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“Hmph, that’s cool, I guess.” He began drawing random lines and drawings on a piece of paper in a notebook he took out as he kept his eyes focused on me.
I didn’t say anything for a moment, so he picked the conversation back up.
“It was mostly my buddies who were talking to all those girls. They usually drag me out with them so they can pick up chicks.” Was he really making excuses for acting like a typical college guy?
“Oh, it’s cool. I totally get it. Variety is the spice of life, right?” I tried to ease his conscience and gave a knowing laugh as I tapped my pen against my own notebook. He didn’t owe me any explanations.
“So they say…” he looked down in a failed attempt at indifference.
“What’s wrong?” Of course the budding psychologist in me had to ask.
“Nothing’s wrong.” This time he made eye contact, the corner of his mouth turning up in a one-sided grin. “I mean, to be honest, I can pretty much have any girl I want, and I’ve dated quite a few girls since I started playing in the league here a couple years back.”
I could almost see the dot-dot-dot in the air preceding the conjunction he hadn’t yet said, so I obliged for him.
“But?”
He looked at me with a shrug, as if to say why not? and continued, “But I don’t know. They’re all the same. I just get tired of it after a while. Ya know?” He ran his fingers through his hair again and started looking around the room as though he were afraid to look at me, or maybe to make sure no one overheard him, after spilling his guts like that. Guys weren’t supposed to talk about their feelings, I guessed.
“I know what you mean. But really, I have to be honest with you here. What do you expect?”
I could tell that was not the answer he was expecting to hear from me, but I had to make him take responsibility for his own actions right up front.
“What do you mean?” He straightened in his chair and leaned forward with his elbows on the table on top of his notebook. His hands folded together with his fingers interlocked.
“I mean, if you’re only looking for a certain type, then why do you expect them all to be any different from each other?” I leaned back in my chair and let that sink in for a moment.
He looked puzzled, so I went on.
“What kind of girl are you looking for, anyway?” I asked.
“I don’t know… someone with a mind of her own. Someone who I know likes me for who I am and not because of who I am, I guess.” He paused for a moment, contemplating. “And it wouldn’t hurt if she was attractive, of course.” He laughed and looked down at his hands on the table on the last sentence.
“Hmm…” I silently began contemplating.
He watched me quietly for a while, and then curiosity finally got the best of him.
“What?” he insisted.
“I’m just thinking. You seem like a nice guy, Dylan. I might be able to help you find the right kind of girl, if you wanted.”
“You mean set me up with someone? I don’t know,” he answered with skepticism.
“No, I don’t mean set you up with anyone. Have you ever heard of the saying, ‘give a guy a fish and he’ll eat for a day, but teach a guy to fish and he’ll eat for life?’ Well, I mean that I can try to teach you how to fish.” I always found it best to put things in terms that people could understand.
“I got ya. Okay, you have my attention,” he said as a look of interest and a hint of skepticism spread across his face. “So how is this going to work?”
“Well, we’d have to go out to some places where you can meet people, and I could help you figure out what to look for, what to stay away from, stuff like that,” I explained.
“I don’t know. How do I know that you’d even be able to really help?” he questioned.
“I guess there’s only one way to find out.” If he didn’t want my help, I was definitely not going to force it on him. I didn’t have enough interest in it to be offended if he didn’t take me up on my offer, but if I were completely honest with myself, I was definitely interested in the prospect of testing out my intuitive skills and my ability to read people.
“How about I think about it and let you know?” He didn’t want to make a commitment to it just yet. I could respect that. At least it meant he wasn’t the kind of guy who’d say he would do something and not follow through with it.
“No problem. That’s totally understandable.” I nodded my head in agreement.
“Okay. So, I guess I need your number then. You kn
