Free Stuck With A Stranger by Grace McCabe Page A

get away somewhere interesting
and have a weekend of great sex. And girl, you look like you could
use it.”
     
    "I don’t know. How can I be sure who I'll be getting?
How do I know it won’t be some wacko or Internet stalker or
something?"
     
    “Because they do background checks,” Tracy said,
exasperated. “And there’s an entire personality profile that
everyone has to fill out. They promise to match you up with someone
you'll be very compatible with."
     
    “It sounds expensive.”
     
    “That’s the best part,” Tracy said. “You can submit
your profile for free. If they match you up with a member, he
agrees to foot the bill. You really have nothing to lose.”
     
    Rachel wanted to change the subject. Desperately.
“All right, I’ll check it out when I get home.”
     
    “You should,” Tracy told her. “You should.”
     
    Rachel had intended to put the idea out of her mind
entirely, but that night she couldn’t sleep, so she went online and
found the Rich & Amorous website. She had half-expected to see
a photo of every girl’s dream wedding, complete with a princess
gown, a horse-drawn carriage, and of course, a devastatingly
handsome groom. But instead the site was a simple brown background
with an elegant “R&A” logo in the center.
     
    Creating a user account was easy, and so she decided
to go ahead and fill out her background information and personality
profile. Suddenly intrigued by the idea of meeting someone new,
someone who might take her mind of her shitty existence, she
completed the lengthy form and uploaded her profile photo. Feeling
like an excited schoolgirl, she skimmed through the user agreement
and then hit the “submit” button.
     
    But as the days passed, and she heard nothing more,
her enthusiasm began to wane. Oh well, she thought, nothing
ventured, nothing gained. Then two weeks later, when she’d almost
forgotten about Rich & Amorous entirely, she received an email
from someone in their admin. department.
     
     
    Hello Rachel, the message began . We believe
we've found a great match for you. His name and profile are
included below. He has already viewed your profile, and would very
much like to communicate with you. You can email him through our
secure message system at your convenience.
     
    If you both agree to an adventure weekend, we have
selected a backcounty ski trip that you both selected as your first
or second choices. We have arranged for a reservation in a yurt in
the Colorado high country. Once you fly into Denver, a rental car
will be provided for you, and you can drive the 50 miles up to
Aspen. There you’ll be able to rent cross-country skis for the trip
up to the yurt.
     
    Please select from one of the two suggested dates
below, and let us know which one would work best for you. We will
then match the date up with your companion. We've also listed
airline flights schedules for those dates and times. Have an
enjoyable adventure, and be sure to fill out the feedback survey on
our website once you've returned.
     
    Best regards, Rich & Amorous.
     
    Her heart racing, Rachel clicked on the link in the
email and viewed the Mystery Man’s profile. His name was Andy
Hubbard, and he sounded almost too good to be true. He met almost
every one of her profile preferences to a tee. Including height,
weight, skin complexion, age, income, interests and hobbies,
religious affiliation, etc. Then she looked at his photo. Not
devastatingly handsome, but not bad, either. He looked younger than
his stated age of 39, and he had wide shoulders and strong,
masculine features. His chocolate brown eyes looked kind and
thoughtful.
     
    Rachel got up from the computer and walked out onto
her apartment balcony. She couldn't help but be a little skeptical.
What were the odds of meeting a man who matched her wants and
desires almost exactly, and was rich to boot? And on the Internet,
no less? It almost seems like a fairytale, and she’d stopped
believing in fairytales a long time