It Started With a Dare...

I can’t swear this is exactly how it happened, but this is exactly how I remember it...

          The year was 2003 and Outkast’s ‘’Hey Ya’’ was blaring in the speakers. The club was packed and everyone was waiting for the final countdown to the year 2004. Girls were busy spotting which guy they would make out with as the clock struck midnight - god forbid they would be left alone! I never did really grasp, even today, the importance of having someone to lock lips with on New Year’s Eve.

          I remember when I was younger, every New Year’s Eve, my mother would get all dressed up and she and her husband would go to whatever party was happening that year. Every year, when this happened, she would walk down the stairs in her high heels and beautiful dress and ask me if I wanted to go. I would shrug and say something about how I wanted to watch Christmas movies on television or read a book. She would proceed to tell me that the way I decided to spend New Year’s Eve was exactly how I would spend the New Year and I would think to myself ‘’Awesome, this IS exactly how I want to spend my year.’’ I always thought characters in books or movies had much more exciting lives and preferred it to my own life. To be honest, I couldn’t think of anything more fun than getting lost in a fantasy world, but I know now that she wasn’t talking about books or movies. What she really meant was ‘’I don’t want you to spend your life alone.’’

          My friend, Malorie, was that friend who always had someone to kiss. She was tall and beautiful, with her shiny blond hair and bright blue eyes, impeccably dressed from head to toe. She always had to end the night with at least one phone number. Malorie desperately wanted a boyfriend, but had a bad habit of choosing the wrong guy. About a week before Christmas, she crossed paths with an old high school friend and, of course, fell completely in love with him in approximately five seconds. His name was Philippe.

          Malorie and Philippe were dancing provocatively to Justin Timberlake’s ‘’Rock Your Body’’. Audrey and I were sitting at the bar sipping our Gin and Tonics. We were both 19 at the time, but neither of us acted like it. We weren't into the bar scene and even less into partying. Audrey was cute with her five-foot petite frame. She was the complete opposite of Malorie. She had cropped black hair and never wore a mini-skirt in her life, let alone gave her number out to random guys.

          She looked over at me and mouthed something that I didn’t quite understand because of the loud music. I shook my head and threw up my hands to my ears as if to say ‘’ I can’t hear you.’’ She leaned in toward me and repeated.

          ‘’You know, the way you spend New Year’s Eve is exactly how you are going to spend the New Year.’’

          Audrey’s boyfriend, who coincidentally was also named Philippe, was working that night and I knew she was bummed that she couldn’t ring in the New Year with him. She later found out that he wasn’t working at all, but was actually spending that evening with his other girlfriend.

          I looked over at Audrey who, despite the fun she was having laughing at Malorie’s dance moves, seemed sad.

          ‘’You know what Audrey?’’ I said reaching in my purse looking for my wallet, ‘’You’re right! We should make the most out of the night - let’s get drunk!’’

          Four Gin and Tonics later, Audrey and I were on the dance floor with Malorie. The overhead projector read 4 minutes and 24 seconds until midnight. Malorie was introducing us to different guys with whom she and Philippe went to high school. Audrey was shamelessly flirting with Malorie’s friend, an over six-foot tall guy, named Keven. He was funny and sort of cute, in a tall, lanky, young Bob Saget kind of way.

          ‘’Do you know what Do you Look Good is?’’ Audrey asked me looking puzzled.

          ‘’No clue!’’ I shouted back at her. ‘’Why?’’

          ‘’Keven told me to add him as a friend on that site. It sounds sketchy, don’t you think?’’

          ‘’I’ll ask Malorie’’ I said as I attempted to bob back and forth to Rancid’s ‘’Timebomb’’. How are you supposed to dance to punk/ska anyway?

          ‘’Hey Mal, what’s Do you Look Good?’’ I shouted over the music.

          ‘’Oh my god!’’ she exclaimed ‘’It’s this website on which you can meet people, make friends, find a boyfriend, that kind of stuff.’’ She smiled and then said ‘’It’s how I reconnected with Philippe - you should totally sign up!’’

          Yeah sure I’ll get right on that, I thought. I made my way back over to Audrey who was still chatting with Keven.

          ‘’It’s a dating site’’ I said into her ear.

