"Brave we were to anchor together under the moonless sky but we shared this compass and we followed those stars and here we found our harbour." - Unknown

I sat across my mother, her grin so wide that it looked as though it was going to tear at the edges. I impatiently waited for her to finish her thought, my fingers tapping gently on my thigh. "Well let's hear it?" I eagerly asked, the curiosity growing unbearable. She leaned forward, Clara bouncing in her seat next to her. Was she in on this?

"You have three months to find yourself a decent boyfriend. If you can do so in the time allotted, we will stop pestering you about it." She glanced over at Clara who was nodding.

"And what if I don't?" I asked, my thoughts running wild with this idea. I wasn't sure how I was going to find myself a suitable boyfriend by the end of the next three months but I wasn't afraid to take on a challenge. Leaning forward, I placed my elbows on my knees. For once, I was fully engaged in a conversation about relationships, maybe even a little excited.

"If you don't find someone," she paused for a moment, bringing a finger up to her lips. "Clara and I will pick one for you. Now of course you won't have to marry the boy, just give him a fair chance." She nodded her head, proudly beaming at Clara.

"I don't know..." I hesitated as I mulled over the idea in my head. There was no way I couldn't win this bet. I could wait until the last second and pay somebody to pretend to be my boyfriend for a week. I could do anything... but was this really possible? How would I find time for dating? I wasn't one to break out of my normal day to day routine. Besides, I barely did anything with anybody other than my mother and Clara.

"Oh come on, Erin. What do you have to lose?" Clara asked.

"Deal," I finally said. Sure, I liked the idea but I knew it was going to be hard. It was going to take me out of my comfort zone but maybe that's what I needed. Both women erupted with excitement, jumping from their chairs with their hands in the air.

"Yes, it's only three months, but can you manage dividing your focus between dating and work for that long?" My mother mused. I wanted to shake my head, I hadn't realized how much effort I would have to actually put into this bet. That pressure scared me a little.

"Are you planning on picking up the slack then? Because the bridal shop is a full time job." I teased. I looked up just in time to see her roll her eyes.

"Sweetie, the shop will survive without you on a Saturday night. For God's sake, your father used to take a month off around fashion week every year because he enjoyed the bridal shows." She stood up and grabbed the empty cups off the table, carrying them to the sink.

"I know, Momma. I just don't know anything other than the shop." I sighed.

"Erin, I truly believe this will be a really good thing for you." Clara placed her hand on my knee like the words would matter more if she did. After a moment, she pulled away and stood up."Well thank you for the hot chocolate, I'm going to head home to finish up some of my own chores. I will see you guys tomorrow." She waved, heading for the door.

"I sure like her," my mother mentioned when Clara had left, leaning against the kitchen counter. I got up from my seat closing the distance between my mother and I. I wrapped her in a big bear hug.

"Thank you for caring, but I'm going to head out too." I thanked my mother for all she has done. "Good luck finishing the things you said you needed to do. Call or text if you need anything, and sorry I didn't answer your calls from earlier. I was neck deep in white gowns." I winked, making my way towards the door.

"See you, Erin." My mother waved, a large smile spreading across her face.

I stepped out into the brisk winter air. Goosebumps fluttered over my legs and I pull my jacket closer. Dragging myself towards the street I wave my arm in attempt to get a cab. Soon one appeared. I quickly hop into the back seat with the cab driver yelling at me to hurry. I let out a slight huff of indignation as I gave him my address. I turned my attention to my cell phone, scrolling through my Facebook news feed.

There were pictures of kids from my high school with their spouses or celebrating their kids' birthdays. Everybody seems to have somebody. I quickly close out of Facebook, bringing my attention to the window. I watch contently as pedestrians travel to wherever they were going; many were wrapped in large coats as they tried to fight away the bitter weather. I was excited that things were starting to warm up around here but a little panicked because wedding season was just around the corner.

I thought about the bet I had made with Clara and my mother and honestly I had no clue where to begin. I wanted to find a man. As much as I say I don't, I really do. The pictures on Facebook made me feel bad. I wanted to be one of those couples, with a man I can share my whole world with. I want him to understand that I have a shop to run, but I want something important in life to show me there was more than just a bridal shop.

