This is a modern dating experiment. One girl. Five dating sites. Hundreds of chats. Thirty days. Thirty dates. Eighteen guys. (?) boyfriend. To start at the beginning, click here -- or jump right in at date seventeen below.
Date 17/30: Tinder Taylor*
Tinder Taylor works as a sports agent, so it doesn't take long for our Tinder tête-à-tête to segue to a shared love of college football. Two days later, he sweetly asks me to dinner. Common interests and visible manners? I accept.
We set a date for that coming Sunday, which I manage to completely forget about. (Really need to step up my Outlook game.)
He waits a week to ask me out again. I wait a day to reply. (Not purposefully - just having a little trouble keeping up with all this communication. This experiment has turned into the full time job I've always tried to never have.)
TT: Hey Stacie! Hope you had a good weekend. I'm pretty open this week if it looks good to get together.
Really hoping he can do tonight - I just had a cancellation and need to squeeze someone in to stay on this whole thirty dates in thirty days schedule.
Me: Hey! Weekend was great, thanks. This week's a bit packed bc a friend's coming in town. I'm actually free tonight, though, if you happen to be around.
TT: Ya that sounds good. Have you ever been to Gyu-Kaku? We could meet there at 8 if that works.
Me: Make it 8:30 and that's perfect ☺
Tinder Taylor turns out to be an absolute doll. Shorter than I expected, but a huge sweetheart. And Lord knows my 4.5" heels aren't doing much to help the height discrepancy.
Seconds after our hello, we run into a friend of mine in the entrance of Gyu-Kaku. I introduce TT, immediately adopting the most friend-vibey of mannerisms. The whole blindish date aspect of this thing is still a little weird for me.
As we fire up our Japanese BBQ, we talk. TT is super fond of his job and adores his family - - we discover we both have an autistic brother/it's quite nice to chat similar experiences. We cap it all off with a s'mores sesh, before grabbing the check and hitting the pavement.
Post-goodbyes, I turn to walk toward my apartment. TT gawkily inquires (half at my back) if I'd like to go on a second date. This is the best situation when you like a guy and are so stoked to say yes. This is the worst situation when you think a guy is such a nice guy, but you sort of don't want to say yes.
I say yes.
I say yes knowing I'm probably going to ignore his text messages. Because I'm a child who avoids even the smallest confrontation like the plague. No, you know what - this will be such good practice! Practice being a grownup and saying, hey, I think you're a really great guy, but I just don't think we're a match in the board game of love. But yay to both of us for passing Go?
One week later, I tell him I have gotten back together with my ex.
It's a work in progress.
*not his real name