Justin:

And then: “Is there any truth to the q-tip thing being bad for you or do doctors just not want me to be happy?”

I laughed. Then I read it to Maddy.

“You know, for someone that cute, he’s pretty funny,” she said.

I looked at her over my phone. “What, they can’t be cute and funny?”

“No. When they’re that attractive or over six feet tall, they usually have the personality of a sexy palm tree.”

I was cracking up when I typed in my reply.

Me: Sadly, the q-tip thing is true. I have flushed many, many impacted ears.

Justin: I’ll never stop.

Me: Me either. #qtipsforlife

Justin: Lol

I waited a few minutes, but he didn’t send me anything after that.

This was the place in a back-and-forth to either make an effort to keep it going or let it die.

I was a little bored. I opted for life support.

Me: so what do u do for a living?

I already knew what he did for a living because Maddy had cyberstalked him. Of course I couldn’t tell him that, so I had to ask questions.

Almost immediately he replied.

Justin: I’m a software engineer. I build out websites. Can I ask you another question?

Me: yes

Justin: Where do u live?

Me: Why?

Justin: I was thinking maybe we could go for coffee or something. Exchange good luck charm war stories.

I looked up at Maddy. “He just asked me out.”

“What took him so long,” she said flatly. “Are you gonna go?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Why not?”

“He’s in Minnesota,” I said.

“Maybe he’ll come to you.”

“You think some guy I met three days ago is going to fly all the way to Colorado just to take me to Starbucks? Why would he do that?”

“Uh, because you’re hot? Your mom didn’t give you much, but she did give you her face.”

I rolled my eyes and typed into my phone.

Me: I would love to go for coffee, but I’m in Colorado. Then in three weeks I go to Hawaii for three months.

We pulled into our driveway right after that, and I got busy unloading the car and putting away the groceries. When we were done, Maddy went to take a shower and I plopped on my bed to check my phone. Justin had responded half an hour ago.

Justin: Where are you going after Hawaii?

I typed.

Me: Not sure yet. I live with my best friend Maddy and we alternate who chooses where we’ll go next. She picked Hawaii, and I haven’t decided where to go after that.

I figured he wouldn’t reply right away. He’d said he had to turn off his notifications because of all the messages he was getting, and after half an hour I was sure he wasn’t sitting there watching his inbox waiting for me to respond, but I got a message within thirty seconds.

Justin: May I suggest Minnesota?

Me: Lol why?

Justin: Fall in Minnesota is beautiful. We have Mayo Clinic and Royaume Northwestern. Two of the best hospitals in the world…

I smiled and started typing.

Me: Wow, you want to have coffee with me that bad huh?

Justin:

A small pause and then…

Justin: You know, in theory, if we date each other, when we break up we’d both find our soulmates after.

I narrowed my eyes.

Me: I thought you didn’t want to date anyone who only wanted to break up with you??

Justin: This is different. This is mutually beneficial. Seriously, what are your thoughts? Cause I gotta be honest, I could be down for this.

And then a second later:

Nothing inappropriate, a purely professional arrangement.