I had officially become a hermit.
Last week was a mess of me planning my article, stressing about dating, and feeling as though I was the one on the "outs." Since Lydia and Ellie were in charge of finding men to participate, they weren't at their desks much. Even Rory, Hayden, and Cole didn't really spend a lot of time with me as they were helping to read through the questionnaires.It kind of felt like the 5 of them all had this inside joke now, and occasionally they would shoot looks my way or try to smother laughter at some of the answers. So, by the time the weekend rolled around, nobody wanted to drink with me for fear they'd let the secrets slip.Thus, ironically, I had become even more antisocial than I was before, even though this whole experiment was aimed at increasing my social capacity.I was laying on by side, buried under my duvet while I stared at the clock on my nightstand. I watched the minutes, knowing that in just 2 minutes my alarm was going to go off, and I would be heading to work.It was Monday, and therefore my first "date." My stomach was in knots to the point that I actually felt physically ill. I even debated calling in sick but I knew that would not fly with Dakota. I hadn't seen his stupid handsome face since our chat on Monday, but Ellie and Lydia had been feeding him updates about the progress on this experiment. After all, I knew nothing about the "bachelors," so how could I fill him in?Finally, my alarm went off, pulling me from my thoughts. I begrudgingly rolled out of bed, shivering as my body adjusted to the air-conditioned room without my thick blanket.I ran myself through the shower, and used my blow drier to dry my hair. I had natural soft waves, but I then used my curling wand to fix up the top layer. I put on my foundation, mascara, eyebrows, and chapstick before heading to my closet. I wasn't sure what to wear now. This was me going to work, but this was also my first date with someone. I decided to wear one of my longer, professional black dresses. It was fitted, but it was definitely appropriate for work. I paired it with some black strappy heels and made my way to the kitchen.Once there, I grabbed a mug from the cabinet, preparing to brew my usual cup of coffee. However, I immediately changed my mind and put it back. With the way my stomach felt right now and the jitters I was already feeling, I didn't think adding caffeine would be a good choice.I was just gathering up my work bag when I heard a knock at my door.I froze. That was strange- nobody ever knocked on my door before work. Feeling a little uneasy because I lived alone, I grabbed the bat that I kept leaning near the door. It was just there for precaution. I grabbed the knob, slowly opening the door while leaving the chain in place at the top.I let out a breath when I realized it was just Cole. He looked handsome today. I really liked his grey slacks and navy button up shirt. "Morning Ky... can I come in?"I realized I had just been staring at him in confusion but quickly snapped out of it. "Oh... yeah of course. One sec."I shut the door, undoing the chain so that I could open it further. He strolled inside confidently, watching me set my bat back in place."What's with the bat?" He asked, attempting to conceal a smile."Well, I live alone Cole. Can't be too careful. What are you doing here anyway?"He beamed, "I'm gonna drive you to work today! I know today is your first date and I know how you get. I didn't want you psyching yourself out and calling in sick."I chuckled, "I did think about it." I grabbed my coat off the back of my dining room chair, slipping it on and picking up my bag. "Thanks for coming," I said."Of course," he responded. "You ready?"I took a breath, "No... but let's go."Cole and I chatted the whole way to the office. I was really thankful for the company because he was right; had he not picked me up, I would have worked myself up to a panic attack by now. Instead, I was only mildly nervous about the date."Just remember," Cole said as we entered the building, "it's only 5 minutes max."He gave me a nudge on the shoulder before entering the elevator. