Gretchen is a 29-year-old junior executive who lives in midtown’s Summerhill area. She says, “I have nice green eyes, and I’m always smiling.” Gretchen likes “nothing more than to be around friends and family. I’m known as a great host and planner within my friend group. I love bringing people together to have a fun time.” Gretchen adds, “I’m also the one people call when they’re having tough times.”

Over Easter weekend, a family friend asked me who I was dating. I said that I wasn’t dating anyone, but was using sites and apps. She asked if she could see “what the men online looked like.” I opened an app, and showed her the men I was communicating with. After looking at Stuart, she said I should go out with him because of his “kind eyes.” I took her advice.

After about a week of sending messages back and forth, Stuart asked me if I’d rather go out for coffee or for drinks. I chose drinks.

He texted me to say he’d made reservations at a bar for 6 p.m. on a Tuesday. I smiled when I got the text because I couldn’t remember the last time a guy had made reservations. After a series of very bad online dates, I vowed this time would be different, and I’d have fun and be relaxed, no matter what.

Stuart was tall and looked very fit. He put two cellphones on the table. When I asked if he was a baller, clearly joking, he said, “One’s for work and one’s for fun.” Sitting with Stuart, I couldn’t help but see that his eyes wandered to the waitresses and the other women in the bar. I could tell he wasn’t really feeling it, by which I mean me.

Stuart asked about my workout regime and where my favourite coffee spot was. When I said I wasn’t into coffee and only drank vanilla lattes he told me I was making a huge mistake. “Do you know how many calories are in lattes?” he asked, then Googled it on his phone.

I was feeling as though this date was going to be a disaster, but I was determined to have a good time. I kept the conversation rolling. The only problem was that we kept ordering drinks. “Let’s get a burger,” said Stuart. He asked the waitress to hold the fries, and told me half a burger was the perfect dinner for us.

As the night went on, I started to like Stuart more. I couldn’t tell if it was because of actual feelings or the wildly excessive amount of wine. He must have been feeling the same way because he was no longer looking at other women, and kept moving closer to me. “You’re fun,” he said, and kissed me. The kiss was amazing: passionate and exciting. Before long, Stuart and I were having a hot make-out session in the middle of the bar.

I hate public displays of affection and have never done that before. I was so embarrassed, but I loved it! Our waitress eventually came over and handed us our bill. We told her we hadn’t asked for it yet, but she said she needed to give it to us. We paid, and then Stuart leaned over and kissed me again. Soon, his hands were all over my body. The waitress came back over, and said, “I have to ask the two of you to leave.”

After getting kicked out, we stood outside the bar and kept kissing like crazy. A homeless woman approached us and asked us for money. I stopped kissing, emptied out all of my change, gave it to her, and then went back to kissing Stuart.

It was around 2 a.m. when I realized I should go home, alone. The next day, I opened my wallet to take out my TTC tokens and realized I had given them all to the homeless lady asking for change. It was then that I realized how intoxicated I had been. Looking back, a coffee date — but not a latte date — might have been a better choice.

Gretchen rates her date (out of 10): 4

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