Page 81 of Your Pace Or Mine

I bark out a laugh at how well she plays me. After throwing on clothes, I follow her into the kitchen.

“Oh, I got the girl, all right.” I take a swig of water and wonder about Ashley’s friends. “Does everyone know we’re together now?”

“I only told Laurel and Stevie, but gossip spreads through the Milers like wildfire, so of course everyone knows. Be prepared for Mark to threaten you with bodily harm if you do me wrong.”

I send up a silent prayer of thanks that Mark apparently doesn’t know how big of an ass I was. It’s only been a week since we made up, so it’s not like I’ve made a ton of strides, but I’ve been researching therapists, and the idea of talking through my fear of commitment doesn’t fill me with existential dread the way it did before. Progress.

“Let’s go,” Ash says, pulling me away from my thoughts. We grab granola bars and head out.

Any hopes the group would handle our relationship in a low-key way are out the window when we arrive. A bunch of Milers are standing around chatting. I see Mark, Tess, and Victor, and before we can say hello, Jason yells out from behind me, “Moment of silence for Mr. Six. The king of one-night stands is no more.”

“Fuck off, Jason.” Ashley smacks him on the arm, though she’s laughing, as are the other runners.

“What’s all this?” Cal asks when he and Laurel arrive amidst the fallout. “Did we miss something?”

“They’re marking the death of my single life, apparently,” I reply.

He surprises me with a pat on the shoulder. “I’m sure it was a good run, but we’re glad you made it to the other side.”

I look over at Ashley and she catches my eye. As I watch her face break into a smile, my heart expands just knowing she loves me. “Me too, man. Me too.”

Miss Midtown Reel (with transcript)

Miss Midtown in wig and glasses and Mr. Six in Groucho glasses appear in rainbow tank tops.

“Hi everyone! It’s Miss Midtown here, and guess who’s with me? It’s Mr. Six!

“I’ve taken some time off from my account, and I appreciate those who gave me space. Some of you called it: Mr. Six and I are an item! We’ve officially been together for a little while. I guess it’s true that some people find love through dating apps, although ours happened rather unconventionally. [Mr. Six kisses her on the cheek and mumbles “I like unconventional.”]

“Anyway, today we’re here at the Pride and Remembrance 5K with Single In The Six co-founder Seth McKendrick [Seth waves] and a group of runners from the Midtown Milers club [various people wave in the background]. Mr. Six is going to run his first ever 5K race. Please give him lots of cheers and support. We won’t be running in incognito mode because it’s hot out here and this wig isn’t exactly breathable, so if you’re here in person, you might see what I look like in my natural state.

“It’s been so fun sharing my dating experiences with all of you. While I hope I won’t have any more horror stories to share [pauses to give Mr. Six a knowing look], I plan to keep posting from time to time with my thoughts about online dating and how to make the most of the app experience.

“Thanks for cheering me on during this crazy journey and most importantly, get out there and have FUN while you’re looking for love.” [Both wave at the camera.]

Comments:

Congratulations! Great to see you got your man. Wishing you all happiness. <3

I have to say, I’m shocked you locked the man down. It seemed like he was a hopeless case. Not sure if I believe it’ll last but good luck, I guess.

Called it! My friend owes me a drink. Pay up, girl.

EPILOGUE

ALMOST TWO YEARS LATER

ASHLEY

“You owe me for this,” Sebastian says as we step into the downtown karaoke lounge. He lets out a longsuffering sigh, then adds, “You know how awful my singing voice is.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I reply, rolling my eyes. He complains sometimes about going out late with my friends, but I caught him looking up Bon Jovi lyrics earlier, so I think he’s playing up not liking karaoke. Then again, it’s March and it’s cold, so a night in sounds more inviting. “It’s my best friend’s birthday, so suck it up.”

Last year, Laurel and Cal hosted a low-key gathering for their birthdays, but since they’ve just moved to their new townhouse and aren’t fully unpacked, we’ve all come downtown on a Saturday to this bar that has private rooms, so it’s like having a karaoke machine in a very large living room, but with bar service. It’s been a while since our last karaoke night, and we’ve become more subdued over the years now that most of our friends are coupled up. Still, as a former musical theater kid, I can’t resist the chance to sing in front of a crowd, and Sebastian gets a kick out of it even if he pretends to hate it and complains about the terrible songs. Isn’t cheesy music the whole point of karaoke?

Laurel has already ordered a wide array of snacks and several pitchers of beer. Cal hands us party hats when we enter, though his amused expression suggests he’d rather not wear one. Jason is in the corner with Tess and her boyfriend of a few months, and even Mark has come out with his wife Jenn. We sit down, and I immediately start skimming the song list.

Back when the Milers were starting out and most of us were under thirty, we had some wild nights. On one memorable occasion, we tried to outdo each other with dares to perform the most suggestive songs in the catalog. It ended with Laurel doing some improv dance moves to “Do You Wanna Touch Me.” Now that we’re older and more sober, we usually stick with the classics.