A week had gone by since her sub-par rendezvous with Kyle. She had definitely slowed down on the dating apps and was less concerned about random male attention. It was for that reason that she hadn’t expected a notification from Bumble. It was a message from a guy she had matched with a little while back. She had sent him a message and he hadn’t replied, until then.
“Do you like pasta?” his message read. What a dumb question, she thought. Who doesn’t love pasta?? “Of course,” she replied. Instant text bubble dots. “Would you like to join me tonight at Rêverie?” (A well-known pasta restaurant downtown. Also not the real name.) She was surprised at the immediate date invitation. She had been used to endless conversations with no in-person meetings. Granted, that was mainly because of Covid restrictions and lockdowns and just, general pandemic life.
It was a Saturday. The only day of rest that she would have for the next several weeks due to her upcoming vacation, as well as several other commitments she had towards the end of the month. She had had zero intention of doing anything that day, but this unexpected and deliciously intriguing invitation had piqued her curiosity, so she agreed to meet up for dinner.
“How’s 9:30pm?” Wtf?, she thought. Was she an old lady for thinking that was an outrageously late hour to eat dinner – especially pasta?! She asked if they could meet earlier and he informed her that that was the time of the reservation, but would be happy to meet earlier for drinks.
She thought about it for a second. Reservation? He had literally just asked her out. Did he already have that reservation? Was she just filling a gap from a previous date that fell through? She half heartedly joked about it, so he explained. He said that he had called to make a reso literally as soon as she had agreed, and that that was the only time slot they had available. She was a little taken aback by how fast he did that, but he had hooked her in with the promise of pasta, so she agreed to meet him at 8:30pm at another bar down the street, then head over for dinner.
Having had no plans to go out, she was looking extra haggard that day. So, she put in a little extra effort and got herself all gussied up. When she headed out to meet him, she was really feeling herself. She drove downtown and found a free parking lot close to the restaurant. She walked down the somewhat bustling, lamp lit street, taking photos of beautiful murals on random buildings she passed along the way.
She arrived for drinks at a small hole in the wall type of establishment. Different sections of different coloured checkerboard flooring led her way in. She saw a man sitting in a booth and waved to him before awkwardly realizing that wasn’t her date. As she turned her head away in embarrassment, she noticed another guy sitting alone at a high top, his back facing the door. He had blonde spiky-ish hair, and was wearing a very loud, floral, collared shirt. Even from behind, she could already tell she wasn’t interested. Fuck.
She walked up to her side of the table and greeted him with an uncomfortable wave. He looked like his eyes could literally jump out of his head. Just wide, wide open. She sat down, and so began her awkward date with a guy she wasn’t in to.
There was nothing actually wrong with this guy. He was smart, well spoken, had a good job, and his own place. He looked really great on paper and was very kind. But he was desperately unfunny, and there was just no chemistry there whatsoever. Also, he held his drink weird. He would pick it up and it was like his wrist would go limp and he had to hold it inward. She worried she was being judgmental and that he maybe had a physical disability she hadn’t noticed in his Bumble pics. But no. Whenever he wasn’t holding his drink, his wrist was completely straight. What a weird way to hold a drink, she thought.
They chatted and made the typical first date pleasantries before finishing up and heading back down the street to Rêverie. The patio had cleared out and there was a calmer vibe there than at the first place. They were quickly seated across from an awesome mural on the restaurant wall, of a giant mouth eating a swirled-up forkful of pasta. She made sure to take a pic of it later when her date went to the bathroom.
The conversation was decent but unexciting. His eyes bulged out at her all night and his awkward drink hand distracted her as they chatted. Her meal was absolutely delicious, but she knew all that cream and cheese would come back on her later. It was worth it though. She loved her some pasta.
They finished their meal and he paid for everything. She had been the one to ask for the bills, and he made sure to say, “just one”. So she did try to pay her share, knowing full well she wouldn’t be seeing him again. She did, however, out of sheer awkwardness and manners, agree to message him when she returned from her vacation. He asked if he could walk her to her car, and she agreed. He hugged her awkwardly and kissed her cheek as they said their goodbyes.
She got in her car and watched him walk away down the street. Even though the guy was a dud, it was nice to be taken out and treated with respect, rather than just meeting up with a guy for a hook up. She was happy she had gone, and felt like she had maybe finally moved on from the sex-only part of dating.
Shortly thereafter, her vacation had finally arrived. She was beyond excited. It had been about 14 years since she had been out west to see her family. And this time was even more exciting because a friend of hers had moved out there a few years prior, and now she was actually able to go visit her!
It was that friend who suggested she keep her dating apps on while she was away. She was going on vacation with her parents to see all her aunts and cousins out there. It didn’t make sense to her to leave her dating apps on because she knew she wouldn’t be able to act on any matches she might have had. Still, her curiosity got the better of her and she agreed to keep them on, just in case.
When she was waiting for her luggage after finally arriving in BC, she cruised her dating apps to see what the selection was like. Holy. Fuck. BC guys are waayyyy hotter than Ontario guys! There’s not even a competition. There must be something in the water out there or something because like.. dang. [Insert fire emoji. Insert drooling emoji]
She immediately matched with a sexy British guy living out in White Rock. Even though he wasn’t native to the province, he definitely belonged there. He was funny and charming and they had great conversation right from the opening line. But once she explained she was on vacation with her family and that it would be hard to meet up, he just completely stopped replying. Which is fair. She knew it was pointless to chat with anyone she matched with, but it was also a serious ego boost whenever she matched with a BC smoke show.
She matched with several other BC hunks over her seven day stay. Some she ended up chatting with more than once, others ghosted her as soon as she turned down their date invites. She carried on, regardless, just enjoying the attention. It wasn’t until several days after returning home that she matched with someone she felt might actually be worth her time… (and who would make more sense connecting with as they lived in the same city)