The Catch

Story Submitted by Dawn:

When I was 29, Charles messaged me online and I read his profile.  He was 30, ran two businesses, was handsome, and came off sounding very, very intelligent.  I had to wonder what the catch was.

His e-mails were very well-written and he seemed genuinely interested in me.  I gave him my number, but he said that he wasn't in a rush to call it.

"That would be too forward," he said, "Let's go slow."

I didn't bat an eyelash at that.  Everything about the guy seemed great.  In retrospect, I only knew as much as what he told me himself, so perhaps this whole thing was a valuable learning experience in that regard.

After three weeks of messages, I wrote him to ask if he wanted to meet.  We made all the arrangements, and to be frank, I was already falling for the guy.  He was always so full of compliments and always made me feel great after a bad day at work (and I had several of those).

After work on the day of our date, I went home to prepare when my phone rang, a number I didn't recognize.  I picked up.

A young man's voice said, "Dawn, it's Charles.  I have to cancel our date.  I'm... something at the office..."

Then a harsh woman's voice said, "Paul is grounded.  No phone calls."

Click.

Paul?

Grounded?

The next day, his online profile was gone.

Was I about to go on a date with a 15-year-old?