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, so I stood, waiting in the lobby."Morning Ky!" Ellie's voice rang out to me."Good morning," I greeted. "So... what am I supposed to do?"She smiled at me, "I'm glad you asked. First, I'm going to blindfold you. Then, I'm gonna get bachelor 1 and he's gonna get in the elevator. You go in right after and off you go! You guys will be stopping at least 10 times on your way up, but there's signs on each floor by elevator 3 that say not to use it- it's reserved for an experiment. So nobody should be crashing your date."I nodded, it seemed simple enough but that didn't stop me from feeling nervous."Once you get to floor 50," Kyla continued, "he will exit down the stairwell and you're supposed to debrief with Mr. Kramer."My stomach flipped. The thought of having to disclose how the date went to Dakota almost made me more nervous than the date itself."Breathe Kyla. It's gonna be great," she encouraged."Alright. Let's just do it. Blindfold me."Ellie moved behind me, placing a thick black blindfold over my eyes. I was hoping that I would be able to see just a little bit, but no. It was completely dark. I also felt stupid standing in the middle of my office building with a blindfold on; I was sure at least half the office had no idea what was going on.Ellie then guided me to stand facing the elevator while she went to go get "bachelor 1." I could feel my heart pounding in my chest while I waited.I heard some shuffling and the elevator doors ping open. "Okay, go ahead!" Ellie cheered, "see ya at your desk!"I nodded, stepping forward slowly. It was really hard knowing if I was heading in the right direction. I reached my hands out awkwardly, making sure that I was headed into the elevator when the toes of my right foot clipped the wall.I was sent tripping forcefully into the tiny elevator space."Woah-" a male voice rang out. I felt two arms gripping me at the waist. Instinctively, I grabbed hold of the man's arms to stable myself. "You okay?" He asked. I nodded, "Yes... sorry about that. This blindfold really... I mean.. thank you," I stuttered out. God I was nervous. He chuckled a low, melodious laugh. "I get it. You're good." He released his grip from my waist and I let my hands slip from his muscled arms. Then, I felt the elevator begin to move and I knew this date was started. "So... what's your name?" I asked, stupidly, not knowing how to stand or if I was even facing him."Um... I'm not actually supposed to say. Kind of defeats the whole purpose of the blindfold," he answered. Duh. I could feel my face heating beneath the blindfold. "Oh... right. I'm sorry. I'm just a little in my head right now."There was a moment of silence. It wasn't that he was being awkward, but I could literally feel the awkwardness radiating off of me. "How about we just rapid fire some f
The minute I returned to my seat at my desk my friends were already there, blasting me with questions. I waved them off, not wanting to forget anything about what the man in the elevator had told me about himself. I flipped open my laptop, opening up my OneNote and typing furiously before my memory faded:Bachelor 1: Likes steak, medium rare2 dogs- golden retrievers Likes golf Favorite animal- tiger Large family- close with them Guitar? Thinks I'm pretty Seemed tall and muscular Smelled nice Made me feel calm; easy to talk toHow good was this date out of 10: 8"He told you you're pretty!?" Lydia squealed from behind me, causing me to jump. "Quit reading my notes," I said, closing my laptop. "They're private." She scoffed. "There's no such thing as privacy in our little cubicle. You know that." "Yeah," Hayden chimed in from his desk. He used his feet to push his rolling chair away from the desk so that he was now facing me. "So spill it Ky." I knew I wouldn't be able to
Cole and I slowly made our way to the bar, and I held tight to his hand as he lead the way through the crowd of swaying bodies. Once there, I was lucky enough to find an open bar stool. I pushed myself onto it, ignoring the fact that it was sticky with spilled drink residue. I supposed it didn’t really matter anyway, since I was already coated in alcohol.Cole stood behind me and to my right, leaning forward to place his arm on the bar top, caging me in slightly. "Your shirt is a mess," he said, taking note of the brown soda stain running down the front of my white, cropped t-shirt. Of course I had chosen to wear white; bad call on my part. "I know..." I sighed. "I loved this shirt too." It was much quieter by the bar now, and I could actually hear what Cole was saying to me despite the ringing in my ears from the loud concert music. When the bartender came over, I ordered our drinks and Cole asked for a soda water. I cocked an eyebrow at him. He didn't like soda water... and I
