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.