By John C. Luna
It was a few days before Christmas and our families were out of town. We had 2 weeks of vacation to “use or lose”, so we had no commitments till after the new year. We also recently became empty nesters. This convergence of circumstances seemed too good to true. As in any good horror story, things always start bright and hopeful.
It had been a long and busy year with a lot of travel and we were looking forward to being local and having some adult cheer, hopefully with a few new playmates. We ensured our phones were loaded with the latest and most popular dating apps. Our laptops were fully charged with browsers open. We updated our bios and upload new photos, both naughty and vanilla, that were taken in a recent photoshoot. We made a few posts describing ourselves and what we were looking for, trying to be direct and stand out from the other posts.
Then we began the task of browsing profiles. Some were easy to discard. No pic, no description, a creepy photo, a request for generous or a 1990’s glamor shot made “pass” the easy choice. After a while, we had found a few candidates and send off a few messages. Then we sat back to binge-watch The Mandalorian and waited for the responses.
It wasn’t long till a cute couple responded and with an actual pic. I remember the pic specifically because there were downtown landmarks in the background proving it was a recent pic. We exchanged a few messages and arranged to meet for drinks the following night. We were both excited. It looked like our holiday was off to a great start. The next day came and we were ready. Our safe sex kit was packed. We laid our clothes out on the bed and started a nice hot, steamy shower. I messaged “We’ll see you soon” as I walked into the shower. As we were lathering up each other’s bodies, I heard my phone beep, denoting a new message. We finished, toweled off and wife began to slide into her sexy dress. “Sorry, something came up. Another time” I read from my phone. After the initial disappointment, I replied “No problem. When are you available?”. That was the last message from couple number 1.
Not letting this phase us, I received an email from a local gentleman who said all of the right words. He had to visit family but would be back in a week and wanted to take us out for drinks. We’ll get back to him soon. For the next few days, we chatted with a few couples and singles but none were a match until this second couple. They lived nearby and met all of our requirements. That night we arranged to meet at a local restaurant for drinks at 8 pm. If there was chemistry, they would come home with us. 8 became 8:15, then 8:30, then 9. Again, we made the best of it and enjoyed a few cocktails but something seemed, ghostly.
We continued to with our local gentleman and the discussions started getting hot. Soon we had all 3 of us group texting and it sounded like a dime-store romance novel leaving my wife wet with anticipation. We planned a date after his return, a few days after new years. We spent New Years at a great party, but I knew both of our thoughts were on our date a few days later.
Finally, the morning before our date came and I texted our gentleman and let him know how excited we both were. There was an uncomfortable digital silence till 3 pm when he responded. Then, the mysterious ghost…ing reared it’s presence again. “I think it is best that we hold off meeting. I met a really special lady over New Years. She is not in the lifestyle. I want to see where this goes with her. Hope you understand.” I read aloud from my phone.
In total, we were ghosted 5 times in just 2 weeks. I don’t know if I need to call a shawman, an exorcist, a voodoo doctor, the Ghostbusters or a dating coach, but this is getting ridiculous. What happened to class? What happened to keeping your word? What happened to REAL people? When did ghost(ing) become acceptable? I know the answer to none of these questions, but pass this tale along with a word of caution. Beware the GHOST…ings.
English