The Tinder Date: A Short Story

Part 1

    "Who's messaging you?" The irritation came from my wife as my phone buzzed. Everytime my phone went off, she had the snottiest tone. It got so bad to the point I turned off notifications for most of the non important apps. After ten years of marriage, we had gotten used to each other's quirks, so much so that there weren't many surprises left. I could tell when she was happy and upset and everything else. Through the good always came the bad. One day, one of the biggest surprises came when she wanted an open marriage. At first, I resisted, but after a week of non-stop fighting, I gave in. It was either give in or give up, and I wasn't willing to give up everything I had built in the last decade. The best I could get out of it would be to find a girl on the side while still keeping my wife. That was every man's dream. After six months of this new lifestyle, my wife had found a boyfriend. I had a couple of one night stands, but that's all they were and nothing more. I wasn't quite as lucky to find someone who I was willing to put in the effort for. I was thirty one years old and well past the point of arguing and childish games.

    "It's probably your mom thanking me for last night." I was quick to snap back although I knew this comment would get me smacked. Ever since we started this whole open marriage, I was under fire for every move I made. Her mom was more like a child and didn't even hide the fact that she had a crush on me. It was a touchy subject with her and I only ever brought her up when I was extremely angry or stressed out. I was at the point that it didn't really matter what I said or what I did, I was gonna get heat, so I might as well have fun with it. She grabbed a magazine from the coffee table, rolled it up and started smacking me like a dog. "Ow" I screamed out trying to duck. "If you are that concerned about it, why don't you look. You know I'm not hiding anything from you." It's true, I always showed her my phone, my messages, my social media. Anytime she asked, I handed her my phone, it was the kind of guy I was.

    "You got a match on Tinder." She looked at my phone screen then set it back down. Immediately, her tone changed. Since I had a more difficult time meeting and talking to people, she suggested online dating to help me find someone. I wasn't expecting anything but gave it a shot anyway. After being married for 10 years and not paying attention to anyone else, I had to brush up on my skills. Kayla and I met when just days after she turned eighteen, she was hired by Mcdonalds. I was twenty and had been there for four years. "What, planning on leaving me?" This wasn't the first time she had said this, and it didn't even phase me anymore. I had told her if she wanted to leave she was more than welcome to. I wasn't holding her hostage.

    "Trust me, if I did you would know." I snapped back around snatching my phone up and looking at the shocked look on her face. Despite knowing each other inside and out, my comebacks were a wildcard for her. She never knew if it was going to be a good one or a bad one. To an avoid an argument, I went and sat on the shared porch of our apartment building. I didn't want to just take off and leave the kids with her, so going outside was the next best solution. I opened Tinder to the profile that pinged me. Jessica Donahue, thirty two, enjoys hanging out with friends, painting and taking care of her two children. The best thing of all, she only lived an hour away. A few years ago, we moved from the outskirts of Detroit to the mountains of West Virginia. I had family out this way and we didn't want to raise our kids in a big metro city with a lot of crime. I had gotten a couple of other matches on the app, but not much came from them. One was four hours away and one was a one night stand. I figured it couldn't hurt, so I sent a message: Hey, how are you doing? Before sending the message back, I double checked the profile. The profile picture was a selfie of her in a blue tee shirt with some logo that I didn't recognize. Dark red hair with blue eyes and cute modernized glasses. It didn't seem like a catfish profile, so I decided to make the first move.

    An hour later, I got a message back. I'm doing alright, how are you? With the spelling, I could tell it was a real person and not a bot based on how the message was written. On social media sites, you get a lot of bots, and it's clearly obvious that they are fake. I decided to introduce myself and hope for the best. I'm Jeff, I'm thirty one, have two children and am in an open marriage. What about you? I read your profile and noticed you weren't looking for anything serious. I didn't want to come off as too creepy, but didn't want to seem dull either. As I sat in the seventy five degree weather waiting for a response, I scrolled the other social media sites out of boredom. Being an online seller, having a social media presence is a must, plus I didn't want to go back inside and face the wrath of her. I'm Jessica, I'm thirty two and I am married, but it's complicated. We're pretty much together for the kids. I'm looking for a friend with benefits now and maybe more down the road. We'll take it easy and see how things go.