In The Zone

‘Would you like another drink?’ Philip asked, waving his empty glass.

His date, Laura, nodded with a smile. 

As he ordered another round of drinks at the bar, Philip nodded to his reflection in the mirror. The date was going well, they were getting on well. It wasn’t a done deal yet. The next date wasn’t yet in the bag. There was every chance he would mess it up. He just hoped he didn’t embarrass himself. He really was punching, as the expression went. Laura really was out of his league. He had been quite surprised that, when he’d messaged her on the dating app, that Laura had agreed to meet up.

She looked good, her glowing tan was like she’d just got back from a summer holiday, and her bleached blonde hair curled and flowed down to her shoulders. Philip was the opposite, almost ghostly pale. He always joked that he was a vampire and would perish in direct sunlight, and his hair wasn’t so much styled as rather quickly combed, and in the same side-parting he’d worn since he was a school-boy.

When he returned from the bar with the drinks, Laura was checking her make-up in the camera on her mobile phone. He smiled, she really was a catch. He tried to make conversation, and join in her chat about things like reality television and celebrity gossip, rather than the geeky science-fiction stuff that really interested him. Geez, if she found out that he once had a life-size cut out of the Terminator in his bedroom, then she’d go running. No, he had to play it cool, act like he was cool, like he was one of the lads. 

A few rounds of drinks later, it was time to call it a night. They headed outside into the cold darkness. As Laura waved to her taxi driver, Philip took a deep breath. This was it. The moment of truth.

‘Would you like to do this again sometime?’ He asked, trying to sound as casual as possible. 

‘Yes, if you like.’ She shrugged.

‘Excellent.’ Philip said. He was about to suggest the cinema one night during the week, when she spoke again. 

‘As friends.’ She said. ‘I think we should just be friends.’ 

Philip nodded, there it was, the sucker punch, the knock-out blow. The old let’s just be friends. The Friend Zone. There was no coming back from that. 

He nodded and smiled, then waved as the taxi pulled away with Laura in the back. She didn’t glance around in his direction. That was it, game over. 

A few weeks later, following a few days of messaging through the dating app, Philip headed into the city-centre to meet another hopeful suitor, Jennifer. 

He and Jennifer chatted in the busy pub, sipping their pints of lager, the conversation flowing easily. They had so much in common and were so similar in a lot of ways. They were both rather pale, shunning the trend for fake tans, and both wore glasses.

‘Have you ever wore contact lenses?’ Philip asked.

‘I couldn’t do it.’ Jennifer said, shaking her head. ‘How can people place a tiny piece of glass in their eye?’

She shuddered at the thought. Philip laughed in agreement. 

‘What’s your favourite film?’ He asked.

‘The Godfather.’ She said. ‘Have you seen it?’

‘If I haven’t, are you going to make me an offer I can’t refuse?’ Philip replied. 

‘Very good!’ She laughed. 

They really were getting on famously. Jennifer seemed to be like a female version of himself. With her glasses and her pale complexion and dark hair, they even looked a little similar. 

As they were leaving the pub, Philip to flag down a taxi, and Jennifer to walk to the tram stop, she turned to him.

‘I’ve had a lovely night. We should do this again some time.’ She said.

Philip sensed the hope in her voice, and expectation in her eyes, but he wasn’t quite sure. They got on well enough, but was it on a romantic level?

‘Yeah, why not, we can go out again, as friends.’ Philip said. 

Jennifer blinked away the tears in her eyes, and tried to hide the shock. Philip immediately felt bad. The date had gone well enough but he just wasn’t 100 % sure about the two of them working out. 

She checked her watch, and hurriedly said her tram was due in a few minutes, before dashing away down the street. 

Philip swore to himself. Another date ended badly. He tutted and went back inside for another pint.

Over the next few days, he wondered if he’s been a bit hasty in friend-zoning Jennifer. Had he judged here the way he felt people judge him? He hadn’t even given things a chance to see how a second date would go. She did seem really, nice and genuine, and they did have so much in common. Had he been hasty and harsh in turning her down?

By the end of the week, he couldn’t stop thinking about Jennifer. He went over the date in his mind, how well it had gone until the very end, how upset she had been that he had shot her down. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he had made a mistake. 

On Friday evening, as he flaked out on the sofa, watching a crime drama on television, he decided to bite the bullet. He sent her a text message, saying he was sorry about the other night, saying he would really like to make it up to her, and to see her again for a second date. How about a meal, he suggested, anywhere you like. 

A few moments later his mobile phone pinged as the reply came in. When he read the response his cheeks reddened.

As friends? 

He quickly replied apologising again, and asking, pleading for one more chance. He clicked send message and waited. 

For the next couple of hours, he checked his mobile phone eagerly, hoping a text message had come through and he hadn’t heard it.

By later that evening, the realisation hit home that Jennifer wouldn’t be texting back. He had, as suspected, blown his chances of seeing here again. 

A few weeks later, he was on a night out in the city-centre with friends. They were heading down Deansgate, along the main road, to the next pub, when he saw Jennifer walking towards him. He was delighted to see her, here was his chance to apologise in person, to make it up to her. Who knew, his mind raced, maybe they could pick up right where they left off. He told his friends he would catch them up, and slowed down to speak to Jennifer. 

Then he spotted the person by her side. The guy at her side was wearing a bright shirt and reeked of after-shave. They were clearly on a date. 

‘Hello, you.’ Philip said. ‘Really good to see you.’

Jennifer simply said, hello, and kept walking, her date following. As he watched them walking away, Philip heard her date ask Jennifer who that was.

‘Nobody.’ she replied, taking hold of her date’s hand.

By Chris Platt

From: United Kingdom