My job had brought me to the capital of a small country. I have been there many times before and have good friends there, so I stayed in an apartment I borrowed from some friends who were out of town on vacation.
It was a short and intense visit lasting just a week and it was almost around the clock work. Though my scarce leisure time would be spent on catching up with friends, I decided to check out the local bar scene.
Since my divorce I had not really been looking for hook-ups. Taking care of my daughter and getting back on my feet had left little energy for anything else. Now I was feeling in a different mood. I had called up a friend when I got there and he had promised to take me out the following Saturday. In preparation for a night out, I had been shaving and showering and as I was toweling off, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. True I had been in better shape in my football playing days, but I was still reasonably fit. Somewhere between fit and dad bod. Promising myself I'd set off more time for working out, when I got back home, I picked up the phone, when it rang.
"I am so sorry man. I have to cancel our plans tonight." came the message.
Force Majeure. Nothing to be done about it. I walked naked to window of the high-rise apartment. It had a panoramic view of the entire city. Damn it. Then a thought struck me. The last time I had been here, almost no one had used Tinder, but maybe things had changed.
I opened the app that I had installed but never really had put any effort into. I set my search to a broad age range 20-32, edited my profile text to 'in town until Thursday' and started swiping. There were a lot of hot girls here. I find the mixed race women to be incredibly beautiful, and this city was swarming with them. However after just twenty positive swipes, there were no more women on Tinder in the area. Damn it. Still, at my last visit it had only been three. I shrugged and decided to get some work done instead.
--
I was sitting at my desk the following Monday, when my phone chimed. I looked at it casually while still working on the document in front of me. It was a Tinder match. I checked her picture once again. She was very pretty and at 24 she was 10 years my junior.
"Hi." she wrote me, as I was checking out her pictures.
"Hi. You are very pretty :)" I wrote back lamely, not knowing what else to say.
"I'm leaving again on Thursday, so what would you like?" I added too quickly. Then laughing out loud to myself I clarified.
"I mean a cup of coffee, tea or the likes?"
"Sure. I am moving to a different town for a different job Friday, so I have time to meet." she replied.
After some small talk about where we worked, and when we would get off, I asked her out later that evening.
"I still have some stuff to pack, so we could meet at my place?"
I agreed and she gave me the address.
After work I rushed out and bought a pack of condoms, then home to grab a shower and then straight to her place. I was there at 8.30. When she opened the door to her apartment, I gave her hug and she started making us a cup of tea. Her apartment was less a mess than I had expected, but there was still a while to go until you could say that she would be ready for a move. The things still left on the walls were tasteful as were her furniture. She was obviously making her own money.
"I didn't get too much packing done today. I was out for a farewell party with some friends yesterday, and I'm a bit hung over" she told me motioning towards the scattered boxes.
She sat on the couch, and I was in her recliner next to her as we talked, telling each other a bit about our backgrounds and upbringings. Very standard. However one thing she said perked me up.
"I just felt like I needed to do something completely different with my life. And though I had a well paying job and a sweet boyfriend, something was missing, you know?"
I stayed silent letting her talk.
"He wanted to start a family, but it made me realize that I didn't want to spend my life with him. I want more adventure. I want more. So I broke up with him and got my own place 6 months ago. But it was still too much of the same. Going to the office, working hard, then going back home. Out on weekends. I want more. Not that I don't want a family, I'm just not ready to settle."
I nodded while studying her intently.
"So I applied for a job at a hotel at a tourist resort. I won't be using my education - just a simple receptionist job, but it will be new people coming through all the time. And I'd like that."
"I can understand, where you are coming from. I didn't finish my studies until I was 29. Had too much living to do before I could settle down and start a family."
She got up, while I was talking. "I'm going to take a quick shower."