Why Not Just Pretend?

David opened his eyes and noticed that it was already bright in his room. He rubbed his face, yawned and stretched. His arm hit his phone and the memory of what happened before he fell asleep came back to him.

Was this a dream… again?

David picked up his phone and looked at the messenger app.

No… they are still there… it was not a dream…

He was staring at her last message, when the chat suddenly moved up a bit and the three dots, indicating that she was typing, appeared. David immediately put the phone face down on the bed.

What am I doing…

He stared at the back of his phone anxiously anticipating what came next. It didn’t take long and it vibrated. David reached for the phone but paused.

Is it weird to look at it immediately? Should I wait a few minutes? Why is she messaging me so early in the morning?

David’s confused hesitation was interrupted by a second round of short vibration and an immediately following third one.

Three messages?

David’s curiosity got the better of him and he grabbed the phone. Emily had sent a photo of her hand holding a coffee cup and two text messages.

07:30

“Good morning ^-^
Today I definitely need a second one to get into gear xD”

“How do you like your morning coffee?”

07:31

“Just black without anything.”

07:31

“Oh, you’re awake already? O.O”

“I didn’t wake you up, did I?! :/”

07:31

“No, no!”

“I was awake.”

“I’m already up and drinking coffee as well.”

07:31

“Really? Proof!”

Shit!

David jumped out of his bed, stumbled, and tripped over his trousers on the floor. His dive roll would have been executed perfectly if the door to his bedroom had been open. Since it wasn’t, he crashed against it with a loud thud but quickly scrambled to his feet and out into the kitchen. David turned his coffee machine on and got his cup. He patiently watched the machine heating up and doing a rinse.

“Come on…”, David uttered under his breath and cursed silently, when a red light popped up, indicating that the waste container was full and needed to be emptied.

With a sigh he did just that and finally could push the button to make a new cup of coffee. The machine started up and began to grind the roasted beans. Growing impatient, he watched the first dribble of extracted coffee drip into his cup. The machine went silent after a few droplets.

“Fuck! Why now!”, David cursed not so silently anymore when another red light appeared.

The water tank was empty. He quickly filled it up again and the machine continued. A few moments later he finally had freshly brewed coffee. David looked around.

Where is my phone?!

Remembering that he had left it in bed, he rushed into his bedroom, grabbed it, and came back. David took the cup in one hand, took a quick photo of it and sent it.

07:37

“See?”

07:37

“I see… nothing beats a freshly made coffee, eh? ^-^”

07:38

“Yeah…”

07:38

“Probably should brush your hair, though xD”

07:38

“Huh?”

07:38

“The mirror xD”

David looked more closely at the photo he had sent and noticed that in the background was his wall mirror, showing him clearing in just his underwear and with a serious case of bed hair. He looked up and watched his face get red in the exact same mirror.

07:40

“Coffee comes first, hair second…”

07:40

“LoL”

“true”

She sent a new photo. David nearly dropped his phone in surprise. It was a selfie of Emily taking a sip of coffee. Her hair was all messy and in complete chaos, but it shimmered in a reddish color.

She must be near a window…

Emily’s two bright blue eyes peeked over the cup directly into the camera and subsequently out of the screen into David’s. He began typing but erased it after a few letters before typing anew.

07:44

“Gotta have your priorities straight, right?^^”

07:45

“Definitely! ^-^”

David looked at the photo of Emily again.

With the hair like this she looks a bit like she did when…

He probably would have stared a bit longer, but a sudden urge to pee, intensified by the half drunken coffee, made him pull away from the two bright blue eyes on his screen. After finishing his business, he went to the sink and noticed that he had the same smile on his face as back then in the hotel.

This means nothing… don’t get any funny ideas!

David quickly washed it away with cold water and rigorous rubbing. He then changed into some sweatpants and t-shirt. His phone vibrated again, right when he entered back into the living room.

08:01

“Well… guess I’ll head to work now… Why are there two meetings today that I have to attend in person?! Could have worked from home if there weren’t…”

08:02

“Rough…What do you do for a living, by the way?”

08:03

“Hmmm… guess ^-^”

08:03

“Assassin”

08:04

“Damn, you saw through me x.x”

08:04

“Shit… do you have to kill me now?”

08:04

“I’m afraid so...”

“I’ll make it quick and painless ;)”

“Unless you want a bit of pain :P”

08:05

“Depends on the method of killing ;>”

08:06

“Oh?”

“That sounds enticing… but we will have to get back to it another time.”

“Gotta hurry now, or I’ll be late :(“

“Have a nice day, David ^-^”

08:06

“You too, Emily :>”

David put down his phone and looked around in his living room.

And what now?

He hadn’t planned anything for today and originally wanted to sleep in.

Guess I’ll do some writing research…

David brewed himself a new cup of coffee, went to his PC and began to watch a few anime episodes.

