Page 14 of Cocky Nerd
John
ONE WEEKAGO
I’ve been so focusedon my business with China lately, that when Monty asks me what’s up in my personal life, I have to think hard to remember the last time I took someone out on a date. It was two months ago. It was the daughter of one of my MIT profs who was in Palo Alto for job interviews, and I had agreed to take her to dinner. She was attractive and friendly, and I was so bored I faked a migraine at the end of the night. There are a few women who regularly text me to see if I want to “hang out,” and occasionally I do “hang out” with them, as a means of relieving stress, and then I leave as soon as they start asking me if I ever getlonely.
I don’t get lonely. Ever. But I do miss certain people, including Monty. He has established himself in Chicago, as the tech guy at a major venture capital firm. I keep asking him to come out to Palo Alto to work with me, but he refuses. It’s ashame.
I choose to tell Monty that there’s no one special at the moment, and that a high-end matchmaking service routinely reaches out to me to see if I’m interested, but I’mnot.
“Why aren’t you interested?” heasks.
The restaurant he’s chosen is crowded and noisy, and it’s unlike him to pick a place like this in Midtown Manhattan. Close to both of our hotels, I suppose. I pretend I didn’t hear him as I finish my glass ofMalbec.
He leans in further across the table and speaks louder. “Why aren’t you interested in the matchmakingservice?”
We don’t talk about our personal lives very often, as there is so much more to talk about, but ever since Monty started dating a woman in Chicago that he really likes a few months ago, he has gotten moreinquisitive.
“Busy,” Isay.
“That’s exactly why people use theservice.”
“Isit?”
“You aren’t hung up on that model, areyou?”
“God,no.”
“She still stalkingyou?”
“I wouldn’t call it stalking. I haven’t responded to her texts or calls for months, so she hasn’t done it muchlately.”
“Are you hung up on someone elsethen?
He studies my face and I give him as blank an expression as possible. “Likewho?”
He watches me for another beat, before shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t know. Women still ask me to introduce them to you, you know. Katie’s friends. Especially since that TedTalk.”
“It was a TedX. I didn’t even know people watchedthose.”
“It’s on YouTube. Apparently you looked ‘dreamy’ and seemed ‘really nice and articulate for a nerd’. I don’t tell them that it’s because you’re giving a talk and not talkingtoorwithanyone.”
“You don’t think I’mnice.”
“Course I do. It’s just never been a priority for you to convey it.” He gets all googly-eyed for a second. “Katie’snice.”
“So you’ve mentioned.” He appears to be waiting for me to say something else, but Idon’t.
“It is customary to say that you look forward to meeting mygirlfriend.”
“I do look forward to it, but the last time I met one of your girlfriends you told me you were done introducing me to yourgirlfriends.”
“You told her she waspuerile.”
“And she had no idea what it meant. Which, as I recall, was one of the reasons you gave for breaking up with her right after that. You make it sound as though I’m only rude to your girlfriends. I thought your co-worker was a total asshat too. What was his name?Daryl?”
“Correct, I did decide that I’d never introduce you to anyone I cared about even the slightest bit everagain.”
“Which is why I don’t bring it up. Although, to be clear, I would like to meet the woman who makes you thishappy.”
