The Confidence Booster

I'm in a 6-month dating slump in need of a confidence booster. My friend Reynard and I are ordering lunch at Pit Fire Pizza Company in North Hollywood and the cute brunette behind the counter is laughing at my smart ass remarks.

"Hey, you know that girl was flirting with you?" Reynard says, as we sit down outside. "She was just being friendly," I reply. Reynard rolls his eyes in disagreement. He urges me to get her phone number and I reluctantly agree to try.

I walk up to the counter, glancing at the cute brunette's name tag as she answers the phone. Rebecca. I like that name. A good sign. A woman appears behind me and I wave her ahead of me. The last thing I need is an audience. Several more people get in line and I'm ready to abort the mission. I quickly remove an ATM receipt from my wallet, write down my name and number, then step in front of Rebecca. She smiles. I lean over the counter, noticing my embarrassingly low checking account balance just as I hand her the receipt.

"I know this is out of nowhere," I say, in almost a whisper, "But I think you're really cute and I was wondering if you might want to get a drink sometime." Her jaw drops as she says, "Seeing as I have a boyfriend that's probably not going to happen." I nod and smile. "Maybe he's not the right guy for you," I reply, with pseudo confidence. "Call me sometime," I add.

A wave of relief washes over me as I return to the table, content I tried. Despite the lack of success, Reynard is impressed. We eat our meal, cracking jokes about our slumps then Reynard drops me off at my apartment. The second I enter my place my cell phone lights up with a call. 818 area code. It's Rebecca, I think, calling to tell me I'm the guy she's been waiting for all her life. I clear my throat, answering the phone in a voice several octaves too deep.

"Ryan, hey this is Rebecca, we just met." Man, Reynard was right. "You left your wallet on the counter," she says. "So I guess it's a good thing you gave me your number right?" "Hello, are you there?" she asks. "Yeah I'm here. Thanks Rebecca, I'll come get the wallet," I manage to say. No confidence booster today.