Dating Games

“Dating; go out with (someone in whom one is romantically or sexually interested).”

“Thanks Google, but none of that describes this,” Josh said as he let out a sigh and sat down on the edge of his bed to pull on his shoes. “How did I let Zack talk me into this?” he said as he pulled the shoe on and tied the laces in a neat little bow.

He moved across the room to the bathroom while he closed the buttons down the front of his shirt. The countertop around the sink was covered in an array of skin, hair, and facial care products. Josh stared at himself in the mirror as he finished the last of the buttons. “Ugh. Look how pasty my complexion is.”

His hand was unsteady as he tried to brush on some foundation to darken his face a bit. “I can’t even get this to look good. Maybe I should just cancel.”He stuck his neck out around the corner of the door and looked at the clock.“5:43. Gotta hurry.” He ducked back into the bathroom and quickly finished his hair.

Just as he stepped out of the bathroom and grabbed his coat, the doorbell rang. He walked into the living room and grabbed his keys and wallet on the way to the door.

“Hey! How are you?” came an energetic, soft voice as he opened the door.

Josh had butterflies in his stomach as he searched for saliva in his mouth and dryly mumbled “I’m doing good. How are you...Katy?”

“Yes. Katy. I’m good. You look spiffy.”

Josh stepped out into the hall and struggled to lock the door behind him. “Thanks. This is usually easier,” he stated through a forced laugh.

“It’s alright. I’m nervous too. This is my first blind date.”

Josh laughed to release some of his nervous energy, but it mostly sounded weird and alien to him. It definitely didn’t calm his nerves. “I’ve never been on a blind date either, but Zack said that we would get along.”

“He told me you were into Evangelion. I have the whole collection on Blu-ray.”

“Oh wow. That just came out.”

“Yeah. I pre-ordered it to make sure that I got it on release day.”

Josh’s mouth cracked a little smile as he started to walk a bit faster and opened the door for her. “That’s awesome. Maybe Zack was right about us. Do you like Italian?”

“Such a gentleman. I love Italian,” Katy said with a smile as she passed through the door.

“I know a great place down the street.”

#

Glass dishes rattling together could be heard through the sound of restaurant patrons chatting at their tables as Josh and Katy tried to conversate between interruptions by the waiter. As he left the table with their drink order Katy leaned in over the table and said “This place is nice.”

“It’s one of my favorite restaurants, and I’m not denying that it’s at least half the reason that I chose that apartment.”

“So you don’t get out much?” said Katy with a cheeky grin. “How do you know Zack?”

“We went to college together. He was friends with one of my roommates and then we started hanging out and just never stopped. You?”

“He was friends with my brother when we were growing up so he was always around. Sort of a family friend I guess.”

The waiter interrupted to drop off their drinks and slid a fresh order of crispy Lasagna Fritta onto the table. Josh tried to reject the appetizer since they hadn’t ordered it, but the waiter insisted that it was on the house.

“Well that was nice,” said Josh with a smile.

“Very,” Katy said.“What else are you into besides Evangelion?”

“A little bit of everything I suppose. Movies, TV, video games...comic books...I guess most of the things that our generation is enamored with.”

“Oh, nice! Have you played Halo 7 yet?”

“I have. It’s so good! I loved the way they redesigned The Covenant to look more modern but still kept the ridiculous neck like the original.”

“I used to play that game so much when I was little. I couldn’t believe they remade it, and I was a little worried honestly. But they really nailed the blend of new and old.”

“Did you get the preorder bonus with the retro maps?” Josh asked as he popped a piece of Lasagna Fritta into his mouth.

“Did I? As soon as I saw that you could play the classic Battle Creek map, I dropped the cash. My brother used to beat me on that map every time when we were kids.”

“You played with your brother? So lucky. I never had anyone to play with growing up.”

“So you’re an only child?”

“Not really. I have a sister, but she is 11 years younger than me so we never really spent much time together.”

“I can’t imagine not having my brother around. He’s 3 years older than me, so I got all of his hand-me-downs and he showed me all of the coolest things: movies, music, video games. All the things that got me bullied in school.”

“You were bullied? I didn’t think girls had bullies.”

“Oh yeah. They’re the worst too. They always made fun of me for not being girly enough.”

“I always had the opposite problem. Apparently I wasn’t manly enough.”

“Well, you outgrew that and turned into a real gentleman.”

“Thanks, but I don’t know how true that is. I can be a real asshole when you get on my bad side.”

They both laughed for a moment before being interrupted by the waiter with their food. They got distracted from each other for a moment as they unwrapped their silverware and got settled with the hot plates in front of them. As they took their first bites there were smiles all around before Katy broke the silence again. “So what are your future plans?”

