Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 90682 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90682 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Granted, these are all assumptions.
And what do you tell your students about assumptions?
They are unfair.
Posey: I guess I agree. In a perfect world, men would ask me out in the “wild,” and I wouldn’t have to BE on a dating app—but that doesn’t happen. And in a perfect world, they wouldn’t beat around the bush and take days and days of chatting to finally say, “Wanna get coffee?” But this isn’t a perfect world, and most of them don’t.
Duke: Pussies
Posey: They can’t all be confident football players like SOME PEOPLE we know.
Duke: Obviously, but it’s not like you can’t still be confident if you’re a bartender or an accountant.
I blink at that sentence. No truer statement has he ever made.
Posey: That’s a good point.
Duke: Do you think I only hang out with football players and athletes? No. My best buddies work on oil rigs and farm cattle. Not a single Sally among them—all of them think their shit don’t stink when it comes to the ladies.
Posey: Maybe it’s a Texas thing.
Duke: Or maybe these city boys just get too much pussy and don’t think they have to work for it.
He said pussy.
Again.
Jesus.
But he’s only saying what everyone else is thinking—everyone being me.
Still, my face gets bright red, and I’m thankful he can’t see it through the walls. This entire conversation makes me feel foolish and immature. He hasn’t said it, but I’m letting these guys make me feel this way, even men like Brian, whom I’m already familiar with.
Maybe Brian grew up to be a fuck boy.
Only one way to find out and that’s to go out with him for drinks.
Once he commits to a night and time.
Ugh. This is what Duke is talking about.
Why am I waiting for some dude to make a move?
Posey: Can’t I make them work for it after the first date? I don’t even know these people.
Duke: Out of the gate, you teach them how to treat you.
He’s not wrong.
Posey: How do you know all this? LOL
Duke: I might be younger, but…I’ve seen a lot of shit.
Posey: What kind of shit?
Duke: Use your imagination, Josephine. There are women everywhere, and it takes a certain kind of dude to look the other way. I’ve watched a lot of my colleagues fuck up their home life for a quick fuck in a hotel room with a random he’ll never see again.
I’m glad he’s not sugarcoating it.
The three dots in the dating app messenger light up again, and I know there’s more coming.
Duke: I didn’t mean to be so harsh.
On the contrary, I’m glad he’s keeping it real. Seems no one does these days.
Posey: No, no—I like the honesty. This is what I love about my classroom, lol—the kids are all honest to a fault. Nothing like a room full of six-year-olds to keep it real.
I delete that last sentence and just send,
Posey: No, no—I like the honesty. Keep it coming.
Duke doesn’t give a crap about my job, or the kids, or what it’s like having a six-year-old boy ask if you have a hangover because you forgot to curl your hair in the back.
Duke: Most women can’t handle the truth.
Posey: I’m sure that’s not true. Usually, it’s the other way around.
Duke: You don’t think men can handle the truth?
Posey: Um. No?
Duke: LOL you’ll have to be more specific than that.
Posey: All I’m saying is, I don’t think men take hard truths easily. Like if I tell someone I’m not interested, it’s dramatic.
Duke: Josephine. When is the last time you told a man you weren’t interested?
I mean, never? But still. He doesn’t have to say it like he knows I’ve never told someone I’m not interested.
It’s so rude.
Duke: I can hear you thinking.
Posey: NO SIR, YOU CANNOT
Duke: Maybe the problem is that you need more practice telling a dude what you expect and what you want. You know—set expectations and shit.
Who is this man, and what has he done with Duke Colter? The Duke I’ve been living with leaves the toilet seat up, eats cake that’s not intended for him, breaks things on the patio, wears wigs to the grocery store, and burps without saying, “Excuse me.”
This man makes too much sense. Not only that, he sounds so wise. Like, his advice is good.
Posey: I can’t just tell a man off for the sake of PRACTICE.
Duke: You sure can.
Posey: How about I let you know when the opportunity presents itself…
Duke: You do that.
I stare at the app, at the green dot by his name, unsure of what to say next. We've written ourselves into a corner, it seems, and I’m so bad with men I have no idea how to get us out of it. Which could explain why I’m single, ha ha.
I don’t reply to Duke.
There’s too much going on in my mind to find a suitable comeback.