(Author's Note - my entry for Challenge 28 - Hybrid Romance.
Prompt: A glitch on a Dating Site starts pairing humans with non-humans.
Word limit 1500.
My story is 1494 - not counting this note )
Encounter
Harlan pursed his lips as he filled in the last answer for the E-Contact questionnaire, and hit "Save" and "Send."
He sat back in his chair. There! It was done, no chance for second thoughts now. His stomach churned with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Would he really get to meet his perfect match? Someone who met all the rather unique requirements he had fed into the application?
He supposed requesting black hair and blue eyes was pretty run of the mill, but when he'd replaced, "must love reading " with "must love writing," exchanged "dancing" for "sports," and then altered "must love dogs and walks on the canal" to "must be a dreamer, with stars in his eyes," he thought he might end up with someone interesting.
But after a fortnight passed, and he'd heard absolutely nothing, Harlan began to wonder if he'd been a little too prescriptive.
He sent a query through to the E-Contact's Call Us section, only to be told that they were still working on his match and to be patient.
Then, finally, he received a text. "Congratulations, Mr Lawrence. We have found your match! As part of our Special Valentine's Day promotion, E-Contact has arranged your first date, complete with a complimentary bottle of Martian Spritzig 2201. Please be at the Red Planet Cafe at 20:00 tomorrow night to meet your match, Cory. Please wear a red scarf."
And that was it. No contact link for Cory. He'd hoped to get at least an introductory email and an image, but nothing.
He queried the Call Us section again, and received a rather short response. "Love is blind, they say, Mr Lawrence. Enjoy your blind date."
The following evening, Harlan dressed in his best jadesilk suit, the one that he thought showed off his own dark looks to the best advantage.
The restaurant was in the centre of First Dome City, a few kays away, and Harlan took a bubble car. It was expensive, but the car was able to take him all the way from his own climate controlled dome, across the airless desert to the City without needing to change transport. Harlan supposed he could just as easily have taken the underground tunnel-train but he loved the view of the black Martian sky at night.
He wished, not for the first time, that the engineers who had designed the domes a century ago, had chosen a clear material, instead of the artificial blue Earthlike "sky." They were on Mars after all, not Earth.
His pulse increased as the small car navigated the main airlock on First City Dome and proceeded to The Red Planet Cafe. What would Cory be like? Would Cory like him in return? A tendril of doubt suddenly wove its way into Harlan's brain. It hadn't dawned on him until that exact moment that the questionnaire had been one sided. Or had Cory filled in a questionnaire too?
Harlan left the bubble car, draped the small red scarf around his neck, and entered the restaurant.
Immediately his eyes were drawn to a tall, black haired young man with another red scarf around his neck. He was seated in a small booth, staring at the door. Harlan smiled tentatively and headed in his direction. As he wended his way across the floor, Harlan found himself swallowing nervously.
