Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 90682 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90682 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Me: LOL Because you have three pictures where you have a beard and four where you don’t?? Women want to know what the current status is.
Brian: Oh. Ha. Currently no beard.
Me: How is the city treating you so far?
Brian: Same old shit, you know? I hated this place, which is one of the reasons I left, but—here we are, ya know?
Me: Sure, I get that.
Not really, but okay. Chicago is a huge city, full of life and people—I understand some people don’t want to stay in their hometown, but to say that he hates it…that seems dramatic.
He’s a civil engineer and he hates the city? Doesn’t he design bridges and tall buildings? Literally everything you find in the city?
Brian: So what’s your deal? When was your last relationship?
Me: A few months ago—never been married, no kids.
Brian: RED FLAG lol
Me: How is that a red flag? LOL
I only add the LOL because I’m somewhat offended he’d say that—since when is being thirty and having no kids a bad thing?
Brian: Just kidding.
Me: What about you???
Brian: I got married out of college, it lasted 3 years, I have one daughter who is 18 months. Ex and I get along fine.
Well, that’s good news. I don’t think I’d appreciate possibly dating someone who had nothing good to say about an ex. Though I understand not everyone can get along, and not everyone’s ex is a decent human.
Me: Where does she live?
Brian: Madison, so, about two hours. Makes seeing my kid a real pain in the ass.
Me: Yeah I can see how that would be inconvenient.
Brian: Doing anything this weekend, we should grab a drink.
Me: I could do a drink.
I mean, what’s the harm? I know Brian from my past and although I don’t know ADULT Brian—how bad could he be? He sounds successful and when I texted Kate about him, she said she hasn’t seen him in a while but heard he’s a decent dude.
Brian: Awesome. Let’s coordinate something on Friday.
Why wait until Friday? I want to ask him. Why not plan something right now?
Me: Sure, sounds good.
Brian: Cool.
Uh, yeah—cool.
Me: Have a good night!
His chat goes silent, but the little green button on his profile is still green—Brian is still on the dating app, probably chatting away.
I nibble my bottom lip.
Shouldn’t I be more excited I might have a date this weekend? I haven’t had plans or a date with a man in quite some time. I should be giddy. But some small part of me has doubts, those semi-strange answers poking at the pit of my stomach.
You’re just out of practice, Pose—you haven’t had a man ask you out in forever. Do you even remember how to date anymore?
Wide awake and not at all tired, I go back into my messages and see if Duke is online.
He’s not.
Regardless, I send him a message.
Posey: Still awake?
I close the app but not too long after, a notification pops up on my screen.
Duke: I’ve been playing Scrabble like a loser.
Posey: With who?
Duke: Strangers on some app.
Posey: Given up already on the dating apps?
Duke: Yes and no. I’m not in the mood right now to make small talk, it’s annoying.
The same questions with every single person you match with gets exhausting and stale.
Posey: Agree
Duke: No luck with “Brian?”
I can’t help but notice Duke’s proper punctuation, the quotation on either side of Brian’s name, the question mark inside the quote.
Posey: We decided on getting together this weekend for a drink maybe.
Duke: Maybe? Why maybe?
Posey: I mean, he said we’d figure out the details later this week.
Duke: Why wait? When you’re interested in something you jump on it.
I was thinking the same thing, but I’m not going to nag or pressure a man to ask me on a date. And drinks isn’t a date, is it?
Posey: Random question: do you consider drinks a date or no?
Duke: I never do drinks with a chick. Or coffee, hate them both.
Posey: So is that a yes or a no?
I want him to explain.
Duke: No, I don’t think drinks is a date—drinks is a cop-out. More of a ‘feeling each other out’ than anything. And if I’m into a woman, I’m gonna ask her on a proper date, none of this wish-washy bullshit.
Duke sounds like my grandfather, bless his soul, with his old-fashioned views of modern dating.
Posey: I see.
Duke: Do you agree or not agree?
Is he wanting to make conversation about this? Or is he being polite—it’s impossible to decipher the tone via messenger. Guess I could walk across the hallway, knock on his door, and ask him?
Nah.
Too personal.
I’m his landlady for two weeks, not his matchmaker, and he certainly has no designs on me in the romantic sense.
Not that I’d want him to be.
He’s younger than I am.
He’s way better looking than I am.
He’s famous.
He hangs out with celebrities, and I hang out with…