“What?” Jae asks, stopping in his tracks.
“I want you to teach me how to date…and I’ll paint the mural.” I say, laughing at myself and what I’m saying. “Stuart told me you go on a lot of dates.”
“Stuart is such a gossip,” Jae laughs, glancing at the floor. “But he’s not wrong. You have a deal.”
For once, I return Jae’s smile.
4
After a day of deliberation, in preparation for my dating lessons, I am proud to say I downloaded a dating app. I’m prompted to design my own profile and I am stumped. I don’t know what kind of photos to use. Or how to write a bio, or literally anything that isn’t filling out an explicit questionnaire. I should have asked Melissa from therapy for advice. I close the app. I don’t want anyone on this train to see me setting up a profile.
I enter the building and get in the elevator, and soon enough find myself face to face with apartment 504. It is only after I insert the wrong key that I realize I don’t live here anymore. I slump and my backpack, filled with newly purchased art supplies for the mural, falls to the ground. I hang my head, lightly bumping the door. I let out a ferocious sigh. Wrong apartment.
I am bitter. This should still be my apartment. I’m about to turn around, but to my surprise, the door opens.
“I’m not interested in any thin mints,” Jae grins at me, folding his hands behind his back, dressed in some kind of athleisure getup. “But I’ll take a samoa.”
“Sorry,” I say quickly. “I was just leaving…but what?”
“Have you never had a girl scout cookie?” He asks.
“Girl scouts don’t sell door-to-door,” I laugh suddenly. “They’re not…selling, like solar panels or vacuums or something.”
“I know…I was just, um, eating some.” He moves his arm from behind his back and offers me a cookie from a plastic sleeve. “They’re out in front of the Whole Foods on 7th Ave. I couldn’t resist.”
“Uh, no, thanks,” I take a step back, and I sneak a glance of the apartment behind him. There’s tarps covering the floors. “Are you renovating?”
“Your loss,” He says, shoving his other hand in his pocket. “And yeah, just a little—my mom might be moving in with me. She’s been having some health issues.”
“Oh, you don’t have to explain it to me—” I start.
“Geez, Riley, you gotta let me in a little. It’s not going to kill you to learn a little about others if you want to be successful at dating.” Jae’s voice is tinged with frustration.
“I’m sorry—” I whisper.
“You don’t have to apologize,” Jae says. “But at least give it a real try with me first.”
I think about it for a second—he’s right. I need practice talking and learning about others if I’m going to have a real shot at getting a date. “Okay.”
He leans on the doorframe. “I know you’ve been burned before, okay? But I won’t do that to you.” The second I lock eyes with Jae, I feel like I’ve been set on fire. He’s not fucking around. And neither am I.
“Okay,” I agree.
“Okay,” He nods. “Sorry, were you actually here for something?”
“No,” I glance around. “I came here from…muscle memory, I guess. I’ll see you later, though?”
“Yeah, I’ll text you about the mural later today. Let me give you my number.” I reluctantly hand him my phone, and he inputs it. “Don’t be a stranger. We’ll talk about dating soon, too.”
I give him a weak smile and turn away.
This has to be a mistake.
Later that night, I don’t know what photos to choose for my dating app profile. I don’t know what to write about myself either. The only thing I know is how old I am. I just want to get to the good stuff already.
I feel like a preteen giggling at her mother’sCosmopolitanmagazine.Show me the goods! I haven’t let myself look at other people in three years. And as much as my guilt permits me to admit, I miss it.
At a loss, I choose the first five photos of myself on my phone. I don’twantpeople to match with me. They can match if they want, that’s their prerogative. I want to flirt from a distance and ogle hot men.
