NaNoWriMo Day 25- The Shoes of Baltimore

“Have you dated recently? When was your last relationship? What was your girlfriend like?”

You might broach the subject of past relationships on first dates. But whoever brings it up, that normally signals to the other person you aren’t over the last person you dated, you think you might be but your not, you have a lot of resentment and jealous, or you still haven’t worked through the feelings yet. Sometimes, it is used as a qualifier. You see, subconsciously, women will sometimes tell me they are physically attracted to something their boyfriend did. You know what I’m talking about. Say you strike up a conversation with a woman and you’re talking about hiking.

“Yea, me and my boyfriend went on an amazing hike last year. We rode horses through the canyon. Have you ever been?”

Now, this could just be a women telling a guy she has a boyfriend so don’t try anything. That’s always possible. But bringing it up within five minutes of meeting her may also be a way to qualify you. She is saying that her boyfriend did this for her, what do you got? Can you one up her?

This is actually one of the few circumstances where it’s appropriate to bring up an old flame. “Yea, actually me and this girl I used to date went there. We flew in on a helicopter and hiked to this secluded peak where we sat and watched the sun set. We drank champagne and eat chocolate covered strawberries. She fell asleep in my arms and said it was the most romantic moment of my life.”

Boom. One up that.

But this wasn’t really about trying to one up someone or being jealous. Mickey responded because he simply had no filter.

“Well I dated this girl for three months. That was earlier this year. I thought we had a good connection. I mean, I did a lot for her and thought I did a pretty good job with catering to her needs. But I don’t think she ever appreciated me. Well, I can’t say that. I mean, we did have our good moments. But I don’t think she was accustomed to a guy being nice and treating her nice. She didn’t know how to handle it. She thought it was too overwhelming I guess. I would send her texts in the morning and wish her a good morning and hope she had a good day. She started to get upset by that because she said I didn’t need to text her each morning and tell her good morning. Kind of weird I thought at least. I mean, who doesn’t want to wake up to a good morning text? And I was always there for her to if she needed to call. But eventually, she said she didn’t like that. I think she just wanted me to leave her hanging and not be there for her emotionally. It sucks that most guys are that way and they ruin the experience of dating for so many women. I guess I’m just rare like that.”

To Mickey’s credit, he was doing a bit of qualifying himself here. He didn’t really know that he was, but he was showing to Jen the people she dated in the past would be nothing compared to Mickey. He would always be there and would always be there to support her. Since she liked a shoulder to cry on, she thought this all sounded good. She didn’t view it as a problem with Mickey, who constantly needed to be in contact with whoever he was dating or trying to woo.

“What did she look like?”

Again, this is something that shouldn’t have been asked on a first date. But because Mickey and Jen were outrageous, it wasn’t an issue.

“I would say she kind of looked like you, but wasn’t as pretty.”

Jen blushed. Nice line.

That should have been enough. But Jen pressed on.

“But, like, what did she actually look like?”

He pulled out his phone and scanned through it. Again, having a picture of your ex is a red flag. But, Jen wasn’t thinking about that. She just really wanted to see if she was prettier than the girl in the picture.

He pulled one up after a little searching. Mickey had made sure it was one where she makeup on but was still not the most flattering. Because he thought Jen would probably start to wonder what she would look like with makeup on.

It satisfied Jen’s curiosity when she saw it. She indeed looked better than this girl. This also made her happy because she would essentially be considered a step up from this other girl and Mickey would seemingly work harder to keep her happy.

“How about you?” he asked. “What have been the guys you have dated been like?”

“I can’t say I really have a type. My mom always yells at me for not being choosey enough. I mean, the guy has to be in shape. That’s a must. And I don’t like it if his hair is too long. But other than that, I really don’t have much of a taste for looks. And at this point, like we’ve been talking about, I really use want someone who is serious and ready to settle down.”

“Totally,” Mickey said. “Well, I think we’re on the same page there.”

The rest of the date, the conversation was all over the place. Each of them talked for way too long. He drove her back to her house in his Toyota Camry.

Jen thought that he would need to do something about this car an upgrade it. She saw a Cadillac Escalade on their way back to her place that she really liked. Jen was more than thrilled with how the night turned out, but her mom told her that she should abstain from physical activity until she was engaged.

Her mom referred to the old saying that people don’t buy a cow when they get the milk for free. She didn’t press her mom to find out what she considered physical activity, but her mom seemed to read her mind. She told her that she could do absolutely nothing.

‘If he sticks around after months of getting shot down,” you know he’s the one.

She didn’t invite him in to her apartment when they arrived, and Mickey didn’t seem to expect an invitation. She did let him lean in to kiss her cheek, however, and she gave him a hug.

She went in her apartment and was smitten. She wanted to call her mom and tell her, but she also knew her mom would be judgmental and knock her down a notch. So Jen was just going to enjoy thinking about this moment. Thinking about how she might have just found her future husband.

She heard her phone go off. She thought it was going to be her mother and be annoyed.

Instead, when she looked at the screen, it was Mickey’s number.

“Hey had a great time tonight! I know I’m supposed to wait three days and leave you hanging, but I don’t follow that nonsense. I think we had a great connection and it was great going out with someone who had the same values as me. Can’t wait to see you again! Let’s set something up soon. Have a good night babe.”

“If he texts you back after the date, don’t say anything! You need to wait. Wait at least two days before saying anything. Make him sweat. Make him think the date wasn’t as great as he thinks it is for a few days. You need to make him nervous.”

“How long do I have to wait before I have to text him back?” Jen asked.
“At least two days. Well, ideally I would say a week. But I know you kids today have no will power and can’t wait that long. So a minimum of two days,” Lauren said.

She held the phone in her hand and starred at the keyboard. She started typing, and she was going to say that she had a great time and wanted to see if he would get breakfast with her or maybe do lunch. But as she was starring at the completed message, she knew she couldn’t send it. She couldn’t ruin this, and she had to listen to her mother. It would be difficult, but her mom knew what she was talking about. She deleted the message and did her night routine. She cleaned off her makeup, washed her face with a scrub, brushed her teeth, and get into pajama pants and a t-shirt. She took her phone into her bed and began checking her social media accounts before going to sleep. She put the phone next to her pillow and began to go to sleep. Mickey was in his bed, but couldn’t fall asleep. He waited until 3 a.m. to see if she would text back. He was upset with himself for texting her so quickly. He hated playing those type of games, and he thought she might view it as a breath of fresh air that a guy would text her the night after their date and tell her what a great time they had. He thought they had a genuine connection, so he was worried that he wasn’t getting a response. Eventually, he had to fall asleep. But he went to bed thinking that Jen maybe didn’t have as good as a time as he thought.

However, when he woke up, he had a message from Jen.

“Hey! Had a great time. Let’s do breakfast or brunch over the weekend!”

Jen tried her hardest to wait the two days, but she caved in. She decided she would wait and call her mom the day of the date to make it seem like she hadn’t talked to him until that day to set something else up. She wondered how many dates they needed to go on before they could officially become boyfriend and girlfriend…