          ‘’Oh my god, you should totally sign up!’’ she yelled enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes. That's when she shouted ‘’I dare you!’’

          It was the New Year, 2004 had finally begun. And oddly enough, it started on a dare. After a fun girl’s night (and one too many gin and tonics) I came home remembering this website that Mal and Audrey kept daring me to join; a dating website of all things. As if I was going to sign up for that, I thought as I put on a pot of coffee and then proceeded to wobble over to my laptop.

After many failed attempts at typing my e-mail password (do you know how hard it is to type when your vision is impaired?), I looked up at the screen and there it was; like an omen. In bright colors, big bold font, pleading me with its flashing sign up today banner.

Before I knew it, I was filling out the ‘what’s your ideal date?’ field. I all of a sudden had no problem typing anymore, or so I thought. At that point, everything appeared brilliant and inspired. There I was, typing as fast I could; the words were just pouring out of me and flowing perfectly. For once, I knew the answer to every question and I was determined to not spend the year alone.

 Favorite activities:

Too many to name. 

Favorite Movie:

 I like romantic comedies.

 ‘’Simple enough! Ay Paddycakes? ‘’ I said to my cat as she jumped up to lay on my lap. ‘’What’s next? Let’s see-‘’

What are you looking for?

Errr maybe we’ll come back to that one later.

‘’Easy peasy’’ I said looking down at Paddy who was purring loudly. Even she was excited. 

I made my way down the list of questions and clicked the sign up button without hesitation. There was no way I wasn’t going to follow through after typing up such inspired, not to mention accurate, answers.

As I impatiently waited for my subscription to process I felt a jolt of excitement, and I wondered what the next step would be. Would I have to fill out a boyfriend description? Would they suggest matches for me? I secretly wished it was the latter.
         

          I squinted to read the Thank you for joining message and scrolled down to the view your profile ribbon. I quickly scanned my page to make sure everything was there.

          Likes:

           rainbows, skittles, unicorns and palm trees.

          Dislikes: dating.           

           Oh wait, that doesn’t seem right, I thought. I corrected a few things here and there and proceeded to update my profile, when I noticed the click here to add a picture to your profile option. Without pausing, I turned on my webcam, quickly fixed my hair and straightened the key I always wore on a chain around my neck.

          ‘’Smile for the camera Paddy’’ I instructed.

           I looked over at the clock and realized that an hour had gone by. It was three in the morning and I wasn’t even tired anymore. Perhaps it was all the excitement from the website, or maybe it was simply the four cups of coffee I had since I walked in the door. The girls were right, I thought. The website was quite entertaining. I was beginning to know my way around it and was ready to search for my ideal mate. Unfortunately, I was on my own and needed to decide for myself exactly what it was that I was looking for.

          I was clicking my way through the search options, choosing wisely. After all, I was about to find my soul mate; this was serious business.

          Female seeking : Male.

          Age: 19.

          Height: 6’0.

          This was as close as I was ever going to get in creating the perfect man; I figured I might as well be accurate. I filled in every field, from his hair color to his shoe size. Finally, I got to the bottom of the page, and noticed a final option.

           Name:

          I have to name him? I wondered. I later realized that this field was optional, but at the time I decided to name him Philippe. I too shall have my very own Philippe, I thought.

          I held my breath and closed my eyes as you would while making your birthday wish before blowing out your candles. And then I kind of laughed, thinking there’s absolutely no chance that one person fits all that criteria.

          To my astonishment, there he was. My very own six-foot, nineteen year old, brown haired, blue eyed, Philippe. I pulled up his profile and examined his picture. The photo was in black and white. Philippe was smiling, showing his perfectly straight teeth and his structured jaw line, à la Brad Pitt. His eyes seemed kind, with long eyelashes, and his lips looked completely kissable. My eyes made their way down his face, examining every part, right down to his chin dimple. And there, around his neck, was a chain on which hung a small lock. All of a sudden there was a fluttering feeling in my stomach, and it wasn’t the gin and tonics, it was different, a feeling I had never felt before. I felt weak, and he was perfect. 

          Maybe it was the coffee high or the leftover alcohol buzz, or maybe it was a mix of both; but within minutes of looking over his profile, I found myself sending him a message.

          Will you be my boyfriend?