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
"Cheers ladies!" I said, clinking my shot of tequila against Lydia's and Ellie's. We all downed our shot, and I sucked the juice from my lime like my life depended on it. I wasn't very good at shots. I held back a gag as Ellie struck up conversation. "I can't believe you got stuck in the elevator door," she said, laughing all over again. Just when I thought I'd heard the end of it, it was brought up again. The minute I had returned to my desk, shoes in hand, looking flustered as all hell, my friends launched into their questioning. I relayed most of the story, giving them enough ammo to tease me the rest of the day. But, at least I'd given them all a good laugh. I was hoping they would drop it, but I should have known better with my group of friends.I placed a palm over my face. "Oh god I know. It was mortifying." "What was it like? Having Dakota help you?" Lydia pressed. "It was fucking embarrassing," I laughed, "What do you mean?""No, I mean, what was it like to have his hand
I couldn't place where I had seen him before. I shook my head, returning my attention to my friends. Maybe I was wrong. After all, it was dark in here and all of the flashing lights from the club could have made me think I saw someone I knew when really, I didn't. "Rory and them want to stop by... is that okay?" Ellie asked, looking kind of guilty. Lydia and I exchanged a glance before we started laughing. "Of course," I encouraged."What's so funny?" Ellie asked, fanning herself with one of the bar menus that was on our booth. "The fact that you sound guilty about inviting Rory. You do this every girls night once you get a few drinks in you... we're just not very surprised is all," Lydia explained. "It's fine though," I cut in, not wanting Ellie to get offended, "We love the guys. We don't mind having them crash girls night as long as we get our time before they join us.""Well... okay you guys are right. I'm sorry. I just love having him here. But, on the bright side, if they jo
The rest of my weekend went by quickly and without drama. I had spent most of Sunday recapping my 10 bachelors that I had already gone out with, making some decisions about what I was thinking of doing come elimination time. My rough draft of my list went as follows: Bachelor 1- move to round 2Bachelor 2- eliminate! (And maybe report if he keeps showing up places)Bachelor 3- potential Bachelor 4- potential Bachelor 5- potential Bachelor 6- move to round 2Bachelor 7- boring Bachelor 8- move to round 2Bachelor 9- No show = eliminated Bachelor 10- boring Bachelors 1, 6, and 8 were the 3 men that stood out to me the most these last 2 weeks, but the others were just average. I was hoping for more "wow" factor moving into the next 2 weeks, although I wasn't even sure what that meant. This morning I was awake before my alarm, so I had extra time to get ready. I put some fresh curls into my hair, applied a full face of makeup, and slipped into a classy, tight-fitting, blue dress.
After the crazy weekend I had, I was actually ready to get back to work today. It was Monday, and the last week of phase 1 of my experiment. So far, I'd met a variety of men from the office, some of which really stood out to me, and others... not so much. But, overall I figured the article was coming along as good as to be expected. Yesterday, Ellie came over to help me work out the kinks for phase 2. Clearly, there were men I was going to eliminate - starting with freaking Alan. But once I got the men narrowed down from 20 to 10, I wasn't exactly sure how to proceed. Part of me felt like one more elevator ride just wasn't going to be enough time to make an informed decision to narrow it down to only 5 men. With this in mind, Ellie and I decided that it would be best if each man rode the elevator down with me as well on their date day, instead of just going up. It made sense in theory; week 1 = 1 ride; week 2 = 2 rides, up and down. After that, 5 more will be eliminated. With 5 men l
Lydia was completely passed out before we even got her into the uber. Thankfully, Cole agreed to come back to my place to help me with her, while Rory and Ellie got their own ride back to Rory's place. Once at mine, Cole carried Lydia for me, placing her into my bed. I took her shoes off and slipped a sweatshirt on over her head, leaving her in her dress since I wasn't able to maneuver her that easily. I put a glass of water on the nightstand and placed a trash can by her face, ensuring she was laying on her stomach before I met up with Cole in the living room. "Did she wake up?" Cole asked as he settled onto the couch. I shook my head, biting at my lower lip. "No... I'm worried, Cole. What if she was drugged or something? I've never seen her like this before."He sighed, patting the couch beside him. I hurried over, not even bothering to change out of my own dress before settling in beside him. "I thought the same thing, so I was doing some research while you were getting her set
Before I knew what was even happening, I heard Lydia's unmistakable voice getting louder as she was saying something I couldn't quite hear to the douche of a man beside her. He was raising his volume too as he stared back at her, standing up off his stool so that he towered over her small frame. "Cole," I said, hopping down off my stool and already heading in their direction. It wasn't long before their little scuffle had people from all over the bar looking at them, and I was sure it was only a matter of time before Dakota noticed us. But, none of that mattered when I saw the man reach out, shoving Lydia so hard she would have fallen down if she hadn't crashed into me. I was almost knocked down with her, but was surprised when Rory appeared behind me, stabilizing us both. I felt Lydia shaking in my arms and I could tell she was sobbing. I was quick to drag her away from the scene, making our way to the bathroom. Part of me wanted to stay and fucking unleash my wrath on that ma
