The Alternative
MVWD happened on a day that wasn’t going well anyway. I had plans to go to a big concert, but inadvertently insulted my friend who I was going to ride with to the gig. Not wanting to go alone, I texted J, a guy I had recently met online. We connected a month or so earlier on a networking site and chatted online, through text and with the occasional phone call.
From his profile, J looked cute and kind of alternative. He also worked in a record store, a real one that actual sold vinyl in addition to CDs, and had similar taste in music. I decided my night was ruined anyway, so it wouldn’t hurt to break my rule of not meeting people from the web unless I was with friends.
He called me back shortly after the text and wanted to meet up. He didn’t have a car, so I’d need to pick him up at work and we could head out to eat and maybe have drinks after.
I drove about 45 minutes and was shocked when I saw him inside the store closing up. I realized all of his photos online were either mid-torso and up, or taken at crazy angles. J was, and still is, the only guy I’ve ever seen who was literally pear-shaped. He came out and we drove across the parking lot to IHOP, since that’s where his friends hung out.
After chatting for all of five minutes, a girl came over and started talking to him. After a few minutes, he introduced her and she sat down next to him. They proceeded to spend the entire meal talking to each other about mutual friends (who I obviously didn’t know). Every time I tried to join the conversation, they would both give me strange looks, mostly ignore me, and go back to their conversation.
This lasted until we finished our food and he asked if I wanted to go see a local band he knew play. I told him I was feeling suddenly tired and asked if we could see them another night. When I was about halfway home, he texted me and apologized that he didn’t want to see me again. He said I was attractive, but “just too boring” for his lifestyle
