E: I have. Twice.
K: They didn’t work out?
E: Some of my friends can be jerks.
K: I’m sorry.
E: Not your fault at all. You’re the first person I’ve been able to chat with on here, and I’m glad you accepted that option.
She didn’t know what to say so she let the conversation pause while she took another long sip of her latte before picking her phone back up again.
K: Sorry, food got here. What’s your plans for today?
Taking a bit of the fluffy French toast, she waited on him to reply. He hadn’t told her what he was going to do today, so at least it was just a normal conversation and not her thinking up something to ask and already knowing the answer. That made it a little better.
E: I normally go running with a friend, but the weather stopped that, so I don’t really have any plans.
She smiled down at her phone at the mention of friend. She thought of him as a friend too, but it was nice to have confirmation that she was more than a colleague when he talked to other people.
K: Yeah, this weather makes it a hassle to do anything.
Kayla looked out her windows at the still gray sky despite it being late morning. She watched the rain drip down the glass. She missed her run, even with Evan when she couldn’t shake him from her mind like last weekend. It was throwing off her routine, and she didn’t like it.
E: A movie suits this day. What were you going to watch?
K: Nothing in particular. Just scrolled through the app and landed on anything with a happy ending.
They chatted away the morning, talking about nothing and everything all at once. Evan was careful not to ask anything that might reveal who she was, and she only slipped up once asking about his job. He nicely told her that was off-limits.
After a while, she forgot who she was talking to. It was a fun exchange of just two people trying to get to know each other, and she learned some things she didn’t know about Evan from before, like how much he hates peas. Such a strange thing to feel so strongly about.
As the morning gave over to afternoon, there was no stopping their conversation. By late afternoon, Evan moved their conversation towards their first date.
E: What night is good for you to “meet” in person.
K: Honestly, I can make almost any night work.
E: How’s Thursday work for you?
K: Perfect!
She was surprised he hadn’t wanted to meet sooner. Probably nerves because of the last two dates, though.
Kayla went in the app and accepted Evan’s invitation for a date on Thursday.
E: All set up.
K: Just accepted. Looking forward to it.
E: Me too. It’s been great getting to know you today.
K: Same.
E: I’m going to take a break from my phone though and visit with a friend.
Wondering who, Kayla was taken aback at the abrupt end to the conversation, wondering if she had said something wrong.
E: If it’s okay, I’d like to text you tomorrow?