I should’ve known this would be a waste of time.

I’m not even sure how this guy came about. I want to say he was one of the guys I met on the dating site that I subscribed to at the onset of this campaign, but I’m not really sure. Like all the others, we communicated via email. I explained to them that for obvious reasons I wouldn’t be issuing the digits out to every Tom, Dick & Scary Harry that I met. So we did the small talk. It started becoming painfully clear that some people just really suck at communicating. He emailed me, “Good morning beautiful.” I waited for the follow up but that was it. Like, literally. I thought to myself, “This is gonna be harder than I thought.” Smh.

Oddly enough, the tempo of our communication never really picked up. He asked me out on the first day, but it took him until the next day to get back to me only to ask me where I wanted to go, what I liked/wanted to do. I invited him to join me for my yoga class but I also gave him the option of going out for a drink and told him to pick a spot. That was the end of our conversation on day two.

Day three arrives and I get an email from him bright & early. He asked where I wanted to meet for drinks. Typically I don’t, but for the purpose of this experience, I’ve been leaving my email notifications on round the clock, this way I can be available to respond in real time and avoid the awkwardness that is already unavoidable.  I responded back immediately, suggesting a bar that I frequent and asked if it was okay to meet around 7.

I’m aware that the lines of communication at this point were very obscure and so perhaps it was premature on my part to proceed as if this was a confirmed date. But hell, we’d been talking about this for 3 days. And he specifically said that he wanted to take me out “tomorrow” which happens to be today.

I leave my office, forego my second gig and go home to freshen up for my date. I didn’t even get home until after 6 so I was in a bit of a panic when my sister called and asked what I was doing, “Girl, getting ready for this date that I’m not even 100% sure that I have,” I answered. “What you mean, you not sure?” she questioned. “I mean, this how it went,” I explained and broke down all the details of the last 3 days. “I mean, if dude haven’t responded then I wouldn’t even go,” she concluded. “I know, Sister, but this will be the very time that he would show up then I’m looking like the asshole,” I finished, “I’m trying to be open so I at least want to make the effort and if he doesn’t show, then he just lost his chance. Plus, I feel like, I’m going to give it my best effort today, while I’m in the mood, so that if he tries to come back tomorrow and ask again, it’ll be easy for me to say no and I’ll have just cause.”

At the last second, I changed my outfit choice. I was gonna wear a dress but decided to go with jeans instead. Fitted ripped jeans, a sage green charmeuse top and leather jacket with leopard Antonio Melani’s. I debated for a long time whether or not to put on makeup or just moisturize and put on lipstick. “If I put on this good ass Fenty foundation & this dude flakes on me, it’s gone be a problem. A sho nuff problem,” I said to myself. I decided that if this were a “real date” then I’d put on makeup, so I did, but only 2 light coats of mascara and absolutely nothing on my bottom line. I looked myself over in the mirror before I walked out the door and almost felt like I had gotten a little too cute for this man. I wasn’t trying to get him gaga over me on the first date and blowing up my emails after that. In any case, out the door, I went.

On the ride over, I was thinking that he’d be a no show. Shit. What if the bar that I suggested was out of his price range. What if he couldn’t afford it and didn’t know how to tell me. I did tell him to meet me @ The Promenade. What if he lives on the north side? What if he didn’t have gas to get there? My mind was inundated with questions. And answers, too. Well, if he wanted to pick the restaurant then he should’ve picked it when I told him “you let me know”. I mean, I have been known to have extravagant taste, but where the hell did he think we were gonna go, Olive Garden. No diss to Olive Garden. Personally, I love them. In fact, Aiden and I went there one year for Valentine’s day at my request, but I digress. Olive Garden is somewhere you go once you’re comfortable with somebody and you no longer have to impress them. Wait. That’s not how it sounded but……(she laughs) you know what I mean.

I pull up to the restaurant and go inside. I look at the bar to see if there’s anyone who appears to be waiting for their party. Nothing. “Do you have a reservation,” the hostess asked. “No, I’m supposed to be meeting someone. I think we were just gonna sit at the bar,” I replied.

I scoured the premises, inside and out, just to be sure. It was 7:20 at this time so it was just enough to be running late but not late enough that he would’ve left. We were supposed to meet at 7. By 7:30, I decided that I had given sufficient time (& energy) to this non-date. I got in my car pissed. I could’ve been chasing a check. What a waste of time. What a fucking waste of Fenty.

As I’m composing this very post, I get an email notification. “Hey love, sorry about today……work late…….get to know you better…..Can we make something happen?”

The end.

-TheRealBlackCarrieBradshaw™