Texting Games

At dinner with my friend Marchella last night, I filled her in on all that’s going on with Kevin.

“So maybe I should text him first?” I asked uncertainly. After all, I don’t really want to encourage this guy…or play into his hand. “I’d like to be like, ‘Here’s your text…but don’t expect this kind of thing because I’m not clingy.’”

"Yes, absolutely you should. Throw down a freak flag. It won't matter since you don't want to date him. Just take a picture of something random and be like, 'This reminded me of you.' Then you've texted him first, but it's more of a 'WTF?' than flirtatious."

Before I left Panera, I took a picture of the light fixture above our table and texted it to him with the question “Where am I?” He didn’t text back. Maybe he was with his girlfriend? Is that more likely than him being weirded out by the text? I feel like he can’t be too weirded out since, on the first night I met him, he texted me a picture that he took of himself with the caption “Cuteeee”. Hi, arrogant.

Marchella also advised me to not reply to any reply that I might receive until this morning when I woke up, but that was unnecessary since I didn’t actually hear back. I was going to comply, though.

So I didn’t talk to him, but The Fourth Facebook chatted me! Over about an hour’s time, he teased me about tonight’s potential date, we talked about our jobs and how he wants to eventually give up his current one to be a geometry teacher, and somehow he worked in how he knows how much he should be asking for raise-wise because he’s “likethis” with his HR person and his old boss who still oversees things—and gives her shoulder massages. I asked if that wasn’t sexual harassment and he admitted that it would be if she didn’t like it. Somehow this led to the suggestion that we hang out some weekend and he could give me one. I might have encouraged this. Whoops?

Because I’ve had to come into work much earlier than normal this week, I haven’t seen him like I usually do so, unless he gets off work early today, we’re going to meet at 3pm and walk to our cars together or something. He also asked for my number so that he could text me. That makes three numbers that I’ve received in one week. I’m kind of on fire. I’m also a little concerned; I like this guy, but I don’t know if I like him as more than a friend. And I know that girls usually use the “I don’t want to ruin the friendship” thing when they just don’t want to date a guy, but I’d be bummed if I didn’t get to talk to him in the mornings before work. So I actually don’t want to ruin things. Playing this one by ear, I guess.

Also, he went to high school with two other guys that I dated back during college. He said, “I think you dated my senior class!” My parents would be so disappointed—they went to his rival high school.