Bump' em Love

    She entered the large elegantly furnished hotel suite in downtown Las Vegas and slowly sank into the velvety softness of the beige overstuffed chair, opened her purple plastic leather bag and took out the letter. She read it again, marveling that she had won the online Bump’em contest including the all expenses paid trip to Vegas for the final prize drawing. She had entered the contest as a joke really, something to occupy her time after work, a nice break from managing the local community college nursing program back in Pennsylvania. It was fun to come home at night, log on the computer and become her Avatar, to act out her aggressions on her opponents.
    It really had started as a game; she never really wanted to win the competition. Until she met Jack that is. She shivered, the very thought of him set her heart racing one hundred miles an hour. His Avatar so suave, elegant in a sport coat and black crew neck shirt, thick gray hair surrounding a Romanesque face and large aquamarine eyes. 
  “ Nice move Jeannie,” were his first words in a soft baritone voice that melted her stone cold heart, “ I can see you will be a worthy opponent. I look forward to playing you often.”
      By the end of the first game they were gently teasing each other, on the verge of flirting really. Soon, he was online even when not in the game, teasing her, commenting on the other players, making her laugh. It became her obsession to follow his progress, to chat with him as others played. She wondered if Jack was his real name and what was he really like? She realized he could be very young or very old or even very female. Did he ever wonder who she really was, what she was really like? Was he just using her for his own amusement?
    Her nervousness drew her to the large picture window to gaze out at the bustling, brightly lit street, not really seeing the view. Would Jack like the real person she was, a studious program director in a community college program a reader of books whose sole form of relaxation was watching football, auto racing and reading? Never mind her being short and plump with dark graying hair and glasses, not the pillbox hat wearing business suited avatar she had selected for the game.
    “Well Jeannie, we will soon know won’t we? Its improbable but he survived to the final four also. You are going to see him tomorrow and he will see you. He will have a 50-50 shot at guessing me, after all Elayne from New York won as well. And you will have a 50-50 shot at knowing him because Roswell from New Mexico also won. That is if the avatars and names were gender correct!” Jeannie chuckled. “ We will see what happens. It’s all we can do! If he is truly your friend and interested in you as you think and hope, the looks and the job won’t matter. Come to think of it, I don’t know what he does, I only know he is from North Carolina. Tomorrow will be here soon enough, time to get some sleep.”
    She was awake long before sunrise, her body still on east coast time. She quickly got a shower and dressed in a black denim knee length skirt and pink knit sweater sprinkled with rhinestones, not too dressy, not too casual. Room service breakfast satisfied her insatiable hunger. At precisely 11:45 she headed to the elevator, hands shaking, heart pounding.
      The sights and sounds of the crowded casino overwhelmed her. She pushed through excited bodies until she reached the ballroom. She showed her letter to an imposing gentleman in a black security uniform and followed his pointed direction to a roped off area in the back of the room, marveling at the crowd gathered to watch the final drawing. She cursed under her breath when she realized she was the first to arrive.
    Her eyes kept watch on the door for the other contestants. First to arrive was a tall blonde dressed in a black cashmere form fitting dress and chunky gold jewelry. She smiled politely as Elayne introduced herself. Elayne was a much younger and more attractive version of her avatar. Next came Roswell, looking nothing like his alien avatar, in reality a young black man with long braids. They shook hands. 
    Her pulse quickened as she realized that Jack was not there yet. She kept her eyes on the door watching, waiting for the last arrival. Her eyes flew open when she spotted an average height, handsome dark haired brown-eyed man showing a letter to the guard, and then walked towards the group. Her heart told it was Jack though he did not look at all like his avatar. Her eyes locked on his as they scanned the room and he smiled brightly. Her heart was pumping like a steam engine; palms clammy and she felt like she would jump out of her skin as he approached, Jack was none other than the racecar driver she had watched on TV so often. She took a deep breath as she heard his familiar voice introduce himself to the others and approach her, his eyes remaining locked on hers.
    “ Well, you must be my dear, dear Jeannie! I am Jackson Perduson also known as Jack. Somehow you are just as I expected. I am so glad that Bump’em brought us together. Win or lose in the drawing today, it looks like we won each other didn’t we? When the formalities are through, lets hang out and find out if what we both feel is real.”
    Her face flushed red a smile lighting her face as she nodded yes. Her hand tingled as he gently squeezed it then held it tightly. Looking deep into his eyes, she knew she had found a shot at love.