After a Friday night well spent, aka fluffy pajamas, ice cream, and binge watching Vampire Diaries, it was finally Saturday night! Even though I love being a home body, there was something about getting all dressed up and experiencing something new that always enticed me. Since this was a cocktail lounge, I pulled out my favorite black cocktail dress. It was plain, sleeveless, and fitted with a slit that ran tastefully up one side. I straightened my usually-wavy hair until it ran down my back in a silky smooth sheet of strawberry blonde. I felt like being a bit more dramatic tonight, so I took my time dusting my eyelids with a smoky blue and shimmery silver shadow, finishing off with a thick swoop of liquid eye liner on the top. To my surprise, my long lashes decided to cooperate with my mascara applicator tonight, and when all was said and done, I had to admit I looked freaking good. Right as I finished up, I heard a knock at my door and I knew my friends were arriving. My apartm
"Ugh..." I groaned and stretched out after turning off my alarm. Getting up the morning after being sick is always the most difficult thing ever. After I got home from work yesterday at literally 10:30 AM, I took 3 ibuprofen, put on my fuzziest pajamas, and slept until I woke up profusely sweating at 5:00 PM. That's right, my fever had broken. I took a shower which made me feel a little bit better, and then moved to my couch where I laid down for another couple hours until there was a knock at my door. I would have panicked had Cole not told me that he DoorDashed me some chicken noodle soup from my favorite Bistro. It was a sweet gesture. He was going to bring it himself but I didn't want to get him sick; and besides, I wasn't feeling up for company. After eating my soup, I fell asleep on my couch while watching Moana, and didn't wake up again until 9, at which point I took a shot of NyQuil, moved back into my bed, and slept uninterrupted until my alarm went off just now. I couldn
It was hard to even focus on what Dakota wanted me to do, but by the expectant look on his face, I knew he probably wanted me to head home. I nodded, pushing myself up off the chair with an incredible amount of effort. My head pounded with the movement, and I squeezed my eyes shut, taking a deep breath. "What's wrong?" Dakota asked, placing a palm on my shoulder as if to steady me. "Just my headache. It was worse when I stood up," I fixed my eyes on his, trying to sound convincing. "I'm fine though. I just need to get my stuff from my desk and I'll leave."Dakota nodded, but when I began heading to the elevator he started walking with me. "You don't need to come with me," I continued, "I'm not going to fall over."His full lips tugged up at the corners as if he was hiding a smile. "I know. I'm going to walk you to your car anyway to ensure you actually go home." I sighed, but I didn't argue. He was a stubborn man. And also, he was my boss, so I really had no authority or reasoning
This week was one of the longer work weeks I'd had in a long time. After Monday's date, it had really gone downhill. Tuesday's date was sick, so most of the ride he spent coughing, sneezing, and blowing his nose while I backed myself into the far corner. It wasn't his fault... he couldn't help being sick, but it didn't exactly help him win me over. Then on Wednesday, my date had literally tried to kiss me at the end. I could feel the wind as he leaned in, and at the last minute I turned my head, receiving a wet, sloppy kiss on the cheek instead. I wasn't pleased with his advances, but I also didn't feel unsafe at all. I understood it. This guy seemed cocky from our conversation, and although I didn't feel any connection towards him, I understood that he probably didn't hear "no" from women very often. The problem was, I couldn't see him. He had to let his personality do the work for him, and unfortunately, all I picked up on was arrogance. I'm not opposed to kissing men during this
This day was dragging, and since I had left my coffee in my car, and was too lazy to go get it, I felt my eyes drooping by the time I finished replying to all of my emails. I turned to look at my friends who were all hard at work, or at least they outwardly looked that way. "Does anyone want to go get a coffee with me?" I was met with a few head shakes but Cole agreed to go with me. Normally, my friends went crazy for coffee, but I'll be the first to admit that the coffee here kind of sucks... which was why we usually brought our own. I made a mental note to bring up my qualms about the shitty coffee during my next meeting with Dakota. Again, not that he'd listen, but it was worth a shot.Cole and I made our way down to floor 25, making small talk about our articles.... excluding EleDate. He never asked about my dates and I never bothered to tell him about them. For some reason, this article still got in the way of our carefree, lighthearted friendship. Once we stepped into the bre
The rest of my weekend went by quickly and without drama. I had spent most of Sunday recapping my 10 bachelors that I had already gone out with, making some decisions about what I was thinking of doing come elimination time. My rough draft of my list went as follows: Bachelor 1- move to round 2Bachelor 2- eliminate! (And maybe report if he keeps showing up places)Bachelor 3- potential Bachelor 4- potential Bachelor 5- potential Bachelor 6- move to round 2Bachelor 7- boring Bachelor 8- move to round 2Bachelor 9- No show = eliminated Bachelor 10- boring Bachelors 1, 6, and 8 were the 3 men that stood out to me the most these last 2 weeks, but the others were just average. I was hoping for more "wow" factor moving into the next 2 weeks, although I wasn't even sure what that meant. This morning I was awake before my alarm, so I had extra time to get ready. I put some fresh curls into my hair, applied a full face of makeup, and slipped into a classy, tight-fitting, blue dress.