yikes

So this is Tinder

Mark, the finale

I was reminded that I never mentioned how things ended with Mark. Obviously since you can see I have been meeting other guys, you'd assume it can't have gone spectacularly. You'd be right. 

After he suggested that he'd like to go out again, he didn't really follow it up with anything. I think I suggested a few days later and he told me he was going "up north" for a week. I either didn't reply or sent an "ok" which, to me, is one of the harsher texts a person can send (the next harshest are "k" and then "k.")

And then, for once, I actually sort of forgot about him. I got a midday text maybe a week? maybe two weeks? later. I was like "OMG HE REALLY DOES WANT TO GO OUT AGAIN!" Turns out....he didn't. The text was a lengthy letdown about how he doesn't see anything romantic happening between us but he'd like to be friends. Actually not a bad ending, and good karma on his part. However, my friend roster is already full with prime specimens. 

The soccer fan

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew.

Actually, I shouldn’t start like that. I should start with the fact that I was out on one of the most fun nights out I had been on in forever, and we were at the 5^th bar of the night. We ran into an acquaintance of mine and her friends who are all part of a particular sports fan club. I locked eyes with a super cute guy and WHOOSH: we were inseparable the rest of the night.

We walked back to my place later in the night as I assumed my place was closer, and I was right. He lived in the suburbs. I never did get a straight answer on why. 

So at various points in our conversation I referred matter-of-factly to the idea that he was staying over. Things like "oh I have the best coffee" and so on. He sort of chuckled, but since we had been drinking I didn't really put much stock into it.

Around 8am, he started to get ready to leave. He was saying something about his car being parked somewhere, and so I assumed there was some kind of ticketing/parking issue. I walked him to the door, he kissed me, and he left. Didn't ask for my phone number. Didn't offer his. Hrm. Maybe he thought he could get in touch with me through his mutual friend?

I debated for a few days about whether to get in touch with him. I am extremely impatient and decided I would go for it rather than sit around waiting, and pretend I was preempting a message from him. I sent a FB message which he read right away. And then...radio silence.

Naturally I turned to gleaning information on the internet. I found his Twitter feed and of course was interested to see who he was following. First red flag: He follows a ton of Playboy models. Second, and reddest red flag: He follows even more of those pickup artist-type people and people who think feminism has led to the downfall of men. This led to a flurry of an internal dialogue. Was he practicing those creepy "pickup" moves on me? Is that what he thinks of women? I was in a spiral.

However, it did lead to at least one good place. I often tell myself things work out however they work out for a reason. It's nice to actually see proof of that in action. I think him not replying to my message has allowed me to dodge a bullet about this size: