An Adult Story

Sitting and chatting with friends at the lunch counter of their favourite diner, Beth wasn’t at all surprised when the topic of discussion turned to relationships. It generally did. Beth had a rather miserable relationship history and, honestly, many times she never got beyond a first date. A lot of times, the evening would end with a quick hug and “Thanks for dinner – nice meeting you!” as she watched the man get into a waiting cab. She knew, deep down, that she didn’t make a good first impression. She was incredibly shy and nervous with men and her personality never came across in those initial meetings. Most of her friends were surprised that Beth was still single because they were always telling her how much she had to offer and how great she was to be around.

“So I’m getting really bored with the guys I keep running into around here… I’m thinking of trying some of those free online dating sites,” Cathy chimed in. “Free online dating? What’s that?” Beth asked. “Well, you basically create an account on the website for free and you can post a profile about yourself. If men find your profile interesting, they can contact you.” Beth was listening intently because she’d never been aware that there was such as thing as free online dating. She immediately thought that meeting someone in the more anonymous world of the internet might be something her nerves could handle.

Letting herself into the small home she’d proudly purchased on her own, after spending a really fun evening with the girls, Beth wandered over to the computer. If she was going to try this free online dating, she had a lot of research to do and a lot to learn. She started doing searches and reading websites. A lot of the sites were far too intimidating to her. The home pages were filled with incredibly beautiful faces and bodies and Beth immediately felt inadequate. Naturally, she had the sense to understand that these pages were merely provocative advertising but she still didn’t have the confidence to participate. As she delved a little deeper, she started to find sites that were tamer, almost nondescript, and one was created around the local cultural scene. Perhaps that was the way to go! Beth was actually a prolific, talented painter and musician. She knew that she would be a lot more outgoing if she found a gentleman that was interested in the art museums and other cultural activities for which she had an enormous passion. Beth was quite sure that there would be no wedding proposal in her immediate future but, if she met someone nice through the website, she might actually have a willing escort for her first art exhibit in a few months. It was certainly worth a try.