Story Of The Week- “The Experiment”

Story Of The Week

“The Experiment”

by Sonia Coleman

After my divorce, I became determined to become all the things I had never been before.   I revamped my hair, my attitude, and all my priorities.  I gathered up my hang-ups and hung them out to dry.  I no longer pretended to be disinterested or not flattered when a man gave me an admiring glance.  Instead, I’d smile in appreciation, and smiling was just what I was doing on the train one day on the way to work when I decided to do something daring after a fellow male passenger smiled at me.

 I had just finished a magazine article the night before, which offered points to women on being more assertive and going after what they wanted.  So I decided to try out one of the points on losing the fear of asking a guy out.  There was a really handsome guy sitting across from me and I decided he would be my guinea pig.

I first noticed him several weeks ago because he was always dressed so impeccably.  He was tall, medium built with muscles that bulged through his expensive suits.  He had beautiful skin with a significant mustache that rested neatly above a pair of kissable lips.

When he sat down, he usually unfolded a newspaper and became buried in its pages.  I decided to interrupt him with some small chit-chat.  He indulged me by responding to my polite conversation and then went back to reading his paper without another glance.  My ego was bruised, but I decided to give up.  Then, to my surprise, he seemed to suddenly change his mind about being unfriendly and resumed the chit-chat with a more interested tone.

When he began asking personal questions about me, my ego healed instantly.  By the time I reached my stop after a wonderful conversation, he had asked me to meet him for dinner that same evening, and I was looking forward to it.  I hadn’t had a date to speak of in almost nine months (the last one was a blind date with a man who had just separated from his wife.)

At work, I gathered all my lunch buddies together as soon as I walked into the office and told them my good news.  I had a date!  I was proud of the fact that my courage to approach a stranger and flirt had paid off, and I was especially thrilled with the restaurant he had asked me to meet him at.  It was very upscale and the food was wonderful.

My co-workers were equally excited for me, and one even suggested that I change my hairstyle to add “some drama” to the evening.  However, as it turned out, the evening didn’t need any more drama than what came with it.

 After a great evening of laughing and getting to know each other questions, my date leaned over and asked me in a seductive voice if I’d like to join him and a female friend at a “private pajama party” at his place.

Though I almost dropped my dessert fork in shock, I calmly told him no, gathered my purse, and left him sitting there with a stupid expression on his face.  As I drove home, I felt disappointed but determined not to let my newfound confidence level drop because of one bad experience. I decided to try again as soon as I saw an opportunity.