A Last Ditch Attempt at Finding Love Goes Amazingly Right

This is the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever come across. Finding a lifelong partner by asking a random stranger a bunch of intimate questions, and then gazing into each others eyes for four minutes.

If I was younger I’d dismiss it as foolishness and head back out to the nearest pub. Trouble is, pubs have not proven to be the best place to find a partner, of any sort, really, let alone one I want to commit to for the rest of my life and have babies with. And that’s the push really. I might only be early thirties, but my biological clock is already ticking like mad, and after watching a close friend struggle with single parent-hood it’s really not something I want to do myself.

I adjust my mask. It’s rubbing behind my ears, and I honestly feel like I’m not getting enough oxygen. I’ve been lucky, really, being in self-imposed quarantine means I haven’t had to bother with a mask, not when it’s just me at home, by myself. I’ve had everything delivered, it’s brilliant to be able to order and pay online, and then have the stuff appear on my doorstep.

I thought maybe I could do relationships online, too, but though I connected with several men through the dating app, I feel ridiculous exposing myself to a camera. Other people might get off on that, but I long for physical touch, for closeness. Not having to keep my eye on the screen to watch what he’s doing, too.

And so I’ve signed up for this study. Will it work? Won’t it? They’ve added a bonus feature not in the original study — masks.

We have to wear them out in public anyway, it’s just that now we won’t get to see any of the features of our partners face. At least not until we’re in the privacy of our own space.

I’m assigned an Asian fellow called Dae. His dark hair flops over his eyes, and he keeps having to brush it out of the way.

“Sorry, haven’t managed to have a hair cut in a while.”

I smile, and then remember he can’t see it. “It’s a struggle, isn’t it?”

We’re sitting opposite each other, all the other subjects lined up either side of us. They tell us we’ve been assigned completely at random. They’ve done nothing to match us up in anyway — not that they could have, they didn’t ask for any information beyond date of birth and address.

On the table in front of us is the list of questions. Thirty six of them to be exact. We’re given the instruction to start and I pick up the list.

The questions seemed like the average getting-to-know you questions to start with. ‘Who you would have as a diner guest if you could have anyone in the world?’, ‘Would you like to be famous?’, but they soon delve deeper than that.

“Do you feel your childhood was happier than others?” Dae asks me, reading the next questions on the list.

“How do you feel about your relationship with your mother?” I ask him next.

Dae is easy to get along with, and seems just as nervous as I do, but his answers are so profound I can’t help but feel in awe of him. He’s kind, and funny, and thoughtful, taking time to answer these questions sincerely.

Less than halfway through and I definitely feel an attraction, even more-so when his eyes crinkle at the corners, when he must be smiling.

Long before we finish answering the questions I’ve forgotten about everyone else in the room, and we lean in closer over the table.

The last question is the reminder to gaze into each others eyes for 4 minutes. We have a timer, and Dae sets it, and then we start.

It’s the strangest thing.

I never realised how uncomfortable I might feel, staring into someone’s eyes for so long. And 4 minutes is long. It feels like eons to me, as I take in his dark brown eyes, and long eyelashes.

Emotion wells up in me, and tears prickling in the corners of my eyes, and I have to blink them away.

There’s such a sense of falling into his soul, and of him seeing everything in mine, knowing all of my deepest traits.

When the timer dings I feel like I’m being pulled up from the depths, and I have to blink to refocus on the room around us.

It’s almost empty, only one other couple up the far end, and the organisers sitting at a desk by the door.

“How did you do?” They asked. “Would you like to see each other again?”

I glance at Dae, suddenly feeling shy. The experiment has certainly worked on me, I’m keen to spend even more time with him. Will he feel the same?

His eyes crinkle above his mask. “I would.” He glances at me as relief rushes through me, and I smile back.

“Me too.”

We answer a few follow up questions, and then we are free to go, but Dae doesn’t seem to want to leave any more than I do.

He shyly invites me back to his place for dinner. I accept, of course.

When he arrive we remove our masks, after the conversation confirming neither of us have any symptoms.

Dae is classically handsome, his dark hair short, with chiseled cheek bones, and a friendly smile.

A thrill travels my spine as his gaze lingers on my lips, and I have to stop myself from shaking my head. It really has been a long time since I’ve been with anyone.

Dinner isn’t quite the Asian feast I was hoping for but he assures me his mother’s Kimchi is amazing. The bolognaise he’s cooked from scratch is actually my favourite, and I remember I mentioned it during our conversation. It’s the best I’ve ever tasted, and I tell him so.

“I’m glad,” he replies.

Somehow we end up kissing. His lips are soft, and he smells of a gentle aftershave that stirs something deep inside me.

I undo the buttons of his shirt and place my hand on his chest, his hand rests against my face, his thumb soothing over my cheek.

Our kiss deepens.

He kisses my neck, and I slide out of my shirt, letting him push the straps of my bra aside so he can take a nipple in his mouth.

It’s been so long since since I’ve been touched like this, my skin tingles with desire, and I’m torn between pushing him to move faster and letting him worship my body.

I don’t want to appear too eager, especially on a first date, so I hold back, and he really does worship my body, his lips lingering on every inch of skin as he slowly undresses me and nuzzling between my legs with such skill that it isn’t long before an orgasm rises in my body, and my back is arching, my hips bucking as it tears through me.

Dae kisses his way back up my body, and now I’m fumbling with his trousers as he removes his shirt, and then he stands to release his cock.

I take it in my hand and stroke it a couple of times, before leaning forward to take the tip in my mouth.

Dae gives a heavy sigh, and I glance up to see his eyes flickering behind closed lids, a look of pure bliss on his face.

I bob up and down for a moment, but then his hand is on my shoulder. “Please,” his words are whispered. “You have to stop, or I’ll cum, and I want to be inside you first.”

I pull away, and he excuses himself for a moment, returning with a condom.

I run my fingers through my pubic hair as he rolls it on his cock, and then I spread my legs, reaching out to take his hand and pull him closer.

“I forgot to ask — ” He brushes a strand of hair from my forehead, his cheeks turning a shade of pink. “Do you want this?”

I smile. “I would tell you if I didn’t.”

He hesitated. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely certain.” I pull him close, guiding his cock to rub against my slit. He leans down to capture my lips with his, his tongue seeking out mine as one hand cups my breast and his thumb grazes my nipple.

I gasp as he enters me, wrapping my legs around his hips as his thick cock presses inside.

“That feels so good.” My words are gasped as I hold his gaze.

His pupils dilate. “It does.”

He thrusts gently to start with, shorter thrusts that don’t quite fill me but feel amazing against my pussy walls. He reaches a hand between us and rubs my clit, holding my gaze as his thrusts grow deeper, faster.

“Fuck me, Dae. Please.” I slide my legs higher, around his waist, as though I can somehow pull him deeper inside by my strength alone.

He kisses me again, obliging, as his cock moves deep, and soon he’s pounding into me, and I’m gripping him, gasping as another orgasm rips through my body.

When he comes he sinks against me, both of us panting.

“This is ridiculous.” He starts to laugh, shaking his head. “This morning I thought I could never meet someone and be attracted to them so fast, and now here we are.” He pushes up onto his elbows, and gazes at me.

I smile. “I thought I would be proving those scientists wrong,” I admit. “I never thought I could develop feelings for someone in such a short space of time.”

Dae’s face turns serious. “Perhaps this will just be a fling. Perhaps you will be sick of me in time.”

I shrug. “Perhaps. I guess only time will tell. But I’m keen to see how long this will last, if you are?”

He presses his lips against mine once more. “I am.”