you really don't have to do this,' Zed assured his sister. He desperately hoped that she would just return his mobile and send him to bed, instead of continuing.

'Too late. It's already happening. Now smile, or I'm using one of your pictures from uni.'

He sighed deeply and smiled into the camera despite himself.

'God… You look like you're in pain!' Zelda laughed. 'No one is going to swipe right on that one, but I'm saving it for a rainy day. Now, this time, try to look the least bit enthused, alright? Think of puppies! Ice cream! Unicorns!'

He chuckled, shaking his head. Sometimes he wondered if his sister would ever truly grow up. It was times like these that he prayed she never would.

'Perfect!' She turned the mobile around to show him a picture she had snapped whilst he was mid-laugh. 'This is how you smile, for future reference. Not whatever that grimace you tried before.'

Despite his reservations regarding the whole situation, he did have to admit that it was a nice picture of himself. 'Duly noted. Though, I wasn't aware that I needed to be coached on how to smile.'

'Well, now you know.' She smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

At one point that neither of them would hardly remember in the morning, they had opened several bottles of wine. What followed was a flurry of left and right swipes, and far too many conversations with strangers. Some of them he handled, while Zelda insisted on taking over others. One conversation in particular, however, was undoubtedly initiated and carried on by Zed, himself.

When Zed awoke the next morning, it was with a pounding headache and the notification of a message on the home screen of his mobile.

So, are we still on for dinner Friday? You were obviously drunk, but I'm still game if you are ;) -Alastair Crawley

Zed scrubbed his hands over his face before reaching over to the nightstand for his glasses. With each line he read from the previous night’s conversation, the more he wished he were completely blind. God, how much did I have to drink last night? As he glanced over to the clock on his nightstand, however, it became clear that he had no time to waste on considering that question.

By the time he was showered, dressed and ready, Zelda still lay cocooned in the duvet on the far side of the bed. Knowing the horrid state of her sleep schedule, he decided to leave her behind, merely pressing a kiss to her hair before heading out the door.

Despite the rough start to his morning and the throbbing still in the back of his head, Zed managed to make it to Engineering Global and, more importantly, his office, just before the clock struck nine. Before he could settle in, however, a single rap on the doorframe indicated his boss’ presence.

'Higgins. Hello.'

'Hello, Sir,’ Zed said, trying to hide his still racing heartbeat from his rush into the office. ‘How are you today?’

'I'm well, thank you. Though, regrettably, I’m not stopping by to make small talk.' 

'Oh. Of course.' Zed flushed slightly and stiffened. It had been a few weeks since MacIntire had used such a clipped tone with him. He’d secretly hoped they had passed that phase in their relationship. But I guess not. 'How can I assist you?'

'I'd actually like to make a request of you.’ He lowered his voice slightly before adding, ‘Which, of course, you are not obligated to fulfil.' The man looked as unnerved as Zed felt, though he had no idea why.

‘I understand. Happy to help, if I can.’

‘I was wondering if you might accompany me to the Investors' Gala Friday evening.' MacIntire said it so quickly that Zed almost didn’t catch it.

‘The Investor’s Gala?’ The one Zed was never allowed to attend because it was only for the most elite of the company and their richest friends. The one where each plate of food cost more than a month’s rent on his flat. The one where your behaviour there would either get you one hell of a raise… or fired. Zed’s throat suddenly went dry.

MacIntire continued, seemingly oblivious to the war raging in Zed’s mind. 'Usually, I would use my plus one for that sort of thing on Ally, but, as I've clearly burnt bridges on that front... And as Salma’s off in Tanzania somewhere— there seems to be an opening. Of course, this would be an endeavour solely in the interest of business and keeping a good meal from going to waste. An excellent opportunity for you to make contacts and a bit of a name for yourself, potentially. Always good to rub elbows with your superiors, once in a while. But, again, yours to decline.'

'I—' There was rather a long pause as Zed attempted to remember how to speak. 'It would be my pleasure, Sir.’

It may have been his imagination, but the CFO’s eyes seemed to brighten, though the rest of his face remained unchanged. 'Excellent. Good man. So, I trust you'll be able to wrangle a proper tux by then? Formal affair, and all. Feel free to charge it to the account.'

Zed nodded. 'Of course. Only a few days away, but I'll be ready, I assure you.' 

MacIntire grunted his approval and left, leaving Zed to try and relocate his heart from his throat back to his chest.

