Women Scorned

***All characters are over 18 and are fictional. Any resemblance to any real-life persons or situations is purely coincidental.

...

Diane pulled out a compact from her purse and checked out her face. She noticed a small bruise on her cheekbone. She touched it up with some makeup the best she could.

"How does it look?" Diane asked.

"It's not that bad," Brooke replied. "It was a small bruise anyway. I'm sorry about that, by the way."

"It's OK. I'm the one who started it, so I'm the one who should apologize."

"No, the one who should be apologizing, to both of us, is Jason," Diane reminded her.

DIANE -- EIGHT WEEKS AGO

Diane broke up with her longtime boyfriend, David, who had trouble committing. He had strung her along for too long, and she couldn't take it anymore. She knew he didn't want to commit to the idea of getting married, but he didn't even want to do something as simple as moving in together. She felt she wasn't getting any older and needed to be with someone who would want something more serious.

Soon after her breakup, her friends were trying to get her to go out again. She considered it, but wanted to wait a short while before she moved on and started dating again. Even though she was the one that broke it off with David, she was still feeling very heartbroken about it.

She assumed that David felt the same way, or at least she hoped he did. But it had been barely two weeks before David began dating again, this time with a woman from his office. Diane knew this woman, a very attractive and flirty salesperson who she always suspected had her eye on David when they were together. She was sure David never did anything with her when they were together, but it didn't take that woman long to worm her way into his life.

After that, Diane decided she, too, wasn't going to wait an appropriate amount of time to start dating again. She didn't think it would take her that long to find a new man. She had a good personality and was a lot of fun to be with. She was also a very attractive 30-year-old woman with long blonde hair, a fit body, and a good pair of breasts that were on the larger side of the C-cup range.

A few of her friends had tried to set her up with someone they knew, but it didn't work out. It seemed like her friends were hooking her up with people from the bottom of the barrel.

She decided to try dating apps. She heard some bad stories about people who tried it, but she also heard a lot of good stories that came out of it as well. For example, she did use it to meet David three years ago; the app led to a long-term relationship, although it ended badly.

But it had been a while since she used one of those apps, so she thought she could use some help creating a profile. Her friend Sally met her current fiancé through an app she used called Truly, as in truly yours, as the ad likes to say, so she decided to try that one. She was with Sally and their other friend, Megan, a dating app aficionado, out for lunch, and they were helping her make her profile.

They helped her pick the best kinds of photos to get more views; nothing slutty and nothing that made her look like she was trying too hard. They also assisted in tailoring her bio to make her appear to be the ideal woman to meet; nothing too flashy or desperate.

When they all agreed that her profile was perfect and it was finally up on the app, the only thing left was to adjust the match settings to her specifications. Diane put down what she thought was a good age range, along with hobbies, jobs, and so on. She wasn't going to lower her standards, but she also wasn't going to settle.

"Ladies, I think we're done," Diane said enthusiastically. "All that is left is to wait and see who bites."

"There is one thing I think you should do to get more attention to your profile," said Megan. "You only have your settings to find other men. How about women also?"

"Are you serious?" Sally asked.

"What? Diane used to date women," Megan replied. "I remember at least three girlfriends back in college."

"Yes, but like you said, that was back in college," said Diane. "I still like women, but I haven't been with one since then. In the last several years, it has only been men."

"So what? You're still attracted to women, aren't you?"

"Yes, but I'm just very used to men now. That's what I know."

Diane still considered herself bisexual, despite only being with men for so long. She still watches lesbian porn and whenever she sees an attractive woman on the street, she always gives them a good look. She once even flirted her way out of a ticket with a female cop. But she just can't see herself suddenly going back to women.

"Megan may be right," said Sally. "It couldn't hurt to expand your options this way."

Before Diane could answer, she got an alert that a few men had already liked her profile. After going through them, she found Jason, who was just her type. He was also the handsomest man she had ever seen, and she was going to snatch him up before another woman does.

