Ella is in a bit of a quandary. She is binge dating – currently seeing eight guys. ‘Who is the hickie from?’ I asked her over a cocktail at the launch of the basement bar at 28-50 on Maddox Street. ‘And dare I ask how old he is?’ I teased.
Neither of us were convinced that the hickie would be gone before her game of tennis with one of the non-hickie-giving guys the following day. I was intrigued by the logistics of her juggling act. ‘How do you fit them in?’ I asked. ‘Considering you also make time for your mates.’
‘I generally see them after midnight. I’m terrible, aren’t I!’
I was in awe. ‘Have you ever got their names mixed up?’
‘Worse – I’ve mixed up my “us stories” when talking to one guy; the event in question was with another. Anyway, are you seeing anyone?’
‘No. Tennis Player was intermittently asking me to go to his after matches during Wimbledon but he’s a player off the court. And there was a sex avoider [I’ve blogged about another sex avoider, TV Presenter, before]. He’s the TMI Dutch boy from last year – we reconnected due to work.’
‘I think sex avoiders must have small dicks,’ Ella said.
‘Everything seems to be in order; he sent me a dick pic.’
‘Weird.’
‘Yep.’ I ordered a couple more Lemon Fizzes.
I bumped into a stylist friend, Andrea, in the tasting room above new fine wine shop, Pavilion Wine. Like me, she isn’t seeing anyone. ‘All those dating apps require so much effort,’ she said. ‘And I’d rather spend an evening with mates whose company I know I will enjoy.’
‘I’m really enjoying just spending time with my mates, too – girls and guys,’ I agreed. ‘It’s also nice not to have any drama to deal with. Plus, I’m dealing with enough rejection while job hunting.’
‘Yes, there’s that, too. I’d like to concentrate on ticking off some of the things I want to achieve,’ she replied.
As we parted ways at Sloane Square tube, I couldn’t help think that the rise in dating apps has created a binge and purge culture – we’re either embracing endless choice and instant gratification or we’re not dating at all…
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