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“Four and a possible,” I interjected. “Someone slid into my DMs, and I might let him take me out, too.”

“See? I love this for you. I can’t find one worthy of a second date and you’ve found a roster full of eligible men.”

“Yeah, but each serves a purpose. It’s easier to find exactly what I’m looking for when I’m looking for it in different men.”

“What are you going to do when you find that one man who has everything?”

“One man?” I scoffed. “Nah. Not gonna happen.”

“You know you believe in love,” she argued.

“I absolutely believe in love. I spent my life witnessing love.”

“So, you really don’t want what your parents have? What my parents have?”

“Only if I found everything I wanted and needed in one man. And let’s be real… that’s not going to happen.”

“It could,” she argued.

I knew that she hoped it would happen for me because she needed to believe it would happen for her. And I knew why it was so important to her, so I let her down gently. “It’s very unlikely.”

“But it’s still a possibility. You can’t say never.”

“Yes, fine. It’s a possibility,” I relented. “An unlikely possibility.”

“But a possibility, nonetheless. My work here is done!”

She sounded pleased with herself, and I laughed.

“No, but seriously, I’m curious how you’re going to handle it when you meet your match,” she mused.

“You’re talking about meeting a man so perfect for me that I’d drop all the men I’m dating now.” I shook my head as I switched lanes. “That’s funny.”

“Why is that funny? You’ve basically done that with The Fun One over the last couple of months.”

“I have not!” I argued indignantly.

While that realization got under my skin, she had a point. I had such a good time with The Fun One that whenever he was in town, I made time. Any opportunity to spend a couple days with him, I took. It wasn’t just the sex—although the sex was incredible. It was the way he lived in the moment with me and experienced life withme. He challenged me and explored my mind and my body. He spoiled me with time and attention as much as he did with money and adventure. While I had no intention of admitting it, he was my favorite.

“You’ve prioritized him because he’s your favorite,” Aaliyah teased.

With wide eyes and a tight grip on the steering wheel, I shifted the conversation since I couldn’t deny her claims. “Let me tell you something… over the last few weeks I’ve gone to a festival, watched an improv group, taken a salsa lesson, attended an art gallery opening, got my oil changed and my tires rotated, went to a live taping of a show, and took a boat ride across the lake just to end up at a picnic specifically created for me. You can’t get all that with one man.”

“I can’t even get one of that with one man,” she whined jokingly.

I laughed along with her. “Dating is what you make it.”

“So what’s The Fun One’s name again?”

“Russ,” I answered.

“Yes, Russ. The traveling businessman. What exactly does he do?”

“We don’t talk about work. We focus on fun. But I do know that he travels, and he handles business. So that’s why I call him a traveling businessman.”

She laughed. “No details, just vibes.”

“The only one who talks to me about work is The Funny One and that’s because he’s hilarious and he wants to be a stand-up comedian. So, it makes sense for us to talk about it. The Fun One…” I smiled, thinking about him. “We decided on the first date to talk about who we are, not what we do.”

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