Hailey didn't know what had possessed her to actually RSVP to this Mixr event.

Maybe it was the fact that it'd been more than eight months since her asshole of an ex had broken her heart and she had yet to go on a single decent date. Or the fact that the holidays were fast approaching—a time she had always felt was best celebrated alongside someone else. Or maybe it was simply the fact that she was lonely. And she was tired of being alone.

Whatever the reason, she remembered a bottle of red wine being involved, and now, on the first of December, her and about fifty other Manhattan singles were crammed into the downstairs of a cocktail bar on the corner of Lexington and 33rd Street. Several small tables with two chairs each were scattered around the room, but no one had taken a seat yet, all intent on scoping out the crowd.

It was like an advanced speed dating event, where your dates were predetermined based on your online profile and preferences.

From her first glance around the room, Hailey was at least thankful she didn't recognize anyone. Not that she really expected to, only having moved to the city a year ago, but knowing no one would judge her if the night ended up being a total disaster eased her mind.

The range of people, however, astounded her. There were men and women of different ethnicities and heights, those who'd dressed up and those who'd kept it casual, and then there were the clear introverts (with hunched shoulders or their hands in their pockets as they looked around the room) and the extroverts (who had already begun to mingle).

Hailey stood firmly in the introvert category, pulling her phone out of her coat pocket to check if she had any messages. Or if this event would be starting soon, considering it was already five after seven.

But as soon as she clicked on the familiar Twitter logo, telling herself she'd scroll through her feed for a few minutes before calling it a night, a middle-aged, blonde woman walked to the front of the room, tapping a microphone to quiet the crowd.

"Hello, everyone!" she announced, grinning as her gaze arced over the room. "I'm Melanie, one of Mixr's community associates, and I'll be running tonight's event with the help of a few volunteers." After pointing out three others who all wore bright purple Mixr t-shirts, she continued. "I'm so happy to see all of you out and looking to meet new people, which is what our platform is all about. We want to help people make connections based off more than a physical attraction, which is why, tonight, you've all been matched with six individuals who we feel would be a good match for you based on the questionnaire you filled out. Though we're not guaranteeing any sparks, we are hopeful a few of you meet someone interesting enough to ask on a second date."

Anxiety and excitement filled the room as Melanie gestured to the table in front of her.

"Name tags are up here, along with your date cards, which will tell you the tables you'll be seated at for each of the six rounds." She waved us forward. "So come on, let's get these handed out so we can begin."

When the microphone was put down, everyone began to weave through the tables to get to the front, forming a large crowd that squished the fifty strangers even closer together.

"Sorry," a deep, apologetic voice said after bumping Hailey over, causing her hip to dig into the table next to her.

Shaking her head and turning her body towards the man, Hailey said, "Don't worry about it." Though when she met his gaze, she froze momentarily. With curly brown hair, hazel eyes, and what looked to be an impressively lean body, the man was smoking hot in a pretty boy-next-door type of way. Plus, he was pretty much the exact opposite of her ex—which only made him hotter.

"It's a little crazy in here, isn't it?"

As the two of them scooted towards the front and through the crowd, Hailey couldn't think of anything intelligent to say as she nodded. "Yeah, crazy."

The corners of the man's lips pulled upwards as he reached around her and grabbed his name tag and date card, and despite trying to sneak a peek as she grabbed her own, Hailey didn't see a thing.

"Maybe we'll have a chance to talk later," he said, sending her a wink before he turned and finagled his way out of the crowd.

If only, Hailey thought as she squeezed her way to the side and sought out table fourteen for her first 'date'.

But as the ten-minute dates got underway, Hailey realized she wasn't near as fortunate to be matched with anyone who piqued her interest like the mystery man had.

The first man was easy on the eyes, but the conversation between the two of them quickly became strained after initial introductions, neither of them really knowing what to say. The next was the complete opposite, not letting her get a word in edgewise as he told her all about his recent successes as an investment banker in the city.

Not something she was particularly interested in.

Then there came the recent widower, who was a little too old and, if she was honest, too emotionally damaged for her to consider, followed by a street musician who was living on his friend's couch, and a man who was holding onto a bit of hostility surrounding a job he'd recently been fired from.

'Real winners,' Hailey thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes as she moved on to her last assigned table of the evening.

And while the last victim to this whole charade was actually cute, he immediately ruined things by asking her how she would feel about being his plus-one to his sister's wedding over the holidays. Asking her to meet a room full of strangers when they were no more than strangers themselves? No thank you. Hailey preferred to ease into a relationship, not dive right in.

And when the night came to an end, with Melanie at the front of the room thanking everyone for coming, Hailey couldn't help but feel this entire night had been a scam and that she'd willingly wasted the last hour on strangers she hoped to never see again.