Internet Kill Switch by Keith Ward Page A

Tony still didn’t have the confidence to face her alone; he wanted Max available if he got stuck. He was petrified this would be his first -- and last -- date with Scarlett.
    S he opened the door and gave him a huge smile.
    “Hi, Tony.”
    He could barely breathe. Scarlett’s smooth blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore black jeans and a pink sweater.
    “Uh, hi,” he managed weakly.
    “Tell her she looks good,” Max whispered.
    “ Wow, you look great,” Tony said. She smiled again.
    “Thanks.”
    “Ready to go?”
    “Sure,” Scarlett said , and grabbed his arm.
    Tony couldn’t think again. She ... grabbed my arm. My. Arm. She’s touching it. Right now.
    He wasn’t sure if he would have plucked up the nerve to touch her at all tonight. And instead, she took his arm within seconds. In another moment, they were in the car, and he took off, forgetting to buckle his seat belt in his bliss.
    Although the day was cold for April, Scarlett asked if Tony could roll down the windows. “Sure,” he said. He assumed Scarlett would want it warmer, the way his Mom always wanted the car warmer than he did.
    In fact, Scarlett was cold with the windows down. But Tony’s aftershave was overpowering her nose. Of course, she would never say anything about that. She could tell Tony was nervous enough as it was; it was obvious he hadn’t dated much, and she thought it might crush him if she mentioned it. Besides, he was so sweet, and she found his lack of self-confidence a refreshing change from the guys she seemed to attract.
    The fact was that pretty girls like her had trouble meeting humble, gentle boys. Guys assumed that good-looking women would only date good-looking men, so the ones with some substance, but whose looks fell short of Ryan Gosling, never approached them. And those who were good-looking tended to be self-absorbed show ponies without two brain cells to rub together. This made for slim pickings.
    Tony believed absolutely in the hot-girls-only-date-hot-boys meme, which is why he couldn’t believe he was sitting next to Scarlett, driving her on a real, honest-to-goodness date. After all, it was common knowledge that guys like him didn’t date girls like this. Guys like him dated girls with glasses and less-than-hourglass figures, girls with “good personalities.” In truth, he didn’t mind; he liked those types of girls, and always thought that would be his “tier.” Scarlett was on another “tier”, about five higher than his. Tony wasn’t sure what would happen when tiers got so mixed up: would the fabric of space/time rip open, creating a black hole that threatened to destroy Earth before the date was over? At the moment, he was willing to chance the destruction of all matter to sit next to her.
     
    Streets were blocked off around downtown Miles Forge for Spring Fling, so Tony parked on a side street. He told Scarlett not to open her door; he jumped out and opened it for her after scooting around. “Your Mom would be pleased,” Max said into his headset. “You opened her car door.” Tony smiled and chuckled.
    “What’s funny?” Scarlett asked him.
    “You just can’t believe you’re here with her,” Max said in his ear.
    “I can’t believe I’m here with you,” Tony said.
    Scarlett smiled and took his arm again as they walked.
    Tony parked on this particular street because it had his favorite taco stand. He headed toward it.
    “OK, Scarlett, we’re here for two reasons. One, I’m starving and I love the tacos from here. A friend of mine owns it. Two, I wanted to show you the phone I was telling you about.”
    “Yeah, I haven’t met Max yet,” Scarlett said.
    Tony pulled Max out his pocket and handed it to Scarlett. She held the phone, admiring its beautiful simplicity. “It’s amazing!”
    Tony beamed. “Max, this is Scarlett.”
    “It’s a pleasure to meet you Scarlett,” Max said.
    “Um, you too,” Scarlett said, feeling a bit weird.
    “Tony’s told