OVER the next few days, Alastair Crawley became a welcome distraction to Zed's growing anxiety about the gala. What had started as apologising for bailing on their date had quickly become witty banter. It didn’t take long for that to shift to flirting, and then, finally, almost hourly conversations. By lunchtime on Thursday, Zed had made the bold decision to ask the near-perfect stranger to coffee Friday morning.

After a very loud and quite ill-timed ping as he entered his employer's office, however, Zed immediately regretted messaging him at work. Cringing, he quickly silenced his mobile, a bit too late. 'What on Earth was that, Higgins?'

'I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't realise it was still on ringer. Won't happen again.'

'Yes, fine, but that wasn't your ringtone, was it? Quite annoying, that.'

'No, Sir. It was a messaging app—' There was another loud ping as Zed winced.

MacIntire frowned deeply. 'What bloody awful app is that?'

He swallowed hard around both his pride and dignity before answering. 'ShagAppy, Sir. My sister signed me up over the weekend.'

'ShagAppy? That's a dating app, right? I didn't realise you were— dating, as it were.'

'I'm not. I mean, I don't. Not usually. Honestly, it's just the one. Tomorrow morning, actually. Just coffee.' As he tripped over his words, it became increasingly clear to Zed that he was vastly oversharing.

'So... the woman in the photo on your desk...'

'My sister. Twin sister, as it happens.'

'Ah. Very good. Well, good luck on your— date. But don't be late. I won't consider it a good excuse.'

Zed blushed hard, turning to hide himself as quickly as possible. 'Of course, Sir.' As colour filled his cheeks, he couldn't help but crack a bemused smile. Yes, the chiming phone and resulting conversation had been more than a little embarrassing, but at least he had a good story for his coffee date.

THE next morning, Zed sat across from the incredibly attractive Alastair Crawley, sipping his coffee whilst attempting to stop grinning like a madman. 'So, Alastair, if I may ask a blunt question: why the hell are you single?' Zed blushed with his own brashness. It wasn't often he was this forward. Though, as of late, he'd gained a new surge of confidence and he certainly wasn't going to let it go to waste.

Alastair smirked, looking down at his cup. 'Long story. Besides, you're not supposed to talk about exes on a date, right?'

'Oh, go on, I love gossip.'

The two men exchanged devilish grins before Alastair sighed. 'Just had my heart crushed, if I'm being honest. Didn't see it coming. Though, I feel like I should have. All the signs were there. My first clue should have been him turning down my proposal.'

Zed's eyes widened. 'You proposed?'

He laughed darkly. 'Yeah. On our last anniversary. Got down on one knee and everything. But he just— stared at me. For a solid minute. Whole restaurant was staring. It was really quite embarrassing. Finally, I got off the ground and all he could say was, “sorry. Just— not yet. Do you want pudding”?’

Zed scoffed, shaking his head. 'Seriously?'

'Yep. But that was James for you. Very dry. Very... to the point. Though, that's not to say he wasn't loving when he wanted to be. When we first started dating, he'd pull out all the stops. Open every door, the finest restaurants, extravagant gifts for no reason. And...' He blushed hard. 'The sex was—' He made a strong fist, winking and clicking his tongue.

Zed laughed. 'That good, huh?'

'Better. The things that man could do... And even afterwards, he'd still always make me feel like a prince among men. Very caring, very loving. But the bedroom is where that all began and ended.'

Zed frowned. 'Sounds like it was a long time coming, if you ask me. But I'm sorry you got hurt.'

'Thank you. Technically, we haven’t been “together” together since the end of July. We were on a break to “figure everything out”, as it were. When he did officially end it a week later, it was still a bit of a shock. But, enough about me and my sob story. What about you?'

'Me? No sob story here, I'm afraid. No tale of woe or great epic tragedy.'

Alastair grinned. 'Alright, Shakespeare, then what's your excuse? A dish like you should not be single.'

'Just— workaholic, I guess. Too busy to feel lonely. I never saw the need to fix what wasn't broken.'

'Then, pardon my asking, but what changed your mind to go and download a dating app?'

'Partly my sister grabbing my mobile and doing it for me.' Both men laughed. 'Partially— God, this sounds stupid.'

'What? Tell me.'

'I got kissed.' Alastair laughed, making Zed smirk from embarrassment. 'Look, I told you it sounded stupid! It was— he was drunk, and I'm pretty sure straight… and my boss, no less. But it made me remember what it was like... having someone. One of those cases of not knowing something is wrong until it's pointed out to you.'

'Well, then, I'm sure as hell glad he kissed you. Means I might get to, next.'

Alastair’s devilish grin along with the promise of his words caused Zed to turn thirteen shades of crimson. 'Just maybe, yeah.'