The Do-Over(16)

“Don’t worry, baby,” I said to my car. “I’m going to get that nasty man’s grubby germs off you and we’ll both feel so much better.” Pulling up to the automated pay station, I chose the Super Deluxe with undercarriage cleaning, needing every inch of the exterior of my car scrubbed. Not only did he violate me, the man violated my car. He touched her and she gave him a hard-on. Gross!

As the water, soap and cleansing strips repeatedly pelted the car, obscuring my view out the window, I reveled at being hidden in my own bubble under the bubbles, if only for a few minutes. I had truly forgotten, or maybe just repressed, how hard it was to date. And it was in that moment that I decided to get off the websites, delete the apps and just let it happen organically. If I met someone, great. If not, so what – no big deal. I would be just fine alone. Actually, it would be preferable to suffering through another one of these dates.

Ten minutes later I was home. As I rode the empty elevator up to my floor, I was relieved that Scarlett was at her father’s for the night and that I wouldn’t have to recap my date for her, leaving out the only interesting part of the evening. Peeling off my clothes and leaving a trail in my wake that led to the bathroom, I couldn’t get into the shower fast enough. Standing under a stream of hot water with soap bubbles running down my arms and legs, I treated myself to a cleansing similar to the Audi’s, including my undercarriage where that creep had planted his unwanted hand.

“Oh my God,” I said to no one and began laughing. “This is my life.” I continued to chuckle as I mentally recapped my new disastrous dating experiences. It was indeed amusing and I knew I’d be cracking up when I recounted it to Laynie. The only thing I could do was laugh and move on.

As I crawled under my covers, I checked my email one last time. There was a message there from a man from one of the dating sites. Skimming it, he looked good on paper, but they all did. Exec, 42, divorced, tired of the dating scene, hates sushi (Okay, that was a plus). Basically, he had the same generic stuff as everyone else, but what caught my eye was his picture. If this picture was real, then this guy was one of the hottest men I’d ever laid eyes on. He looked like he could be Rob Lowe’s brother. Literally, more than Rob Lowe’s brother did. What a hottie!

Sorry. Your timing is off. I decided tonight that I am done with internet dating, I responded.

His reply was almost instantaneous. That’s only because you haven’t met me.

LOL… yeah, yeah, yeah… I messaged back and surprised myself when I realized I was smiling.

A minute later my private message inbox dinged. Really, don’t give up yet. At least not until after we’ve met.

Sorry, this dating thing is just not working for me. But as I looked at his picture, I felt totally shallow for wanting to look into the blue eyes of this dark-haired god across a pillow upon waking. Is this your real picture? I boldly asked.

Yes. And it’s pretty recent. It was shot a few months ago at Bethpage Black.

? I recognized the clubhouse. I was so proud of myself.

Do you golf?

No. It was the ex’s favorite public course.

? It’s everyone’s favorite public course. How long are you divorced?

Fairly recently. Just coming on two years. How about you?

I was married for a very short time, a long time ago.

Do you have kids? I asked.

No. You?

Yes, I have a teenage daughter.

Do you have custody?

Joint.

How’s it working out? Has she adjusted?

I was amazed this man was actually asking me about my kid. None of the others were at all interested in knowing about her or how she was doing in the wake of a divorce. For the most part, yes. She’s a very go with the flow kind of kid.

That’s good. At least that’s one stressful thing you don’t have to worry too much about. I’m Matthew, btw.

Hi Matthew, I’m Carissa. The minute I typed it, I asked myself why? Why did you do that? I hadn’t lied to any of the other men, but I also hadn’t been so attracted to any of the others. Was my attraction to his photo making me want to protect myself? I really couldn’t figure out why I had made up the name. Maybe I needed to stay anonymous a little longer after tonight’s debacle of a date.

So, you’ve hit a string of bad dates, Carissa?

You could say that. Understatement.

I’d like to help you erase those bad memories. I’ll bet you would, I snickered.

Yeah, well. I need to think about that.

Think about this… I showed up tonight, just at the right time. It’s a sign.

You’re a smooth one, huh!

LOL… honestly, I’m pretty hairy.

Laughing at his joke, I looked at his picture again. He was very masculine looking and I could see the 5 o’clock shadow beginning. Despite that, he was very well groomed. With almost black hair and steel blue eyes, the man was striking. What the heck was a guy like this doing on a dating site?

Damn, I had just made this decision not to internet date and the cutest guy on the web shows up trying to get me to change my mind. Somehow, I had the distinct feeling he was going to be persistent.

I need to get some sleep, Matthew. It was nice talking to you. You were definitely the highlight of my evening.

Same here, Carissa. I look forward to speaking again. I hope I get the chance.

As I plugged my phone in to charge and set it down on the night table, I wondered if maybe one more shot at this dating thing could be the one that turned it all around. What if I walked away from the chance to meet the guy I was supposed to be with?