The Rebound Game

Nine

So can I get your number? I promise I'm not some internet catfish.

 For all I know he could be a fake but against every ounce of my better judgment, I type my number. He says he would message me on Whats App and sure enough, I get a notification a few seconds later.

  Hey there, it's Christian.

  He is not making my research easy, his picture is the same one he recently uploaded on Face book.
         
Hello Bradshaw
        
Pleased to know you did not give me a wrong number
         
Yes, you would have bothered me until I gave you the right one. So why go through all the trouble?
         
  You are funny
          
Is that supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing?
         
I assure you it is a good thing, in my books. So what are you doing?
       
 Flirting with a man old enough to be my father.

Oops, I hope he has a sense of humor.
         
 A straight shooter I see, so besides flirting?
         
Watching a movie.
         
Bradshaw, that's the only honest answer you are getting for the next few days.
         
Or eternity.
         
Alone?
       
He wants to know if I have a boyfriend. Very clever.
       
 With a friend
       
He doesn't need to know it is a female friend.
       
Nice. Tell me about yourself.        
       
This is not fucking interview. Keep it up Bradshaw and I'll tap on the block icon for real this time.
       
Now, why would I give you a summary of my life and ruin all the fun in uncovering the mystery that is me?
         
Fair enough. I'll go first, I am fifty, widowed with one kid, caffeine addict. My birthday is in January 5th.
         
Not so much information, you might have to reveal more facts if you want me to take the bait.
       
  Sorry about your wife.
       
It's alright, it was a long time ago. I hope this conversation continues tomorrow, we are seven hours ahead of you meaning it's late. Goodnight princess.
       
Night Bradshaw.
     
 He is definitely interested and I feel like I'm new in the game. It's been forever since another man hit on me and I actually flirted back. I dated Ollie since junior year in college and in the four years that we were together, it never crossed my mind to cheat on him. It was pretty much limited to harmless flirting that rarely made Ollie feel insecure.

 In college, most of my friends dated guys out of school .It was only natural that they got super flirty with guys in the hallways and even went on dates. Jessica even tried to set me up with her hot cousin who had this massive crush on me but I would not let her. The basketball player was a year ahead of us and even Shirley said I was nuts for not letting him have my number.

She teased me saying that I needed to loosen up.
 
 Ollie hanged out with the popular crowd and word would reach him that his girlfriend has been super close with another gentleman. I did not need that kind of drama in a relationship that was based on trust.
     
Moreover, Ollie did not give me a reason to feel like I meant so little to him. He was loyal and let down girls who hit on him gently. I rarely felt the need to go through his phone .
     
Perhaps that's how it went wrong. He treated me like I was the prize and made things a little too predictable. It was obvious that out of the two of us, he loved more.
       
Try as I might to heed Shirley's advice, I would feel guilty for entertaining the thought of going on a date with another guy. I did not think I could bear to see the hurt on Oliver's face knowing fully well that he was probably the nicest guy in the universe. If such guys still exist. 

By the time I moved in with him, our arguments barely had to do with the fact that one partner is more than friends with whom. We were both grown up I suppose.