Double dating isn’t just about morality or safety in numbers. It’s also a tool to help those of us who are socially inept find a way to have a great experience.
My to hit it off. I was thrilled when he asked me out around Halloween time.
John was polite to my parents, appeared to impress them suitably, and even opened the car door for me.
“So where are we going?” I asked.
“I thought we’d try the new haunted house,” he said.
That sounded like fun. We talked for a little while about English and Seminary and then turned our conversation to other classes. Only then did something happen I hadn’t counted on. John and I ran out of things to talk about. Both of us sat in the car, occasionally smiling at each other, neither one of us able to think of one thing to discuss. It was agony until we reached the haunted house.
Strangely enough, we ran into John’s best friend, Kerry, who decided to join us – uninvited I might add. I tried to tell myself this could turn out to be a good thing, someone to help buffer the silence between me and my date. Instead, I began to feel like the third wheel as I walked through the dark maze behind the guys.
John glanced back every once in a while to offer a vague smile, as though trying to indicate his regret at the interruption of our date. A nasty little voice in the back of mind wouldn’t stop chanting, ‘If he was really sorry, he’d be walking with you, not his friend.’
Once we exited the haunted house and got rid of Kerry, John and I tried once more to have a good time together by going out for some ice cream. We ordered, discussed the spooky effects we’d seen, and all too quickly finished our dessert. By the time we got outside, barely an hour after our date had begun, it was like the heavens opened up and rain began hammering us. The two of us were drenched even before getting to the car.
John proclaimed his loathing of driving in the rain. His car crept along the wet roads, making the trek back to my house feel like an eternity. What should have been a mere ten-minute drive took us almost half an hour. He parked the car just a few feet into my rather steep driveway. I couldn’t blame him for not wanting to brave the perilous climb up to the back door, but it would make for a rather wet walk.
“I had a really good time,” he said.
“Me too,” I lied.
He reached over to give me a quick hug. That’s when I realized he wasn’t going to get out of the car. An insane feeling came over me like I had just been dropped off from babysitting, minus the hug. Unable to believe this would be how my date would end, I slid out of the car and hurried through the downpour back into my house.
My big revelation that night was there is more than one reason not to single date. John and I got along great at school when there were other people around – a lot of people. To be honest, after that night things always felt a little awkward and strained between the two of us. Maybe if we’d had other couples around that night things would have been different. Of course, it could have turned out exactly the same. At least the experience might not have been so painful.
Your lesson for today: Double dating isn’t just a morality thing. Remember that.
