The First Date

She had barely said a word so far, just hid behind her menu. “Are you ready to order?” Nelson asked. She nodded and giggled. It was all he could do not to roll his eyes as he signaled the waiter and ordered their food. She was the Chinese one, but he was doing all the ordering… At first, he thought it was her English level, so he started talking as best he could in Chinese.

“[Do you like spicy food?]” he asked as best he could, he’d only been studying for six months. Something about this must have been hilarious as instead of answering it sent her into a fit of laughter.

Cool, super cool. He ate his food as fast as he could and watched as she slowly picked away at hers. When he couldn’t handle the awkwardness anymore, he waved over the waiter again and asked for the bill. She was still smiling and giggling. How had they had such a conversation on the app he wondered.

Seeing her off in a taxi she said in unbroken English with only a slight accent. “Thanks so much! Bye Bye! See you again?”

“Sure,” he lied. That was definitely a no, he thought as he ordered a car for himself. Maybe this Tan Tan thing wasn’t too great after all.