"Ladies, why would I go back to women if I could have this guy?" she asked as she held up her phone to show Jason's profile picture.

Megan grabbed Diane's phone away from her and began swiping around his other pics.

"You better grab this guy fast before I go after him," said Megan.

Megan handed the phone to Sally so she could see the other pics herself. Diane had never seen Sally look so excited, not even when she announced that she was getting married.

"Forget women, you need to fuck this guy fast," said Sally.

Diane grabbed her phone back and said, with a big smile, "Oh, I intend to."

BROOKE -- EIGHT WEEKS AGO

Brooke sat with her friends, Kelly and Lori, on their couch watching a bad rom-com movie on Netflix to make fun of why they ate ice cream. She had just broken up with her girlfriend, Tara, a week ago after catching her cheating on her with another woman. That was the fourth woman in the past year she had dated, and it ended badly for her. She really thought she had something with Tara, but apparently Tara didn't feel the same way. What's worse was that Tara actually suggested an open relationship, but Brooke was a very monogamous type of person.

Brooke didn't want to wait too long to start dating again and went back on the dating apps she sometimes used. She put some good profile pictures of herself to show who she was, not just what she looked like. She was 31 years old, had long blonde hair that was slightly curled, was very fit from constantly going to the gym, and had noticeable but not overly large D-cup breasts.

When the movie was over, they spent some time poking fun at the serious plot holes of the movie and making bad attempts at the jokes they tried to force on the audience. Watching bad movies together was one of their favorite hobbies, and they always had a lot to say about them.

Brooke got a notification on her phone from one of her dating apps and took a quick look at it. A woman a few miles away liked her profile and sent her a message asking if she wanted to meet for coffee. She checked the woman's profile to see if she was worth her time; she was pretty, but they didn't seem to have a lot in common. She guessed the woman might be more into a one-night stand than a real relationship.

"She's cute," said Kelly, who was looking over Brooke's shoulder the whole time.

"Yeah, but she seems like a player," said Brooke. "I already broke up with one of them. I'm not getting involved with another."

"Have you found anybody on those apps you've been using," Lori asked.

"Not really. They seem to be the same women I've seen before every time I go back through these things. And some of the new ones just don't interest me."

"Have you adjusted your search settings?" Kelly asked. "Maybe expand the age and distance range?"

"Or maybe change up the hobbies and see what happens," Lori suggested.

"I did that already," Brooke responded.

"How about adding another gender?" Lori suggested. "Check out what kind of guy is out there for you."

"Excuse me? Do you know how offensive you're sounding right now," Kelly said, looking angry.

Lori replied, "Hey, you're fully gay. I would never suggest that to you. But Brooke is still bisexual; she could expand her range a little instead of just women."

"I have thought about that," said Brooke.

"No, don't change sides," Kelly pleaded.

"Now who's being offensive?" said Lori.

"Like I was saying, I have thought about it, because I am still very much attracted to men as I am to women. But I have been with only women for the last four or five years. It's all I know right now."

"All good reasons to stay on our side," said Kelly.

Lori rolled her eyes at Kelly.

"But maybe I should try men again," said Brooke. "I'll just change the settings for both men and women. If I find a man on these apps, that's good, but I'll still keep the option open in case I do meet a woman on these apps that I may like."

Kelly and Lori agreed that it was a good idea, even though Brooke and Lorie could see that Kelly was not entirely on board with that. Brooke changed her search criteria to include both genders and received several responses from men interested in meeting her within an hour. After swiping left on the obvious players and fake profiles, she found a few that she liked.

One particular profile she really enjoyed seeing was from a man named Jason. Immediately upon seeing his features, she became aroused and seemed to have forgotten everything about her last several girlfriends.

"Sorry Kelly, I think I'm definitely going to have to switch sides now," Brooke joked, although she felt she was only being half serious.