The cab driver pulled over in front of a large building that shot straight into the sky as far as I could see. I thanked him after handing him some cash. Doing one last check to make sure I had grabbed all of my things I pushed myself out into the elements. The cab driver sped off in a hurry, spewing curse words; apparently I hadn't closed the door in time.

I turned to look at the busy street, pulling some of my hair out of my face. Pushing my way through the crowds of people I made it to the front door of the building. The doorman waved with a small little smile.

"Good evening." I nodded in response, quickly walking through the revolving doors. My shoes clicked against the tile floor, each footstep echoing loudly against the mirrored ceiling and the walls. Hopping into the elevator before the doors could close I hit the button that led to the top floor. There were many people crowded in the small space so I settled in, expecting a longer ride.

Once the last set of people jumped off of the elevator it was smooth sailing to my floor. I mouthed a few cuss words as my stomach began to growl again. I remembered how little I had eaten today. Once I was finally safe in my penthouse I was able to take my jacket off. The heater had kept the room warm.

I absentmindedly pulled my phone out one more time, scrolling through the contacts I had. Aside from Clara and my mom, most of them were older men from the different companies I ordered from. I was a little disappointed in the amount of contacts I had that were purely for work.

There was one contact that hit me though, one that I hadn't used in the last four years. A best friend of mine from high school. I missed Carter so much. I wonder if he was still going far in life. He would have been the best doctor. I remembered how back in high school he helped me. He was probably the only reason I graduated. After the death of my father and finding out I had to run a bridal shop I barely made it through my senior year. I wanted to drop out but Carter kept me going.

My fingers danced over the screen. I wanted to send him a message but I wasn't sure if I could. I'm sure he had found himself a girl and had moved on. We never dated but there was always something there. I thought he was going to be the one I ended up with once I figured things out. I remembered crying so hard the night that he left. I remember promising him we would stay friends forever, no matter what. Obviously that didn't happen since we haven't talked in over three years.

I bit my tongue, holding tears back. Anger began to take hold of me as I remembered why Carter and I stopped talking. We had plans. I was going to study business management at the same college as him while he prepared himself for medical school. He was going to stay in the same state, within an hours drive of me. We were going to stick together, but one day he had suddenly changed his mind. He started drifting away, our friendship becoming too much for him. He found a college on the other side of the states, a college that would take him all the way through prep and medical school. When he got accepted he decided to tell me the 'good' news. Obviously I was excited for him. It was something he had always wanted to do and I couldn't take that away from him, but I felt abandoned. My best friend had chosen California over the plans we'd had for years.

I needed something to distract myself. Pulling my laptop out, I sat back down on the couch. Once I was logged in I opened the internet, searching through a few websites with bridal news, trying to find something of interest. Nothing was distracting enough to remove my thoughts from the boy long gone, though. Frustrated, I grabbed my phone. Holding the phone up to my ear I listened to the dial tone and ringing, waiting for the other person to answer.

"Hello?" a voice answered.

"Oh Clara, thank god you answered," I said, relieved. Clicking through some more web pages I decided this was hopeless. Nothing was newsworthy. I didn't care the percentage of lace on a dress from the 70's. At least not in this moment.

"Erin, what's going on, girl?" Clara's peppy voice sounded through the speaker.

"I need your help," I started before taking a moment to figure out how I wanted to ask my question. Biting my lip, I finally asked, "How the hell am I supposed to get a boyfriend in three months? Where do I even start?"

"I knew you were going to ask that. It was just a matter of when, " she teased, smug. I heard a slight sigh on the other end of the line. "Well, looks like you are going to need to find yourself a dating website."

"Dating sites don't work." I rolled my eyes, realizing that it was silly since nobody could see me.

"I recommend you try Tinder," she paused for a moment, and it sounded like somebody was talking to her in the background. I flipped the TV off so I could hear her better. "Tinder is probably my favorite one, but you should try it out and see if you like it."

"Tinder?" I repeated.

"Yeah Tinder, just download it, okay? I gotta go; Richard is here and we're trying to watch a movie. I'll talk to you later, hun." I heard a click. She had hung up on me.

"Lots of help you are," I joked, shaking my head slightly before pulling my phone away from my ear. Exiting out of my phone app, I opened the Google play store searching for Tinder. I found it easily, surprised to find that it had pretty good ratings.

The app downloaded rather quickly and before I knew it I, Erin Rose, found myself making a Tinder account on a quiet Sunday night.