Trading Down

Sally seems nice. Maybe I should see if she wants to hang out sometime? She might say yes, and wouldn’t it be cool to have someone nice to sit with at the park; someone to feed the squirrels with, and to watch the mallards bob?

Of course she might say no, which would sting. Could be she’s not so nice. Could be that she’s simply being polite and doesn’t like me at all? Rejection sucks. She might even laugh, or call me a creep. Then she would tell Anne I’m a creep, and Anne would tell Cindy, and Cindy would post it on the internet. Soon everyone would think I’m a creep and I’d be cancelled, so that no one would want to hang out.

But she might like the park; listening to the kids play, and laughing as the lucky dogs run past, tugging their humans with their leads? And there’s that one bench by the water that’s just perfect when the sun is setting, when the geese decide to cackle off towards it, their sprinting feet rippling it’s reflection across the still water. Who wouldn’t like that?

She’d probably just think I’m cheap though, that I’m asking her to the park because I can’t afford to take her out to dinner or something?

And maybe I am cheap. I mean, who wants to spend a hundred bucks to find out if someone is cool to hang around with?

But then, what if she really is nice? What if it’s worth a hundred bucks to get to know her? Wouldn’t that be awesome?

But then again, what if she wants to hang out again tomorrow, and expects another dinner? Another hundred bucks? I’d quickly go broke!

”Sigh.”

Maybe I should ask her if she wants to hang out, and then let her decide on dinner or the park? That would leave us the other activity for the next time, if there was to be a next time?

But then she might think I’m weak and indecisive, that I’m not putting in enough effort. A guy should at least be capable of planning a date, shouldn’t he?

But does it have to be a date? Can’t it be just hanging out?

“Sigh,” again.

Sally seems nice, but I think I’ll pass.

It’s easier and cheaper to hook up with some nameless chick on Tinder while enjoying the park alone.