Chips And A Taco Salad

Juan left me in an abyss of sadness for what seemed like forever, and far too long despite us only being together for one month. From what I hear, he is currently in New York City with some of his guys. Juan and I have officially been split up for 6-weeks and kept no contact for 4-weeks. He lurks on my social media and asks our mutual friends how I’m doing sometimes. Why would he care what I do when he’s quite literally all-over new women? Never mind him though; he is not my problem anymore.

Last Thursday, I went on a date with a cute ”gym-bro” named Adam. We met on “Hinge”, which is a dating app (for everyone who chooses to meet people the old-fashioned way). Making the first move is too scary to do in real life, so I do it through the phone screen to make it feel less real. Adam attends QC for Marketing and runs track for their school. He had asked to go on a date after chatting for about a week. We decided there was no better way to spend a summer evening than bonding over chips and salsa at a place called “El Grande”. It is a popular Mexican restaurant in the city. Very popular for its margaritas.

For clarification, I was wearing a red top and black shorts with gold jewelry. I’m the type of person to never try and go over the top for a date; truthfully, that is just because I’m too lazy. Adam offered to pick me up, but I told him not to. I prefer not to let them pick me up, in case they end up being horrifying and I want to run away from them. So, we met up at “El Grande”. As we walked up, the first thing I noticed was that he and I were basically the same height (I am 5’6” and he is about 5’7”). His Hinge profile made him seem taller than he had been, but that was not a dealbreaker for me. There are more important factors to people than their heights. Adam and I walked into the restaurant and sat down in a booth.

My big back mindset ordered chori queso for the table, but I ended up being the only one eating it. As I chowed down on chips and made small talk about college sports, Adam sat there practically silent. He played around with the chips in the bowl, then the bracelet on his wrist, and then his chain. At first, I wondered if I was making him uncomfortable. I had eaten the basket of chips and chori queso by myself, and our dinner hadn’t even come yet. But then when we finally made real eye contact, I could see it: he was nervous. Why was he nervous? I sure wasn’t. Then again, I have been depressed before, but never at a Mexican restaurant. Kidding. In all seriousness, I am never nervous on any of my Hinge dates. I am not attached to them; therefore, I can be calm and collected. Obviously, the same didn’t go for Adam.

As the evening went on, and our meals finally came; I could finally feel a shift in the energy between us. He was still fidgeting with his chain but managed to finally look me in the eyes and smile. We discovered that we both have the same sick sense of humor pretty quickly and could take gentle teasing. I made fun of him for never trying Japanese food and he made fun of me for liking soccer more than football. Overall, there was a “vibe” between us that I wanted to explore more of. Adam had a welcoming smile and I liked how genuine he seemed to be. In the end, he even paid for our meal. Which in my book is a good sign of a possible second date.

Adam and I parted ways after a 1.5-hour-long dinner. We smiled and I thanked him for a nice evening. He messaged me later that night with a joke about the traffic driving home. Adam continues to snap me on Snapchat but has yet to ask me on a second date. I have the feeling there will be no relationship between us, but maybe the start of a new friendship. And if I am wrong and he does ask me out again; I will look forward to it. No matter what, nothing will hold me back from searching for my person. Not Adam, not Juan, not any man that causes me inconvenience.