13:12

“Finally, the meetings are over! Time to get some food!”

“Have you eaten already?”

13:13

“Not yet, but I’m about to.”

13:14

“Oh, what will you eat? I’ll have some spaghetti bolognese today.”

13:14

“I have some left-over pizza from the weekend.”

13:14

“So, we’re both doing Italian today, huh? Nice ^-^”

“Do you heat your left-over pizza or are you one of those weird people that eat pizza cold?”

13:14

“Guess I’m weird then…”

13:15

“Haha, me too! ^-^”

“Well then, enjoy your meal, David!”

13:15

“Thanks, you too Emily”

After eating the cold left-over pizza, David continued to do some research, and it quickly got evening. He was reading an email from a publisher he had sent a few of his manuscripts.

Now this could be interesting, but… I don’t know if I can do it… that genre is a bit…

His thoughts were interrupted by his phone vibrating.

19:56

“Home at last!”

“How was your day? Mine got a bit hectic in the afternoon… :(“

19:57

“Didn’t do much today… only some research and brainstorming…”

19:57

“Oh, for a new story?”

19:57

“Yeah…”

19:57

“Cool! What’s it gonna be? You write mainly fantasy, right?”

19:58

“Yeah… but maybe I’ll try something different…”

19:58

“What do you have in mind?”

19:58

“Hm… A publisher I sent a few of my manuscripts told me that they have a campaign going, focusing on rom-coms and I should send in a story…”

19:59

“That’s great news, isn’t it?”

19:59

“ Yeah, but…”

19:59

“But?”

20:00

“I don’t know if I can write such a story…”

20:00

“Why not?”

20:01

“They want a high school rom-com… and I just don’t know what to write it about…”

20:02

“Oh, a classic high school rom-com? Can’t you just base it on your own school experience somehow? Just sprinkle in some teenage drama or dates that went wrong spectacularly or something… bet you had some of those, like everybody… it’s a special time after all ^-^”

20:03

“No, I hadn’t…”

20:03

“No dates that went wrong? Lucky you…”

20:04

“No… well yes I had none of those… but none of the other ones as well…”

“In fact, I had no romantic experiences during that special time at all”

“Unlike everybody else it seems…”

20:05

“Oh…”

20:05

“So, I struggle a bit with writing from experience in that regard…”

I shouldn’t have told her that… That’s not something you tell someone you barely know…

David threw his phone on the desk, stood up and paced around the room.

I bet she thinks now, that I want to score some pity points… Why did I write that… Am I that desperate and actually want pity now?... ahh… this is so stupid…

He looked at his phone again. His last message was on read, but no new message from Emily.

Fuck… Well… that’s what I get…

David scrolled up and looked at the photo of her drinking coffee.

Maybe I am desperate…

He felt disgusted with himself and decided to take a shower to take his mind off the matter. It didn’t work very well. David checked his phone again after coming out of the shower. Still no new messages, so he decided to make himself some sandwiches and watched another episode. After one and a half his phone vibrated and he grabbed it before it could even stop.

21:23

“Hey… I just took a bath, and an idea came to my mind.”

“If you struggle to write high school rom-com, because you never experienced it and never went on a date as a teenager. Why don’t you just do it now?”

21:24

“Huh? My teenage years are long past, so going on a date as a teenager would be… well impossible…”

21:25

“You said you played Dungeons and Dragons, right?”

21:25

“Yeah… but I don’t see how this should help…”

21:26

“Well… there you play as fantasy races doing all sorts of impossible things…”

21:26

“So, you mean I should just pretend to be a teenager. Like role-playing it?”

21:27

“Yeah!”

21:28

“Hm… not a bad Idea… only one problem… I don’t think anyone from my role-playing group will be up for doing such a weird role-play with me…”

21:31

“What about me? I’m pretty weird…”

21:31

“Huh?”

21:33

“You… would pretend to be a teenager and go on a role-playing date with me?”

21:35

“Yeah… I can… pretend…”

“If you want…”

21:36

“Uhm… we don’t even know each other that well…”

21:37

“Then we can use the opportunity and get to know each other better as well!”

21:39

“Uhm… yeah okay… we can try it…if you want…”

21:39

“Yay!! ^-^”

“Anything planned coming weekend?”

21:40

“No…?”

21:40

“Great! Me neither!”

“I’m really curious what date you’ll plan!”

21:41

“Wait, what!? I’ll plan?”

21:41

“Of course! The man plans the date, right?”

21:41

“Of course…”

21:41

“Sweet! Looking forward to it!!! ^-^”

21:42

“Right…”

21:42

“Well, I’m pretty beat from the day and lack of sleep, so I think I will hit the hay for today.”

“Good night and sleep well, David :-*”

21:44

“Good night and sweet dreams… Emily.”

21:44

“^-^”

David continued to look at his phone for a few minutes without moving.

What just happened? This is all pretend… right?