Jay:Oh my god, did you call me a rake?
Aleeza:Yeah, like a libertine. A playboy.
Jay:I know what a rake is. It’s HILARIOUS you’re calling me one.
Aleeza:I can’t tell if you’re making fun of me.
Jay:I would never, Roomie. Okay, yeah that’s possible, but I think I would’ve got that vibe from a girl in person, you know? I’m still pretty friendly with girls I hooked up with. Only Emma is weird, and she only got that way after we stopped talking.
I can’t believe he’s calling Emma weird because she was into him. I roll my eyes. This is why I steer clear of fuckboys.
Aleeza:How many girls are we talking about?
Jay:Not a huge number.
Aleeza:Numbers are relative. Some might say 25 isn’t a huge number, but in this context ...
Jay:Okay, four since I started uni. Hooked up with some of them more than once.
Four. It’s more than my number of one, but not as many as I was assuming. I suddenly remember Jay saying I was cute when I told him to look at my Instagram. He was probably humoring me. I doubt short girls with frizzy hair are his type. Then again, I have no idea what the girls he slept with look like. Well, I’ve seen Emma in that newspaper article. She is ... gorgeous. Is he being open with me precisely because I’m not the type of girl he normally goes for?
But four isn’t really that big a number.
Aleeza:Did you really ghost Emma?
Jay:Definitely not. She ghosted me. I was the last one to text her. She kept it on read, but never responded. I figured that was it.
Aleeza:Is it possible that your recollection of the relationship isn’t the same as hers?
Jay:It wasn’t a relationship. I always wondered if she was more into my friends than me.
I clearly need to speak to Emma Coffey.
Aleeza:Who else might be the Birdwatcher? The other three girls maybe? What are their names?
After a few seconds, he sends me three names. I don’t know any of them, but I jot them down in my notebook.
Aleeza:Why did you tell them you didn’t want a commitment?
Jay:Are you asking me the actual reason I don’t want a commitment, or the reason I told them?
Aleeza:The second one. Actually, both.
I don’t know if I have the right to ask for the actual reason, but I want to understand him better. And ... I’m curious.
Jay:I didn’t give them a reason. It’s not their business. I told them all—before sex by the way—that I wasn’t looking for anything serious.
Aleeza:Has anyone ever backed out after you said it? Put their clothes back on and said all right, I’m out.
Jay:No.
That does not surprise me one bit. I wouldn’t walk away. I have no idea why this is all annoying me so much. Or if he can tell how irritated I am at him. One thing is clear—Jay Hoque and I are from completely different worlds.
Aleeza:Okay what’s the real reason? Why are you such a commitment-phobe?
Jay:I don’t know. I don’t think I’m a commitment-phobe. Like I’m not scared or anything. I’m just not wired that way.
Aleeza:You don’t want to settle down with someone?
