Two weeks later, Ben and I were having dinner when completely out of the blue he mentioned that one of his friends ‘really liked me.’ Normally, I wouldn’t really think anything of that comment, as I know the types of girls his friends hang out with and since I wasn’t being paid to hang out with them, yes, I guess I was a ‘lovely’ girl. Nonetheless for some reason, the way he said it made me feel very uneasy. I didn’t really know what to say, but I had met this friend a few times, so I just went with, ‘Oh, that’s nice. He seems like a nice guy.’
What came next could have knocked me over with a feather.
‘Would you like to go on a date with him?’
At first, I was very hurt. What is this? Is he trying to get rid of me?
When he saw I was hurt he backtracked with, ‘I just want you to be able to go out for nice dinners and be spoilt like you deserve.’
Half of me assumed he was joking, so I laughed it off, trying to play the ‘cool girl,’ although I was somewhat hurt inside, by agreeing to a date, thinking it would never happen. But when he got his phone and rang his friend to give him my number, I realised he was serious.
My phone beeped with a dinner invite after only a few seconds of Ben putting the phone down. By that time, I was obviously extremely miffed and went very quiet. When he just wouldn’t let it go, and after a bottle of white wine, I agreed to the date, mainly because I was hurting and wanted to prove to Ben that I was not attached to him if he wasn’t attached to me. So, I texted the man back with a very open casual message of, ‘Yeah, that sounds good,’ again thinking it would never happen. He responded right away with a time and a place.
Great, I thought, what mess am I getting myself into now? At that point, I was so upset and angry I just could not hold it in anymore, and I vented my true feelings to Ben, that I was not a toy to be swapped between friends and that I didn’t need him feeling sorry for me if he didn’t want to see me anymore.
I had no idea what he thought he was playing at, but he honestly looked hurt by my reaction. Maybe that was a part of his world that, although normal to him, I was just not ready for, and maybe never would be. We debated and augured for what seemed like forever, and he eventually resigned himself to the fact that, as polite as I was, I was not going to go out with some random stranger that he seemed insistent on passing me on to. We were then stuck with how to get rid of the guy after I had, for all intents and purposes, agreed to go on a date with him.
After we silently shared three bottles of wine, the mood instantly changed as Ben came up with a plan that had us both in absolute stiches on the floor with laughter. He recalled something the friend had once said to him; ‘I hate it when women ask for money.’
Half because I was drunk and because I could not stop laughing, and half because I really did not want to go out with another man, I agreed to Ben texting him from my phone, asking for $1000 so that I could make myself beautiful for our date. I remember absolutely cringing when he read it back to me, but I still let him press send. For the next thirty minutes, probably because of the wine, I don’t think I have ever laughed so much in my life. It was truly like Ben and I were best friends. Although I felt extremely bad for laughing at his friend’s expense, I was honestly certain no one would do such a thing. Plus, he didn’t have my bank details, and if he did miraculously happen to ask for them I was just going to say I’d changed my mind. I felt like I was a little bit a part of a Bonnie and Clyde duo.
After thirty minutes, I received a text message from his friend which just said ‘sent.’ I looked at the phone in disbelief as I knew he couldn’t have put money in my account if he didn’t have the details. By that point, Ben was on the floor in fits of laughter, and I couldn’t help but laugh too. Neither of us spoke for at least twenty minutes because we were laughing so much. Surely there was no way he would just randomly give me $1000 was there? And how could he?
The next day, I woke up with a huge hangover, stomach muscles that ached from laughing so much and sure enough, when I checked my PayPal account, I had $1000 more than I should have. An overwhelming surge of guilt came over me. Of course, I could have given the money back. But I didn’t, I couldn’t, I needed it. As the reality hit, and I realised that meant I would have to go on the date, I felt sick with dread. After all, what was this man really expecting for his $1000? I had already proved I made a very bad prostitute!
When date night arrived, he brought me flowers, opened doors for me and treated me with the utmost respect. I remember being so nervous all night because I kept thinking, What if he doesn’t think I’m $1000 worth of beautiful? Obviously, I had put the money into my savings account and not ‘made myself look beautiful’ like I had promised. What if he was disappointed? On the date, I really enjoyed myself and he spoke about taking me to the cinema and taking me to see a show, all the couple’s things that Ben never wanted to do. After a lovely evening, he dropped me home about 11pm, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and I was actually excited to see him again. However, that was the last time I ever heard from him. He didn’t call, or text, or anything!
‘Whenever I want a really nice meal I start dating again.’ — Susan Healy.