A

I’m usually not the type to agree to last-minute plans, especially with someone I’ve never met before. But when my sister texted me at 4 p.m. asking me to babysit my son, I saw an opportunity. For one whole day, I’d been texting Mr. Andrew from Tinder. He seemed trustworthy, though I’d only known him for a short while. So, I did something completely out of character and texted him to make plans. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the best idea, especially given how heartbroken I still was from Mr. Kyle. But in my manic era, logic wasn’t really a thing.

I sent the message: "Let’s get matching tattoos." Then I paused. What kind of person says that? Apparently, me. It wasn’t that I had nothing better to do—I had a mountain of work to avoid—but I was in a weird mood. Maybe it was the inner thrill-seeker calling my bluff. Or maybe I just wanted to see if dating could be as intense as the movies make it out to be.

A few minutes passed, and he texted back: Exciting, I’m down!.

At 5 p.m., I started driving to his house. Surprisingly, I wasn’t as nervous as I should’ve been. Again, common sense was on vacation. Just a few months ago, I’d been crushed by a 35-year-old man who preferred to spend his extra time with his coworker over me. My time had been wasted, and now I wanted a moment just for myself. This date was for me, my time, my choice.

When I arrived, Andrew was already outside, sitting with his large white dog with big blue eyes. That was a small comfort—if the date went south, at least I could focus on the dog. He introduced me to his dog, but honestly, I wasn’t paying attention. At that point, I didn’t even remember his name. Why am I here?

We exchanged quick introductions. I told him I was a 25-year-old single mom, my son was six, and between him and work, I barely had time to go out. This was why I had agreed to such last-minute plans. Andrew told me about his rocky relationship with his child’s mother, and surprisingly, he owned up to his mistakes. I had never heard a guy take responsibility like that before. But then, he kept talking, telling me how he’d take that woman back on the first date. I couldn’t help but wonder—If that’s true, why aren’t you with your family? What did you do? Unfortunately, the conversation died there.

We got into his broken car, where the door handle was missing, and headed for the tattoo shop. Unfortunately, they were fully booked. No big deal, we’d try another place. On the way, we got lucky with an appointment a few hours later. We decided to kill time at Sonic and then head back to his place.

00At Sonic, we only ordered drinks. I wasn’t hungry, and honestly, I didn’t want to eat in front of him. He was giving off weird vibes, and when he started talking about wanting a long-term relationship on our first date, I laughed awkwardly. There’s no way he’s serious. He must be joking, right? Luckily, the Car-Hop delivered our drinks just in time to break the tension.

We went back to his place to wait for our tattoo appointment. When we walked in, he turned on the strangest YouTube videos on his TV—mukbangs, naked girls, and more. It was incredibly off-putting. We sat down on the couch, both hoping the day might improve, but it didn’t. It didn’t get worse, but it certainly didn’t get better.

"I’m not sure what to talk about," Andrew said.

"Honestly," I replied hesitantly, "I’m just ready to go get the tattoos."

He perked up. "Well, while we’re here, I can show you something."

He pulled out a red envelope with "Andrew" written in all caps. Who is... Oh right, I remembered his name. He pulled out pictures, and to my horror, they were baby pictures of himself. Baby pictures?! I fill like baby pictures should be saved for second year dates and wanna be mother in laws. Not a first meet up with a stranger from a shady website. He went through them one by one, explaining how his eye color changed. The whole time, I nodded absentmindedly with a forced grin, wondering how long I’d have to pretend to care.

DING DING DING. Finally, the alarm went off for our appointment. Thank goodness, because I couldn’t stand another second of baby pictures. We were about five minutes away from him planning his future family, and I wasn’t about to stick around for that conversation.

We got to the tattoo shop, and as we sat in the parking lot deciding what to get, Andrew chose a stick figure of a crazy scientist from an adult cartoon. His first colored tattoo, and it was... well, kind of lame. But hey, who am I to judge? I was getting a tattoo with a stranger during my manic era, fully aware that I was in no position to criticize anyone’s choices. My tattoo was probably just as strange to him—a chemical formula for dopamine surrounded by flowers, with the quote "One Day at a Time" in cursive beneath it.

Throughout my tattoo, I kept glancing at Andrew. No emotion, no connection. I was too deep in my manic episode to even feel the pain of the needle. And his constant immature comments—"That’s hot," "Wow, you’re sexy"—only made me roll my eyes. With every minute I spent with him, I was reminded that I didn’t agree with a single thing he said. This trip was supposed to be for me, and now I regretted even bringing him along.

Once our tattoos were done, Andrew paid for his and I paid for mine.

Back at his house, I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough. I stood there, unsure of what to say. I gave him a polite smile, hoping he’d speak first and tell me he wasn’t interested in a second date. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened.

He fidgeted with the plastic wrap on his new tattoo, looking uncertain. And then, as if the words were spilling out before he could stop them, he blurted, "I know this might sound crazy, but I really think we have something special. I’ve never felt this way before. I mean, we just met, but I can already picture us together—long-term, you know? Like, us against the world."

His hands twitched nervously. "I know your Tinder profile said you were looking for something casual, but I won’t accept that. I can’t accept that. I know that we are meant to be."

I paused, my smile stiffening as the silence between us grew louder than anything he’d said. "Oh," I replied with a tight smile, before turning and walking away. Without a second glance, I left him standing alone on the sidewalk, wondering if I’d ever learn from my impulsive decisions.