This is the same main character as the other stories, but this is a few years after the divorce. As always, you can read these in any order. Zoey is based on a real person, but I changed her name, city, career, and so on.
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It had been several years since the divorce, and I had gone through a couple of short relationships, but nothing serious. I was in the mood to start dating again, but I had not been having much luck. My workplace was too small, and not a good idea anyway. My church contained several great looking women, but I was always very careful about dating women in church, because honestly I didn't want people to think I was just going there to meet women. Meeting women at bars was impractical, and about the only thing left was websites.
I really didn't know much about the different sites, so I joined several of them at once. I figured I would figure out what works, and then get rid of the ones that failed.
The "pay-for-membership" sites were usually designed to help people get a long-term relationship. This was fine, because you could spend a few weeks talking to someone online before you actually met. It tended to weed out the people who were wildly inappropriate.
The free sites were supposed to be a little more free-wheeling. You might meet someone online, suggest an in-person meeting, and then do anything the other party was willing to do.
The problem with the free sites was that they were dominated by guys, and most of the guys were just looking for hook-ups. I am assuming the ratio had to be pretty bad because women tended not to respond to me.
So it came as a surprise when someone from one of the free sites responded to a message I had left. Her name on the site was just "Zoey", and I had been attracted to her because she was about my age, and had included several pictures. In the pictures, she was slightly overweight, but still very attractive.
I got the message on my phone, and I was just getting ready to leave work, so I decided to respond, make an offer, and hang out to see what happened. This particular website included the option to match people up based on location, so I knew she was nearby. I offered to take her to dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the same block, figuring that something within walking distance was always the best bet.
She responded right away. "I am back in town just for a few days, and I don't know where that is. Can you give me directions from the Mandarin?"
The Mandarin was a pretty nice hotel not to far in the opposite direction. I was a little unsure about someone who was "back in town" for just a few days, but maybe it meant that she was looking for a hookup, rather than a long-term relationship.
I was actually mostly looking for a girlfriend, and had said so on my profile, but I was certainly open to any other ideas she might have.
I went ahead and simplified the offer with my response: "No problem, let's meet at the restaurant in your hotel at 6:00. My treat."
I went ahead and added the last part because I was pretty sure the hotel restaurant was expensive. I had not gone on a date in a while, and I could easily afford the extra money to eat at a nice restaurant. That way, if she started giving off any red flags, I could just end the whole process pretty easily.
When I got to the restaurant, she was already seated at the bar, and stood up when she saw me. I had included a recent picture of myself, but clearly she had not. In her profile pictures, she had looked a little overweight, and slightly pale. In person, she was much thinner, and tanned as if she had been out in the sun all week.
She was wearing an off-white dress that extended just far enough down her leg to be professional, but still showed off a lot of leg. Her blouse was a little less professional, and didn't show much cleavage, but was tight enough to show off her body shape pretty well. Her dark skin and dark hair stood out against the pastels, and outlined her figure like a painting.
She was my age, but looked like she took her appearance very seriously, with plenty of exercise, careful diet, and expensive clothes.
"Wow, you look fantastic," I said. (This is about average for me. People who know me will tell you that my conversation skills are always this bad.)
"Thanks," she said politely. She didn't return the compliment, but I knew what I looked like. I was above average, but not a male model by any means.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound surprised," I apologized. "It is just that your profile picture is ... uh ..."
Once again, my verbal skills deserted me.
Thankfully, she laughed. "Yeah, well, I use my fat picture in the profile. It keeps away guys who are hung up on appearance, and still lets me pick and choose a little."
We talked a bit about the dating site, and I got the impression she was evaluating me. Hopefully she was trying to decide if I was up to her standards for a night of sex, but I really couldn't tell. She was physically up to my standards, and most likely well above them. But I have pretty high standards for compatibility, which is one of the reasons I have not dated in so long.
"Do you ever worry that you are turning off guys who might be really in shape, and just looking for someone that is the same?"
She didn't even hesitate: "I actually have another profile on a different site that uses my real picture. On that site, though, I am a lot more picky." She named the site, and I had even considered it. It was one of the expensive dating sites that basically pre-screens the guys to make sure they are wealthy.
While we were talking, we went ahead and got a table at the restaurant. The restaurant was beautiful, but still kind of odd. The chairs were oversized while leather chairs that looked out over a formal garden in the afternoon sunlight. The tables were situated far enough away from each other that each table had a feel of privacy. It kind of gave the impresion we were relaxing in a massive extension of the lobby, rather than getting ready to eat at a restaurant.
