A/N - Whenever I think of a title for a story and then what it'll be about, the one major decision is in which category the story should go. I generally avoid writing two stories in a row for the same category. The last story I wrote was for 'Romance' so I figured writing another story for the Mature category would be a good idea. I've had great feedback for previous entries, fingers crossed it'll be the same for this one too.
'Tall Drink of Water' - A man or woman that is tall, gorgeous, and super delicious. Like on a hot day, a tall drink of water is absolutely appealing. Old slang for a visually appealing man or woman. Fairly sure this is a term that most people who speak English will recognise.
Australian / British standard English. There is a good chance of reading the following: lots of profanity, characters drinking, typos, and bad grammar at times.
Proofreading and editing suggestions provided by OhDave1. Any mistakes are still mine.
Comments are appreciated as always.
Feedback by email is always welcome. Enjoy chatting with anyone who likes my work.
*****
Let's be honest, dating in the current day isn't all it's cracked up to be. Yes, millions and millions of people are meeting and falling in love every day. But if you're one of those souls who has difficulty meeting people in real life and you believe that using online dating and smartphone apps would be a suitable alternative, you quickly learn it can be nothing short of an awful experience.
Both men and women have expectations of what they want in a partner, but there is a real feeling of shallowness that comes with it nowadays. And the hoops that men are expected to leap through just to get anything, even when someone matches with you, almost beggars' belief at times. I'm not stupid, I'm aware any attractive woman is probably showered with attention by hundreds if not thousands of men, so standing out from the crowd is probably next to impossible.
And words on a screen and even a phone call probably isn't the best way to make that connection. I'm of the belief that you would only feel that spark when actually meeting in person, looking into their eyes as you talk, able to watch their body language to gauge their reaction to you, your looks, your personality, your beliefs and ideals.
The one thing I've found that's counted against me with all this online dating malarkey is my height. You might not believe me, but I'm going to be honest with many of you men out there. If your height doesn't start with six, it feels as if you are invisible to at least half if not more of the female population. She can be barely five foot herself, but so many are demanding their partner be six-something. And considering my own height of only five-seven, there is no way I could lie about my height as it would be quickly obvious when standing around other men that I'm nowhere near that height.
It can be rather disheartening when you converse with a woman either by message or even over a phone call and that question comes up. You read about some bitter men who immediately retort with 'Well, how much do you weigh?' I simply ask why my height would be so important as she is usually shorter than me anyway. I haven't actually heard an intelligent reply to it yet.
"So you're giving up and just going to be alone?" Mark asked me over beers one evening. He was one of my, if not my best mate. We'd known each other since we were in kindergarten. But he was the same age as me, twenty-five, but already happily married. He'd also won the genetic lottery.
"Nope. I'm not giving up. I think I just need to broaden my horizons slightly. I'm usually looking at partners either the same age or younger."
"Well, there's your first mistake, Alex," John stated with a smirk. I knew exactly why.
"I'm not turning gay, John."
"You're only twenty-five. I'm sure a big, strapping man out there..." I gave him a withering look that made him laugh. "Okay, okay, I'm only teasing."
"What are your thoughts?" Scott wondered, "I mean, we all know online dating sucks for most people. There are success stories, but you only need to pay attention to know it's mostly bullshit. Desperate guys and women seeking validation."
"Maybe I need to look for an older woman who doesn't feel as entitled? I mean, I know they'll still have expectations, but I have a feeling they'd look at more important details, such as if I am settled in life, do I have or have I met my ambitions, can I offer something more than just looks that will eventually fade anyway..."
"Remember Adam from school?" Mark asked. Suggesting I did somewhat vaguely, he added, "I know for a fact that he married his mother's best friend, who was around twenty years older than him. From what I hear about him, they married when he was only twenty and they're still happily married now. I think the one thing that helped not make it too awkward is that she was previously married but childless so he wasn't introduced to kids that might have been closer in age to him than she was."
"How did his parents react to that?" I wondered.
"They were fine with it because they genuinely love each other. He asked her out once he turned eighteen. She was probably cautious about dating him, but I've seen their photos. There's no missing how happy they are together."
"Any ideas on how to meet this older woman theory?" Scott asked.
"No idea except to either keep doing what I'm doing, or I do it the old-fashioned way."
Heading home a little later, Mark had noted I'd been growing increasingly despondent over the past few months. I'd dated around a little bit and had been in a relationship for a couple of years, long enough that we'd moved in together and we even discussed our future together in detail. Won't give you too many guesses to figure out how that ended. He ended up at the door to my rented townhouse the next day with two six-packs in his hands.
Sitting down together as we watched the Saturday afternoon football, we were sipping at our cans when he finally cleared his throat. "Would it bother you if I played matchmaker?" he finally asked.
"Well, not really. Why?"
"Thinking about what you were mentioning last night, you're more than aware my wife is five years older than me. That's nothing in the grand scheme of things when I'm twenty-five and she's only thirty..."
"You know someone or something?"
"I might know of a couple of women who you might be interested in. And being honest, Alex, you're a great guy and I'm not just saying that because you're my best friend, so I reckon they just might be interested in you in return. The only issue would be the age gap as I know they're both older than us by a larger margin."
"How do you know them?"
"One is a good friend of my mother. And I'll admit she's someone I nursed quite a little crush on when I was going through puberty. She had this air of sophistication and beauty about her that she knew worked on someone whose hormones were going crazy."
"And the other?"
"She's one of the managers at my office. It's a sad story that broke nearly everyone's heart when learning about it. She went through a horrific divorce around five years ago. Husband was pretty much a sex addict and banging anything with a pussy and a pulse. The real knife in the back was that he was fucking her sister
and
