If the Shoe Fits, Eat it

Story Submitted by Will:

I was at a bar with some friends and went outside for a smoke.  Nancy was outside, alone, and I chatted her up.

She was a grad student and substitute teacher who also painted and studied abroad for two years.  I liked her almost immediately and got her number.

In the middle of our first date, she casually mentioned, off the cuff, as if it was nothing at all, that she had a boyfriend.

To be fair, I suppose I never made it crystal clear that I thought of it as a date.  She likely just thought of us as two friends, meeting up for dinner.

I was disappointed, but having someone like her as a friend wasn't a bad idea, and so I asked her, "What does your boyfriend do?"

"He's in a band, sort of.  He's the only one in it, right now, but he's working on that."

"What kind of music does he write?"

"He wants to write sort of synth-pop-metal-rock.  He hasn't written anything so far."

I replied, "Okay."  That was all I said.  Honest to God.

Her response?  "Stop trying to make me break up with him.  I know exactly what you're doing and I think it's really rude."

I said, "I was doing nothing of the sort.  I was merely asking about him.  What did I say that even remotely came across that way?"

"It's the way you're saying it.  You obviously want me and are trying to convince me what a 'loser' he is."

I said, "It sounds like you're already pretty convinced of that."

She said, "Eew," and pushed her salad away from herself.  "I think I've lost my appetite."

I didn't respond to that, and continued to eat my dinner.  Nancy stared at me for about a minute, then stood up and left without a word.