I stare at my phone, ignoring the other messages that have come in from matches I made overnight, enjoying this back-and-forth with my little roommate.
Another ten minutes go by, and I click on her profile. A little green circle in the corner indicates that she is in fact on the app, and a tiny, jealous part of me tingles in my gut.
I give her a nudge by shooting off another note.
Duke:You fall asleep on me?
Ha. Unlikely since it’s only ten o’clock, but still possible.
Posey:Um, no. I was chatting with someone I matched with. It’s someone I went to high school in MN with, believe it or not. He used to live out of state, but now he’s back, living in the city—small world, hey??
I frown.
Duke:Yup.Small world.
Duke:What’s his deal?
Posey:What do you mean, ‘What’s his deal’?”
Duke:What’s his name and shit.
Posey:Brian, he’s my age.
Duke:What’s he doing in Illinois?
I’m not curious, but I have nothing more to say now that she’s gone and told me she’s chatting with some other dude she went to high school with.
I’m not jealous.
Fuck no, I’m not. I barely know this chick.
I’m just…whatever.
Posey:I’m not sure why he’s moved back, but I’m assuming it has something to do with work. He can work from home now or something.
I don’t actually give a shit.
Duke:Lovely.
Duke:And what does “Brian” do for a living?
Bet he’s not a professional football player like me. He probably does something stupid and lame.
Posey:He’s a civil engineer—he designs skyscrapers. And his name is Brian. You don’t have to put it in quotation marks.
Oh. I guess being a civil engineer isn’t stupid or lame.
Still, I hate Brian based on principle. He’s definitely a scumbag, and I’ll put his name in quotation marks whenever the hell I want.
Loser.
On a dating app to find a girlfriend, HA!
Duke:Well, la-di-da, a civil engineer.
Posey:LOL why does it sound like you’re pouting?? Weirdo.
Haha, yeah—I’m the weirdo.