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I Had a Date with the Fonz This Year
My 2022 Dating Recap: Part 1
He peeled off his t-shirt exposing a few tattoos and strong shoulders. I’d met him for the first time about an hour earlier. He’d pounded two beers, grabbed me for a kiss, and suggested a walk along the beach on the hot August day.
I was in a pretty summery strapless dress in wedges while he was in board shorts and flip-flops. Cars literally stopped to look at us. I’m pretty sure it’s because we looked so ridiculous as a pair. Or maybe they were admiring his abs.
No, I didn’t win a date with Henry Winkler. But if the Fonz had been a real person, raised in the South, and wore swim trunks instead of a leather jacket, he probably would have looked and acted something like my date from this summer. We’ll call him “Jake.”
Jake’s profile was intriguing. It resembled most of the Mississippi profiles I’ve been swiping on the past few years, but he quoted a few authors, too, which made him unusual. I hesitated to swipe right but the dichotomy of his profile compelled me.
We spoke on the phone and I remained intrigued. Were we a match made in Heaven? No way. But I made a deal with myself at the beginning of the year. I threw out almost every rule I’d carefully crafted after dating for 8 years post-separation/divorce.