How I Met My Girlfriend
Written by Ash
College freshman Dave tries online dating and is surprised to get matched with Jane, a cute girl so like him in her interests that he almost can't believe it. He is even more surprised when he begins to hallucinate a bustier, sluttier version of Jane in his hornier moments.
What secret is Jane hiding? Who is this sultry alter-ego 'Jade' visiting Dave's waking wet-dreams?
---
I finally swallowed my pride and tried online dating.
Despite my bookish and introverted nature bearing no romantic fruit whatsoever, for years I stubbornly held out hope that one day I might meet my 'destined love' during my routine day-to-day through high-school and now my first year of college.
It happens in all the sitcoms, doesn't it? Man catches a woman's eye in the laundromat every week, one day he makes a witty comment and
Bam!
Suddenly they're exchanging numbers.
I suppose there isn't much chance of that if you only hang around other nerdy guys and spend most of your free time reading or gaming alone. The only 'real-life' girls I tended to see were fleeting glimpses around the pages of my book as they walked past me in class, or together in huddles that I could never imagine inveigling myself into. 'Hi, I'm Dave, do you mind if I join you girls?' Yeah, right.
So, frustrated, and tired of wasting my prime years sating my desires on unobtainable women through a bright laptop screen in a dark room, I resolved to at least *
try*
the digital match-making method. I skipped on Tinder, not wanting just a one-night stand, and instead tried to find a site less focused on hookups. Filling out my profile was I task I completed without much enthusiasm. While I enumerated my interests (video games, fantasy, board games), I took care to maintain a healthy degree of scepticism that there would be any woman using a site like this that might actually share them and match with me. My only hope was that, just like me, they were too busy hiding in their own bubble to actually look for anyone like-minded IRL.
I saved and logged off at once, burying myself in a new book to try and suppress the odd sense of shame that settled on me. Was this a capitulation, an admission of my own failings?
From the start I had told myself from the start that it wouldn't work, so after a few days of obsessively checking my email with no matches I resolved to simply forget about the whole affair. I almost did.
So when I checked my phone one day to a notification for a match with 'Jane', I was taken aback. We exchanged a few messages, and I began to suspect I was being pranked, or this was one of those scams where the girl (or more likely, a guy) strings you along in DMs until you agree to send them cash.
Jane was too good to be true. 22 years old, only a year older than me. A 2nd year biology student at a nearby college, keen fantasy-fiction reader, movie-goer, TV enthusiast, anime-lover, gamer, the lot. Her profile pic showed a cute, petite girl snuggled in a comfy looking arm-chair, lost in a book I recognised immediately as one of my own favourites. I spotted a chibi Chun-Li figurine on the bookshelf behind her.
Could such a woman really exist? After a few hours of DMs she suggested we meet up for coffee and I messaged back at once to say yes, yes, whenever suited her.
God, please don't let this be a fake.
---
I checked my watch again. People passed me by, bustling too and fro around me as I waited outside the agreed-upon coffee shop in my best checked shirt and smartest dark-blue jeans, my heart slowly sinking. Not wanting to be late for my first IRL meeting with Jane, I'd arrived a good ten minutes before our agreed upon time. But that had been half an hour ago, and there was still no sign her. We hadn't exchanged phone numbers, and my DMs on the dating site were left unread.
Ghosted, then? Maybe it was a scam after all, or just a cruel prank to make nerds like me feel bad. I sighed, chiding myself for getting my hopes up, and began to turn away and walk dejectedly back to my flat.
"Um, excuse me!" I looked up from the pavement to find a slightly dishevelled Jane standing before me, cardigan hanging loosely from her slight shoulders, her slightly-flushed cheeks suggesting she had recently been running. She caught her breath before continuing. "You're Dave?" I nodded, mute with surprise. "I'm so sorry! I was reading and I lost track of time and I-" she stammered to a halt.
"Oh, no... it's no problem." I tried to reassure her, groping unsuccessfully after the manners that I'd somehow forgotten. "Um, yeah, I'm Dave." I extended an arm hesitantly. Did you shake hands on a first date? "Nice to meet you..."
She took my hand in both of hers and shook it eagerly. I felt myself go red. The delicate warmth of her soft skin against my coarse hand was a wholly unfamiliar sensation to me. You can tell I don't have much experience with girls, yeah? After she released my hand, we stood looking at each other awkwardly. She really was quite pretty. Waves of silky brown hair, slightly tousled from her haste, fell around her dark-rimmed glasses, giving her a bit of a cute librarian look. Jane seemed to favour neutral colours, her blouse a soft cream covered by a plum cardigan. On her feet she wore light-brown boots, the kind with the rim of fur around the top. But those demure colours were belied by the bright emerald glint of her eyes, gazing intently into mine with interest.
I was gawking. Looking aside quickly, I tried to find something to fill the awkward silence. "Um. I was also reading earlier, and was late myself. What a coincidence, eh? Ha ha..." Great line, Dave. Just great. I willed the ground to tear asunder and the burning fires of hell to rise up to consume me where I stood. I glanced back. Jane just smiled, a little shyly. Her eyes met mine with no hint of judgement.
"Yeah! Um. It's amazing how time flies when you're in the zone, huh?" She nodded earnestly. "Um, shall we go in?
---
We chatted for what felt like hours. Other customers came and went around us while Jane and I sat ensconced in our corner of the bustling cafe, the coffees long since finished and forgotten. Neither of us had given any thought to ordering another.
Despite the initial anxiety that clammed my tongue, my confidence had grown the longer we talked. Almost immediately we had found common ground in a mutual favourite author, and now we were deep in discussion of their latest novel, debating the nuances of a decision the main character made early on and how its consequences cascaded throughout the story.
Was this really me talking? All the apprehension I'd carried for years whenever a member of the opposite sex deigned to speak to me had dropped away in the face of this girl, my muttered greetings and shy glances replaced by the confident discourse I could usually muster only with my closest friends.
Jane too had lost her um-ing and ah-ing, talking clearly and quickly. Just like me, once on a topic she was passionate about, she was an adept conversationalist, interjecting at just the right moments, often surprising me with her insights. Often her green eyes stared deeply into mine as I sat contemplating her theories. That intense gaze felt like it was filling my chest with a warmth that had me shifting excitedly in my seat. Her attention was flattering, and a little intoxicating.
We were both shocked when the barista came over to clear our table and informed us a little tartly that they were closing in five minutes. Maybe we should have ordered more than one drink each given how long we'd taken up a table at such a peak time. Time had truly flown for both of us! My stomach growled suddenly, taking advantage of the pause in our conversation to inform me that the tiny muffin I'd polished off hours ago had in no way sated its hunger. I wondered how Jane had lasted all afternoon without even a snack.
Once outside, we paused on the pavement, uncertain of our next move. "Dave, thanks. Um." Despite our confident chatter for the past few hours, Jane was abruptly shy once more. "Would... you like to meet up again soon? Only if you'd like..." she tailed off, hopefully.
"Of course!" I was taken aback, it seemed obvious to me now that we would meet up again. "I really enjoyed our chat! I'd love to do it again sometime."