Waking up in the morning, I felt strange about going into work. I wasn't even as nervous as I had been the day before, but I couldn't stop thinking about how Cole thought "eleDate" was a bad idea. I mean, I had thought it was a bad idea before I started it, but after my first date I was actually coming around. It bothered me that Cole expressed a negative opinion after it was too late to do so, and I didn't understand why he was so worried about it. Either way... the dating had to go on. I wasn't excited about it as I pulled my white blouse and black jeans from the closet. I was a little bit hungover- or just super tired from getting home so late on a work night- so I didn't feel like dressing up too much. I paired it with black close-toed heels and some gold jewelry before heading to my car.When I arrived, Ellie was standing at the base of the elevator, blindfold in hand. "Morning," I greeted, my tone indicating that I did not want to be here. "Hungover?" She asked. "Eh... not
When I arrived back at my desk, I was quick to shut down the many questions from my friends with an “I don't wanna talk about it." "Ooo bad one, huh?" Lydia asked, swiveling in her chair so that she was fully facing me now. "Yeah. He was creepy. I thought you guys were gonna pick men that I'd actually like?" I accused. "We tried!" Lydia defended, "I swear, nobody was creepy towards us." “Can confirm,” Ellie agreed, “they all seemed normal enough.”"At least you won't have to date him again," Rory chimed in. "That's true," I sighed, opening up my laptop to type in my notes. Bachelor 2:- CREEPY- Awkward - Need to Eliminate - how good was the date out of 10: 0“Did you tell Mr. Kramer how bad it was?" Ellie asked. I nodded, turning my attention back to her. "I did, yeah. But then I took some of it back." "Why would you take it back?" She pressed."Because he said he was gonna have a talk with the guy, and I really don't want that. This article isn't supposed to cause drama or
"Oh... hi," I said. The thought of riding alone in Dakota's car made me feel nervous. I hadn't done that since we split up eons ago. "No thanks- I'm heading to the bus stop."Even though rain was dripping into my eyes, I could see that his lips turned into a smirk. "You mean the bus stop that's the other direction?" Oh damn... no wonder I couldn't find it. I had always been directionally challenged. He seemed to grow impatient when I didn't respond, so he reached over, flinging the passenger side door open. "Come on- get in." I looked around as if making sure nobody would witness me getting into my bosses car, even though I had put quite a bit of distance between myself and the office already. I noticed rain dripping into his car and honestly, I didn't want to pay for an Uber anyway, so after only a brief moment longer I found myself sliding into the seat. "You don't need to do this... I don't live that close to the office so it'll be out of your way.""It's fine. What kind of bos
Good small talkLikes happy hour Has a son- age 4 Smelled kind of weird Nice A few awkward silences Overall rating out of 10: 5Unfortunately, this was how my notes had been lately. Bachelors 3, 4, and 5 were pleasant, but not as amazing as bachelor 1 or as horrible as bachelor 2. They just seemed like your average men, and the "dates" consisted of similar conversations about nothing in particular. But then... there came bachelor number 6. It was Monday, so I was hoping for an amazing bachelor to kick off my week, similar to how bachelor number 1 had. And thankfully, bachelor number 6 came through. It started off kind of strange- and I wasn't sure my "date" was even going to show up. Ellie had guided me into the elevator, and I held it open while we waited for him. After a minute, she said she was going to go find him. It only took a few seconds longer to feel a male presence enter the elevator. His smooth voice drifted to me, "I'm so sorry I'm late. Traffic was crazy today."
"So... nice day out today right?" Bachelor number 8 asked. I inwardly groaned. I had a feeling this date was going to be exactly like my one yesterday- boring and not comparable to 1 or 6. I let out a chuckle. "Do you really want to have a conversation about the weather?" I heard him clear his throat and shift on his feet. "I'm sorry. I'd much rather talk about you; It's just that this method of dating is... unconventional. I think I'm just nervous." Now I felt like a dick. "I get it," I assured, "sorry if my response came across as rude. I forget that although I've been on 8 of these now, this is probably your first elevator date ever." He chuckled, "hey now, don't assume." I turned to try and face him the best I could. "Oh? So you've been on a date in an elevator before?" "Absolutely not," he admitted, "the concept is ridiculous." He wasn't wrong and I couldn't help but laugh again. "So why did you agree to do it?" I pressed."Why not? I'm single and I'm not getting any youn