Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
David
I text Donny, asking him if he wants to go for a run even though it’s Tuesday night and we normally run on Saturday mornings, but I need to get some frustration out and pick his brain about this app.
When I arrive to Central Park, he’s already there, warming up his legs.
“Thanks for coming.” I slap his hand as our hello.
“Thanks for asking. After the launch of this app, I need to let off some steam,” he replies.
I do a few stretches, feeling like the walk here warmed up my legs enough, and then we head down our normal path together.
“So, tell me about the app,” I say, trying to like I’m just making small talk about the app even though that’s the only reason I’m here right now.
“It’s going well. We get more and more sign-ups daily, so the word is spreading.”
“Glad to hear. Any hiccups reported yet?”
“Nothing major. Just minor little things on the back end, but lately I’ve just been chillin’, like I’m waiting for something big to go wrong.”
I laugh out loud at his words, feeling like my situation is a huge problem in my mind, but not the same kind of problem he’s talking about. “I can see that. So, are people upgrading their app to any of the paid options?”
Though the app is free, they hope to make money on optional features, like deleting a match a friend had set you up with or boosting your picture in the algorithm.
“Yeah, they are. You were right. Making pay for options only a dollar or two seems to make people spend more. We have people boosting their profile every day.”
“That means they think this idea could work. I really hope you’re able to make some connections.”
“What about you? How is it going with the girl you were matched with?” he finally asks.
There was no way I was going to bring it up, so I’ve been waiting for him to remember I was talking to someone through his app.
I shrug, trying to play off that I’m not affected emotionally by the way she ghosted me. “I thought it was going really well, but I haven’t heard from her in the past two days.”
“No shit?”
“Yeah, we texted back and forth for hours, and then … she’s gone.”
“Did she stop texting on day seven or before?”
I look down at my feet as they pound one by one on the pavement, acting like I’m trying to remember what day it was even though I knew the exact days and how significant that last message I sent to her was.
“I’d have to look. It was on Monday.”
“I’m sorry, man. That was day seven. I was watching people’s accounts on the back end to make sure everything went smoothly.”
“So, there were other people who made it that far on the first week?”
His voice rises a little in excitement that he’s created something special for people. “Yeah, they did.”
“Tell me how that works then. When I sent the message, what happened on her end?”
“Once you sent the message on the seventh day, the app notified her that she’d reached day seven of the relationship, saying if she responded, she’d be giving the app approval to send her number to you.”
“And that’s it? You’re either all in or all out? There’s no way to keep talking if you’re unsure?”
He turns to me, and I can tell he’s seeing through the nonchalant bullshit I’m trying to play off, so I look forward and pretend I didn’t see him checking me out.
“Yeah, it gives an option to keep talking on the app and not give out their phone number. They just have to click the button that states so.”
I run down all the things that I said in our conversations, trying to figure out why she wouldn’t at least say she wanted more time to talk.
I’m in my own world—or misery—when Donny asks, “I take it, she hasn’t done anything.”
I shake my head, sick of fighting my emotions, and just say it how it is. “Nope. She completely ghosted me.”
“I’m sorry, man. That sucks.”
I can hear the empathy in his voice, which just makes me run a little faster. I’m even madder now that she disappeared the way she did, knowing that we could have kept talking on the app if she was unsure.
Thankfully, Donny keeps up and doesn’t say another word about this mystery girl or the app, and we get one hell of a run in.
After I’m back at my apartment and showered, I sit on my couch, staring at the app and my last few messages to her.
I’ve never wanted to call someone out as much as I do her, but I know that won’t solve anything.
I hate not knowing why she hasn’t responded, but anything I say to her now will just make me look desperate, so instead of messaging her, I decide to call my sister, knowing she’ll allow me to have my pity party.
“What’s up, big bro?” she answers, and I instantly feel a little better.
“Hi, Katie. You got a minute to talk?”
I hear rustling around while she whispers something I can’t hear to someone else before she comes back to me.
“Of course. What’s up?”
“Why would a woman ghost a guy?” I blurt out, knowing I can be as blunt as possible with her and not worry about what she may think.
“Ouch. Who ghosted you?”
“Jenelle. The girl on the app I told you about.”
“Really? I thought you two were getting along really well.”
I sigh, dropping my head back on my couch and running my hand down my face. “I thought so too. We made it to day seven, and nothing. She hasn’t responded yesterday or today. Donny said if she wasn’t sure about giving me her number, she could have said so on the app, and I we could still talk, but—”
“She hasn’t done that …” She finishes my sentence.
“Nope. She hasn’t said a word since Sunday.”
“Was there any sign of things going wrong then?”
“I mean, there was this work thing I had going on that I asked her opinion on, but she gave me a very honest answer and good advice. I don’t see how that would have turned her off, but obviously, something’s happened.”
“Maybe she’s just busy. Have you thought about that?”
I let out a long breath. “I mean, maybe, but don’t you think she would have said so? We spoke about day seven coming up. Her texts even seemed like she was excited to really talk to me. Then nothing.”
“David, I’m sorry. I know that sucks.”
“I just don’t get it. But then I wonder why I’m so upset about someone I’ve never met.”
I chuckle, realizing how wild that sounds, which she matches my tone.
“Yeah. That’s a fact. But you did like her, didn’t you?”
I stare up at the ceiling, thinking about that question.
How do you really like someone you’ve never met?
When I don’t answer, she continues, “I know this is a very different situation, and I’m sure that adds to the confusion of it all.”
“That’s the understatement of the year,” I sarcastically spit out.
“I do feel it’s possible to fall for someone over the phone. Long-distance relationships work for that reason. You get to really know the person. I bet you felt like you truly knew this girl even though it was only a week.”
“Yeah. I really did. It sounds crazy though.”
“Love is crazy. Saying it’s crazy is the only thing that actually makes sense!”
I laugh out loud. “Facts!”
“There’s a reason the saying, ‘Love makes you do crazy things,’ even exists.”
“You’re right.” I sigh, letting her words sink in. “Thanks, sis.”
“No problem. I’m sorry that happened. I hope you’ll at least learn why so you can have some kind of closure. At least you know it’s not because of your ugly ass,” she teases, making me laugh.
No matter how old we get, we’ll still treat each other like siblings.
“Yeah. I’ll see you on Friday?”
“Can’t wait!”
I hang up, feeling a little better, and decide to call it a night before I go down the lonely rabbit hole again of wondering what went wrong.