“For after this? I don’t know. Probably just go home and relax.”

Katy giggled a bit before responding. “No. For life. What are your plans for your life?”

Josh cleared his throat as he realized what Katy was asking. “Well, I don’t know to be honest. I enjoy my work. I’m saving up to buy a house, but I'm not in a big hurry on that. Maybe in a year or two.”

Katy had a smile on her face. “Big dreamer,” she laughed. “What about romantically?”

Josh still wasn’t ready for the question. He grabbed his drink and took a big swig before answering. “I guess eventually I would like to get married. Well, I would definitely like to get married, someday. And maybe have kids if I can adopt, but that seems pretty far off.”

Katy seemed a bit confused for a moment. “Why, if you can adopt?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t see myself giving birth.”

Katy laughed. “Well, I don’t think that is how it usually works anyway. Wouldn’t that be your partner’s role?”

Josh blushed and shoveled a giant bite into his mouth before he realized how hot the dish was. He spent a few moments trying to bounce the food around to keep it from burning any one part of his mouth too much.

The waiter stepped in and refilled their drinks, but recognized the awkwardness and stepped away. Katy sat across the table and stared intently, the hamster wheel in her head all but visibly turned as she put things together. “Are you...?”

Josh nodded affirmatively between giant gulps of his ice-cold drink.

“That asshole,” Katy said with anger and conviction.“He knew, didn't he?”

Josh took a minute to catch his breath once the fire in his mouth was extinguished. “Yes he did...does.”

Katy looked appalled. “I’m sorry. Then why are we doing this?”

Josh looked both hurt and scared as Katy’s anger grew by one shade of red at a time. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to go on this date. I almost canceled but you showed up early and I couldn’t bring myself to say no at the door and...”

Katy started to raise her voice as she cut him off. “You wanted to cancel on me? Did you know I was female when you agreed to the date?”

Josh knew there was no right answer but hoped his explanation would help. “Yes. But...”

Katy rose to her feet, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door.

Josh jumped up and handed his card to the waiter. “Charge the bill to my card. I’ll be back in a little while to pick it up.”

He dashed out the door just in time to catch her at the corner of the block. “Katy! Wait up. There is more to it.”

Her pace slowed as he jogged up beside her. “I thought you were a gentleman. You were so nice. We were getting along fine. And nothing against you being gay, but now I feel like the whole thing was a lie.”

Josh, with a conflicted tone, responded. “It wasn’t a lie. Not the date. I was having a great time and nothing I told you was a lie. But...the reason I went on the date isn’t the same reason you went on the date. I was promised something.”

“Well I know what it wasn’t, so what was this promise?”

Josh swallowed the lump in his throat as he prepared to spill his guts. “I’m not really out. A few people know here and there, and I’m sure plenty of people suspect it. But it isn’t something that I’ve really acknowledged with most people in my life. Not that I’m afraid, it just isn’t something that has had any real prevalence in my friendships or work life. But I’ve had a crush for years and finally let him know.”

“Zack?”

“Yup. And it wasn’t easy. If you think I’ve been nervous tonight, you should have seen me then.”

“So what happened? Why are we on this date?”

“He denied me. Which wasn’t that shocking? I knew the chances were slim. But he told me that I was probably not gay. That I’m just lonely and that I need to get out and go on a date. Meet a pretty girl, and he knew just the one.”

“So you took his advice and used me as an experiment?”

“Not exactly. He told me that if I went out with you and still felt the same about him afterward that he would go on a date with me.”

“Then you never had any intention of even trying with me? Still feels like I’m the one getting hurt.”

Josh felt the remorse weighing inside of him. His stomach was more twisted than when he heard that knock on his apartment door. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Look. I get it. You did something dumb. I blame Zack. He had no right to put you in that position. Truth is, I’ve been trying to get on his radar for a while. I think he put you up to this just to get me to leave him alone. Maybe to get both of us to leave him alone. I forgive you, but he has another thing coming. I just hope you see him for who he really is as well.”

Josh gave a bit of a laugh. The first happy moment he had since before the food arrived at the restaurant. “The restaurant! Thank you for understanding Katy but I have to get my card from the restaurant.”

Katy turned in stride with him. “Let’s go get your card, and then maybe we can hang out for a little while. I enjoyed talking to you regardless of the circumstance, and I probably shouldn’t walk home alone at this hour anyway.”

Josh cracked his third smile of the evening as they walked arm in arm back toward the restaurant. Katy waited by the hostess’ podium while Josh went over and signed the receipt to get his card back. He seemed even more cheerful than before as they exited the restaurant.

“You seem happy,” Katy said as they walked down the sidewalk.

“I got his number.”