Caroline had been scared to death that Gert would say no; she could tell, and she hadn't the heart to let her down. Caroline had been dating who Gert liked to call "Kyle the Controller for nearly a year, since last November, and she wanted this to be the one. She wanted Gert to double date with his cousin, and she wanted it badly, just so she could see Kyle. She had to complete a task if she wanted to see Kyle, and she did. Gert shook her head in the isolation of her little home. Did she want to go? No. Would she go? Yes. The reality of the situation is this: she had an abundance of really good platonic friendships with men she had met going on double dates. She got along great with them; she loved them. The problem seemed to start with the words "commitment" and "surrender". "Teamwork" was a good one, too. The date was Friday, giving her a great reason to look smoking hot, and it gave her a week to plan it. Yes, she would definitely go on this double date. It would be a blast. She would make it a blast.
She understood the relationship problem to be hers, something just didn't click, and they never worked out. She called herself "romantically challenged", kind of the same way she was vertically challenged, but that is another story. Even though she agreed to that date, she felt like she was suffocating already, and by the time her and Caroline hung up from the conversation, a cop show, "Trigger & Slugs" was just beginning. She plopped back in the same position on the couch she had been in before, noticing Issues on his back, spread out, and dead asleep, his mouth wide open.
Wow. I wanted to be just like him when I grew up. I knew deep inside I was really much more lonely than I wanted to admit.