Brooke handed her phone to Kelly so she could have a look at Jason.

"Damn," said Kelly. "Even I want to have his baby."

"Now look who's about to switch sides," said Lori.

They all laughed, especially Kelly, who admitted it was a good joke.

Brooke didn't waste any time responding to Jason. They texted for a short while and agreed to meet the next day for dinner.

DIANE -- SEVEN WEEKS AGO: FIRST DATE

Diane sat at the café waiting for Jason, who was already late. After texting each other for a good amount of time, they decided to meet for lunch. She actually wanted dinner, but he had dinner plans already with some family members, so it was the only time they could do it unless she wanted to postpone it for another day. She didn't want to take the chance that one postponement would lead to another and another, and before she knew it, they both decided to just call it quits. It was better to get the first date over with quickly to see how things went.

He arrived and apologized for being late. It was only a few minutes, so it was no problem for her. When they tried to greet each other, she went for a hug and he tried to go for a handshake. Then they awkwardly tried to reverse those moves with each other and both laughed at the situation. Eventually, they gave each other a small hug and sat down to eat.

Diane had never been to that restaurant before, so she allowed Jason to order for them both. She also liked it when a guy did that; it was old-fashioned, but she liked it when a guy took charge a little. They had some small talk before the food arrived, and she was already enjoying his company. She found him charming and funny, also a little dorky, but in a good way. He was very interested in some of the things she had to say and laughed at jokes, which she liked because she never had that good of a sense of humor.

When the food came, he talked about how he first tried these dishes on a trip through Europe. She found it interesting that he once took a year off to travel and enjoyed listening to his stories about the places he had been to.

They even discussed some of their favorite hobbies and TV shows that they were both watching. She was afraid that he was going to talk about the Marvel TV shows, which she knew nothing about. He did eventually mention he had seen a few of them, but wasn't intent on watching them all, which gave her great relief.

Diane couldn't believe that one of her friends suggested that she should try women again. Although she had considered it, she was glad she hadn't, or else she wouldn't be here with Jason. This was only their first date, but she was finding herself infatuated with him.

When the lunch was over, he paid the bill, and she got a quick look at the tip he left. She found that you can tell what kind of person you are by how much of a tip you leave for waiters. A small tip on good service meant you were cheap and didn't care about how hard people worked for you; a big tip on good service meant you were generous and appreciated the people around you. Jason left a generous tip, just over 20 percent by her calculations, which gave her a big smile.

After they were done, they agreed to meet again for dinner this time. They gave each other a hug and a kiss on the cheek close to the mouth, and said their goodbyes.

BROOKE -- SEVEN WEEKS AGO: FIRST DATE

Brooke was very nervous. She hadn't been on a date with a man for a good long time and felt she didn't know what to say or how to act. With women, it was easy because she was dating a gender that she had a lot in common with. There were differences in how men and women converse with people.

Lori told her to just relax and be herself. She also suggested she remember how she talks with her male colleagues at work when they go out for lunch.

Kelly, on the other hand, suggested she bail on him and let her take her to a new lesbian nightclub that had just opened up.

Brooke saw that Jason was a few minutes later, which made her more nervous. Already, she was wondering if he was the one who had abandoned her at the last minute. She thought about texting him but didn't want to appear needy and anxious.

Luckily for her, he showed up and apologized for being late. Just like before with Diane, Jason tried to shake her hand when they greeted her, and she went for a hug before they awkwardly tried to reverse those greetings on each other and laughed.

Jason ordered for them both, something that Brooke was already liking. With her previous girlfriends, she was the one who usually took charge of the dates, ordering and paying the bill, and other things to treat her dates like ladies. She realized that this was the first time in years that she didn't have to do all of those things and just let the man treat her.

Brooke's anxiety about the date quickly vanished as they had an amazing time during their dinner. She loved hearing his stories of his year-long trip throughout Europe, and he loved hearing some of her funny stories about her life.

