It was Day 4 of Nathan's vacation in Madeira, he had taken the time to fully indulge himself on the Portuguese island paradise. He had spent a whole day in Funchal, enjoying the local cuisine and had even picked up a bit of Portuguese from an elderly bar owner who was fascinated with tourists coming to what he affectionately referred to as "his" island.
Nathan hadn't messaged Natalia since he arrived. He did not want to appear too eager to please, he had relaxed his approach to taking the photos Natalia asked of him to show her, but was careful not to overdo it.
"Remember, you have to give out what she gives. When you're attracting her, match her energy. Don't do too much, or too little."
Nathan had memorized this passage from his "Dating Doctor", an online relationship guru who he had signed up for some time back after his most recent ex-girlfriend had dumped him. Nathan back then was desperate to get his Emily back, given their relationship had lasted since he was 21. Nathan was 29 when Emily broke up with him, he wasn't about ready to throw away eight years just yet. Sure, this was a selfish thing to do but then again, so is breaking up with your significant other. That's at least how Nathan viewed it when he handed over £40 each month for his relationship coaching.
Of course, Nathan didn't get Emily back. They had been hooking up for some time after the break up, but Emily kept throwing up what Nathan's coach referred to as "Emotional roadblocks" that taught Nathan that she was too scared of re-committal, this boded poorly for chances toward reconciliation.
Nathan elected to stop what he and Emily were doing on his terms. He agreed that if she wasn't ready to commit, then they shouldn't try. But he also stated that he would not tolerate being relegated to being "just friends" with her, watch her fall in love with some other guy whilst he sat on the sidelines. It was Nathan's proud moment when he recognized he had this power over her all along; to say no to terms he did not agree with. To stand up to what he disagreed to. When Emily objected, wanting Nathan to be there for her he simply retorted; was he supposed to go on their outings with them? Emily, The Next Boyfriend and Third-Wheel Nathan? On Birthdays? Christmas? Anniversaries? Marriage? How would he be expected to cope with that? How would he expect their friends to deal with it? It was a gesture Emily wanted to at least try to soften the blow but Nathan knew better, if he could not have her as his partner, he would not have her at all.
They lost touch almost 8 months after the break up, and haven't spoken since.
Nathan had been mostly poolside on the 4th day, having planned to go hiking up to Pico Ruivo in the morning so he needed his sleep. He returned to his hotel room at around 7pm, having been out in the sun for a good spell throughout the day. He had burned ever so slightly on his forehead, but it wasn't that noticeable. Nathan had tired from being out in the sun all day and was ready to sleep after he had his shower. He returned to his bed, with all intention to set his alarm and-
"Hey! Where are my photos of your holidays?! :D" Said the message from Natalia.
Now this, at least according to Nathan's Date Doctor was what he referred to as I.O.I; an Indicator Of Interest. Nathan had gone no-contact with Emily for almost a month after the break up and she'd sent a similar message regarding a promotion Nathan had received at the Hotel he worked at, and it showed that Emily, or Natalia, in this case had noticed Nathan's absence and wanted himto talk to them.
Nathan decided to send a funny picture of his sunburn on his head, pulling a silly face as well. He captioned it with "Caught the sun" and sent the photo over. Natalia read it almost instantly.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! You are omaras :)"
What's omaras? Nathan thought. Natalia said she was Lithuanian so he loaded up a Translator on his phone. "Lobster" came back as the English translation. Nathan replied with an emoji line of four Lobsters as his response, this was also another way of breaking the ice with attraction he had learnt - never be afraid of emojis! Exploit your silliness and get her laughing!
"Put some Aloe Vera on before you sleep." She added. The Date Doctor, during Nathan's training taught Nathan that women love to give advice even when it's obvious or non-important. This was another good sign that showed a woman is interested in a physical relationship.
