Long time reader, first time writer. I’m not sure how “wild” this story is, especially given I’ve decided to avoid over-embellishment — so I’ll let you be the judge.
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I’ve met Nancy about a month and a bit after I got out of a 5-year long relationship. It felt almost like a divorce — we did not marry nor had kids, but we’ve already decided on how our future would look like, so like many break-ups, I was emotionally drained and felt unwanted (she initiated it). Naturally I was a bit hesitant when it comes to meeting a new woman; my ego needed some TLC. With that in mind, understand that me venturing into the dating apps scene was a slow yet inevitable process: who doesn’t want an easy way to get acquainted with new people?
Everyone who’s in their 30s knows that first dates are not the same as it was in your 20s. For me, just recalling what’s it’s like to dress up, be confident and basically be a “fun guy” (something I was never good at) was a challenge. Understandably the first few dates I had with women were “meh”: some small talk, getting to know each other and each and single one of them was too mellow to have any follow-up. Generally speaking I consider myself a good conversationalist, but not a *charmer*.