Brooke decided that she wouldn't tell Jason that she hadn't been on a date with a man in years and was solely focused on women during that time. She wasn't sure how he would react if she told him she was bisexual; he seemed like he would be OK with it but didn't want to risk making things awkward between them too soon. There was a chance that he saw on the dating app that she was looking for both men and women, but there was no way to know if he paid attention to that. So, she decided to leave the subject alone until it came up naturally.

When they were done, Jason paid the bill. She was about to grab the bill herself since she was so used to it, but quickly held back when she remembered she was on a date with a man this time. When he was signing the bill, she got a good look at the tip he was leaving and was relieved that he was leaving something generous.

Afterwards, they made plans to go out again very soon. They hugged and kissed each other on the cheek, close to the mouth, and said their goodbyes.

JASON -- FIRST TWO DATES

When he saw Diane's profile, Jason thought she was a very beautiful woman. From her profile, he thought they had a lot in common and could get along very well. He looked at her, figuring he could get a few months of fun with her before he broke it off. Unlike Diane, he wasn't really looking for a relationship; he just wanted a beautiful woman to fool around with.

The women who were just looking for some casual fun were great, but sometimes they ended their good times too soon. He liked the casual fun to go on for a good while before they stopped. That's why he sometimes went after women looking for monogamy; he could string them along for a good while, sleeping with them regularly, before he broke it off.

When it was time to end things, he always found clever ways to end them without the woman catching on that he was never intent on the relationship lasting. He knew it made him an asshole, but as far as they knew, he wasn't being one, so he was off the hook.

Later in the day, he ran into Brooke's profile and thought she seemed wonderful. He also liked that she was into both men and women, which made her even sexier to him. He reached out to her to see what she was like. After some texting, she wanted to know if they could meet.

Deep down, he knew it was a bad idea, but he couldn't resist the challenge. He never dated two women at the same time, let alone slept with two women at the same time. He wasn't even sure if the women he was talking to would even like him long enough for him to enjoy it, but he wanted to take the risk anyway.

He told his friends about his plans. They were players also, in their own way, that is, but even they thought it was a bad idea. They tried to talk him out of it, but he made up his mind about it.

For both first dates, he knew exactly what to do. It was the same thing he always did on first dates that always worked well with women. First, he would be no more than a few minutes late, which would make them just a little bit anxious to see him. Then when they greeted each other, if the woman went for a handshake or hug, he would do the opposite, and then when they tried again, they would reverse those greetings. This made the woman laugh at the situation, which made him more likeable.

He always ordered the food, which they would expect him to do and pay for it as well. Even if he wasn't playing them, it was something he was taught he should do. But he always made sure they would notice how much he would leave for a tip; leaving a decent-sized tip for the waiter always made him look good in the eyes of the woman.

During their meals, he knew exactly what to say. He knew the best jokes to make them laugh and the stories to keep them engaged. What he knew would always work was talking about his time traveling around Europe; women loved hearing about it. He didn't expect to use his time in Europe to one day seduce women; after he saw a couple of good reactions to that, it became his favorite thing to talk about with them.

But he also knew when to let the woman talk and just listen to what she had to say. Women love it when you listen to them and ask questions about them. He even knew when to laugh at an appropriate level at whatever joke they said, even when it's not that funny. He liked Diane, but he didn't find her all that funny, but he still laughed at her jokes anyway.

At the end of the night, two things could happen. First, he would only suggest meeting each other again for a second date; he would never go for sex right away. This would make him look like he was sincere about the relationship, so when they do start sleeping together, it would become more frequent when they think he wants monogamy.

The second thing that could happen at the end of the night is that the woman suggests they go back to her place for the night. If that happens, he wouldn't say no despite what he would do in the first situation. In this situation, he was only human and wouldn't turn down a woman's request for a night of fun. Also, if he said no after that, it would make him look too sensitive; women liked sensitive men, but only to a limit.