Guest Post: The Proverbial "eh"

While I'd like to think I have many talents, I'm the first to admit that interaction with the opposite sex has never been one of them. Frankly, I don't really know what I'm doing despite the fact that I am currently sharing a bedroom with one of the masters as Dylan's roommate, Alex. I've kind of stumbled into most of my previous hookups, sometimes completely unaware they were going to happen until all of a sudden I was making out.

Such was the case this past Thursday when I ended up back in my room with a guy I'd hooked up with before but to whom I didn't feel a particularly strong connection - the proverbial "eh." We were actually just talking until he got up to go and chose a goodbye that went several steps past the requisite hug. Being that Dylan was sleeping peacefully in the next room coupled with the fact that it was four in the morning, I politely suggested we not "start something we couldn't finish." I assured him that we could pick up where we left off at a later date and sent him on his way.

Saturday night (ever-faithful to the 48 hour rule) he sent me a text asking what I was up to. I was out with Dylan and Charlie on U Street but I suggested we meet up later. At the end of the night while waiting for a cab (and for Dylan to buy a McDonald's happy meal, which they incidentally don't sell at 3 am) I texted him saying I was on my way back. He responded that he was at a party but that I was welcome to come and bring whomever I was with. I mentioned that I was just with my roommate and asked if I could give him a call in about half an hour. A few moments after sending that text, the following message found its way into my inbox: "Do whatever you have to do. no worries."

What?

Maybe I don't have a lot of savy in the hookup realm but I sure as hell know that was the wrong answer. I understand the parameters of the game, the need to disguise any semblance of eagerness, the obligatory nonchalance, but that was just rude. Maybe the only time you should suggest that you couldn't care less is when you actually couldn't care less. It's a delicate balance, but taking the game too far makes everybody lose.