Storytime #3: THE PEN PAL

"It makes no sense; why ask me out for lunch if you're not gonna actually set anything up?" Lia, the Forbes 30 under 30 nominee, sits across from me drinking a French 75 as she explains the situation with a guy she'd just met. "All we do is text. I thought I was going on a date with the man, instead I've got a damn pen pal."

Her phone screen lights up.

"Speak of the devil." She stands up while finishing her drink. "I gotta use the bathroom. Hey Brandon - " She calls over the bartender to request another round before walking away, clearly feeling the champagne she'd just had.

I glance at the time. It's 7:30pm and golden hour is in full effect with hues of pinks and oranges cast throughout the sky. Groups of fashionable friends and creative entrepreneurs sit around tables displayed with drinks and half-eaten appetizers. The familiar face of a young TV actress I can't quite place sits with her agents, presumably. I look in an other direction and try to remember which show she's on when my eyes land on him.

He must've felt my gaze because he looked up from the magazine he was reading and made eye contact just as my phone started to vibrate on my lap: an incoming call from Claude, my friend that just got promoted to Creative Director. "Hey girl, everything ok?"

"GIRL - " I looked back his way but he'd returned to the pages. "Tell me why Shante found out I was dating Danielle and then they teamed up together and told Jas. Now I'm blocked x3." I held back an I told you so since that's the last thing she'd wanna hear but we had all warned her that this was a possible outcome. Instead I just listened as best I could until she told me an incoming call from an unknown number was coming in and she had to go. Click. I finished the rest of what was in my glass and looked back over to him and this time he was already looking at me.

"Damn the drinks still ain't here?"

Lia returned to her chair. I try to hide my intrigue but Lia quickly clocked it. "Who got you over here blushing?"

"No one" "Girl, please" Lia looks past me and all around to see who it is. "I know it's not that Kevin Samuels looking ass" I give her a look, girl bye, when she spots him. "Oh yes, at 6 o'clock?" I roll my eyes holding back a smile. "Yes girl he is fine." She looks at me with a smirk on her face. "So. You gonna approach him?" I felt my heart skip a beat.

Brandon the bartender brings over two flute glasses filled to the brim. "Anything else I can get at the moment?" Lia clinks her drink against mine then takes a sip. I decide to ask for advice. "What would you think if a woman approached you?"

"Oh I'd like it. Shows she's got confidence...courage."

Lia looks to the bar back nearby dumping ice in a sink. "What about you?"

"Confidence is cool, but I prefer to do the pursuing if I'm actually interested."

"What about a guy who's texting you but doesn't wanna set up a date?" Lia couldn't help herself.

Bar back took the lead. "I don't care how good the convos going, if he's not trying to see and spend time with you, then it's a dub." Lia looks to Brandon who nods in agreement.

So it's not just about ego, it's about the effort. And in this moment I realized no matter how attractive I found the mystery man to be, I simply wouldn't go up to him. Not out of fear of rejection or that I'd be doing too much, but because I like a man who puts in the effort. Then again, it didn't matter anyways because when I looked over for the last time, he was gone.

"You ready girl?" we finished our drinks in unison and prepare our exit when Brandon walks back over.

"Server gave this to me to give to you." He passes me a folded piece of paper and written inside is a number and a name.

Some approaches are grand and others are simple, all that matters is it gets the job done.