Page 42 of Courting Clemson

We moved on to the next direct message in the queue. This was from Jonathan, the average-looking guy in finance. He was a little more direct with his comments and questions and not as friendly as Brian. Maybe it was the difference between their ages, but there was a completely different feel in their tones. It was something intangible, but Grace picked up on it too.

“This guy seems a little pissed off, doesn’t he?” she asked with her head cocked to the side.

“Definitely different than Brian. I think maybe it’s the age difference?”

“Or maybe he’s just a dick?”

“Could be. But I don’t think he’s being a dick. He’s just to the point.” I shrugged and typed out a response to the man, trying to be as direct as he was but still friendly. In a way, I liked his communication style more. I didn’t feel like I had to put a lot of effort into small talk.

“Oh my God!” Grace shouted, pointing at the laptop. Her outburst made me choke on the huge gulp of water I just took.

“What?” I finally got out after clearing my throat.

She was on her feet now. “He’s writing right now! The first dude—Brian.”

“Okay. You have to calm down, sister. I just nearly choked over that.”

“But in real time!” she shouted, still overly excited.

I swapped screens into his message thread.

Hello, Clemson. Thank you for responding. Do you have time to chat a little?

Hi! It was my pleasure, and yes, I can talk right now.

Great. How has your day been? What are you up to?

Okay, so we were literally going to talk like regular people. Up to this point, all of this has felt very transactional. It was easy to forget these were real people at the other end of these profiles and messages.

Day has been a good one. Busy, but good.

Yeah? What have you been doing?

I had practice this morning and then just spent time around the house.

That’s right. You’re a swimmer, right?

I am. It’s a big part of my life. Takes up a lot of my time.

I figured I’d be upfront with these guys. They had to know I had commitments I couldn’t get out of. Swimming would always come first.

I have to be honest. I don’t know much about competitive swimming. Is there a competition season? Have you been swimming your whole life?

Yes, I’ve always been into the sport. Family teases me that I’m part fish. I like to think mermaid, but that’s another conversation.

It couldn’t hurt to test his sense of humor, right? Grace chuckled when I wrote that, so it seemed like a safe comment.

And yes, there is a season, though we practice year-round. Mid-October through mid-March is our regular season, culminating with the NCAA Championships.

Got it! Maybe I’ll be able to see you compete sometime.

Maybe…

We talked for a little while longer before he had to go. I liked what I knew about him so far and felt comfortable setting up a meet-and-greet if he asked. Grace felt positive about the exchange too, and we clicked back into my response to Jonathan.

“You know, this is exhausting already,” I complained.

Usually, when I had a boyfriend—a regular boyfriend—I ended things when they got needy or too demanding of my time. How the hell was I going to manage this if I had to continually talk to more than one guy at a time? Maybe it was time to set some limits on this adventure so it didn’t consume my life.

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