Nothing Personal

I'm faced with a kind of weird limbo in Dating World. It feels like a multiple-choice question.

Q: You've just had a date with an amazing woman last Friday. You've both made plans to see each other again. When you call her to make plans on Monday, you leave a voicemail. It's now Thursday night and she hasn't called back. Which is most likely to be the reason she hasn't replied?

a.) She's lost her phone and your number at a party on the Jersey Shore. She'll probably call you at the beginning of next week when she gets it back. Next time leave your phone number on the message, silly!

b.) She's really tied down with work right now. She'll probably call you this weekend to make plans and apologize for being too busy to drop a line.

c.) Ouch! You made a bad impression on her during your date together and she is blowing you off this week so you'll get the message that she's not interested. She'll probably call you in a month or so and say that she's been "busy" so that you won't feel so bad, then invite you to a "friendly" barbecue or something. Sorry, brother!

d.) She really did have a great time on your date and is trying not to be too eager (just like you are) to make plans with you for next time. She'll call you (6-day rule) this Saturday and invite you to a laid-back, chillin' activity. Like a barbecue or something.

e.) Sorry, dude. She's been seeing other guys and you've just been voted The Weakest Link. Better luck next time! Go dust yourself off and meet some more women.


(...)

There could be a million reasons why a girl doesn't call you back. It doesn't suffice it to even go into the kind of frenzy my esteem has been experiencing over the last few days. And it doesn't help that the model I asked to coffee today was married. (But at least that was something out of my control-- I can't help it if you're married, you know?) A few weeks ago I had just turned 27 and was feeling like I could ask out any woman and they would say yes. Today I feel like a teeny, tiny, little (rejected) turd.

Granted, my date, "L", and I have only known each other a few weeks. But even before our date, L would at least call me the next day and reply to my message, so this prolonged silence seems odd.

I'm baffled. A little. I sent her another text message tonight, but no reply.

I'm pretty sure nothing bad's happened to her. And I was pretty sure we had a good time. And I was pretty damn sure we were going to have another date. So why the sudden brush off?

I guess I'm all right. Not too shaken up about it, especially since we haven't known each other that long. But I guess it could be foretelling of the long and rejected road of dating that I have yet to experience. What better way to prepare for acting than this, right? I always wondered if my love life and my career would be one and the same.

If she doesn't call by Monday I will leave her a message with my number. If I don't get a call back this time next week, I can assume it's not gonna go anywhere. Besides, I'll probably be having dinner with this cute ex-personal trainer that lives in my sister's building. No. Hard. Feelings.

And that's the way I'll have to look at dating from now on.

Nothing personal.