Think, while Taking Care of Business

Rebecca just told you she was taking a shower. One of her hour-long showers almost assuredly. She would have to bring her shower caddy, as she didn't have enough room to keep her cream, razors, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash all in the bathroom, nobody really did. That gave you a shot.

You stand up hurrying to the bathroom, finding nobody there. You close the door, lock it, and let your mind wander as you let loose the torrent inside you.

Was everything good in that conversation? She'd seen the candy, but that was handled. You hugged her. You told her everything was alright. You hugged her. She had looked cute and dependable. You had talked to her while hugging her.

It wasn't exactly romance novel worthy or even romantic comedy worthy, but compared to your usual "Yeah, no, I'm ok, thanks for stopping by" you could imagine responding with, this felt like a real sea change. Gone was Rex, the absolute failure. Now here stood Rex, the somewhat competent.

Ok, let's just admit some things here. You were gesturing, posturing at a vision of control from what you knew. You basically thought, act dominant but not like an asshole and played out the script in your head. This wasn't some brand new you, this was an act you had stumbled onto. But if you could change your life into that, why not fake it until you make it? Until that's your natural reaction, until it's a habit.

Didn't some dead guy say that in one of your Philosophy courses you took for a general education requirement in college? Aristotle in the something or whatever ethics?

Whatever, point was that it had gone well. Almost too well. What was behind Rebecca's eyes? Did she feel uncomfortable? Surprised? Happy? In the moment, you were sure you were nailing it, but now, did you mess something up? Or was that the old self-pity rearing it's ugly head. But your perception was flawed just like any other person.

You could try to figure it out through the app, see if Rebecca's status was happy or sad or confused. They had a bar for it and everything. But once you opened that, it was possible you'd see something you couldn't unsee in there. You still didn't want to learn she was actually a furry or some secret mastermind who played you like a chump. So no, not that.

You'd just need to see if her behavior changed, if she started to treat you differently. You'd just need to wait, and try to see what happens. Like a normal dude, without a magic app.