The single sickness.

A short Story based around a guy unlucky in love.

It’s always a little bit awkward, being the one who needs to be asked along to dinner by your best friend because he doesn’t have a date. So here I am 34, single, and at the moment, completely fine with it. Sitting across from me is my best mate Brendan and his soon to be wife Bree. Ironic right, their names both start with b r and e. But when it comes to examples of couples so madly in love, it would have to the Breedan. And I am happy for them. It’s just that I can’t seem to find a reason, to start an intense hunt for my soul mate.

 

“So Danny man, anyone caught your eye lately?” Brendan asks, while offering Bree a taste of his cheesecake.

 

“Oh you know. Now and then they pass me by, but I’m just not ready yet.” I reply politely.

 

“Honey you have been saying that for the last five years. What about women at the gym?” Bree asks, while playfully attempting to give Brendan a spoonful of her pudding.

 

“What about them? The gym is the only place where I can actually let myself go, and unleash my inner beast. As far as I know, I ‘m probably making all these weird facial expressions while I am trying to lift weights. It’s not that I don’t notice them. It’s just that gym time is Danny time.”

 

“Mate I think you have the single sickness. No matter how many girls you meet, you just cannot seem to find the one for you.” Brendan jokes, while Bree giggles and playfully slaps his back.

 

He wasn’t wrong; it was a little harder to find that special someone, in a city large as Melbourne. My history with women isn’t that great either. It was not until the middle of my first year at university, that I found the courage to ask a girl out. Except the only problem with me is that, I tend to be drawn to the wrong kind of woman. My first girlfriend was a hipster, and I only have one thing to say about them. They confuse the heck out of me. I’m sure they are interesting people, but I just didn’t see what the whole catch was. Whenever I was out with her she would wear a beanie, even if it was the middle of summer, and we were indoors. I would ask why she was wearing it, and she would simply reply “it’s what’s in style at the moment.” She would also wear glasses with large frames all the time. I asked why she was wearing them, when she could see the specials board from the other side of the room. While I could barely make out if the sign for the rest room said male or female. She would say “it makes me look classy.” So as you could guess, that relationship didn’t end well

 

 

I also had my crush’s which all of us have. I once had a crush on a girl that worked in my office block. I was just out of University at the time, and I was in my first major job. The only problem with my crush though was that we worked all sorts of different hours, so I rarely had the chance to talk to her. Except one day I saw my chance. There she was standing in the lobby, except I was on the fifth floor. So I thought that if I caught the lift down, I might be able to talk to her. So I ran for the lift and got in. I pressed the ground floor button as rapidly as I could, except a problem arose. On every level the lift would stop and let more people in, and every time I would have to take a step towards the back. By the time the lift did reach the ground floor I was squished at the back of the full elevator, but the doors still opened. I decided to make a break for the doors while pushing my through the people, but as I got to the doors they jammed shut on my shirt. And in an embarrassing moment the lift went up in a shot and I hit the floor. So that crush failed miserably.

 

But one of the toughest relationships I had was with a girl who was accident prone.  I actually met her by catching her out of mid-air in the University court yard, because she had some-how managed to slip on steps barely three feet of the ground and I just happened to be walking by. Every time we had to walk somewhere on a date, she would somehow manage to trip on the path and I would have to catch her. And one time when we were at dinner, she decided to get up and go to the ladies room. But in the process she managed to rip the table cloth and all our food of the table, and then she knocked over the waiter who had a full tray of drinks. I’m sure most of you understand why it didn’t work between the two of us.

 

Was it true? Was I actually destined to be single for the rest of my life?

 

“Hey Danny, I was only kidding!” Says Brandon in an attempt to cheer me up.

 

“Yeah you don’t have an illness that repels women. You just need to get out there and meet someone.  But seriously no pressure. Exclaims Bree while reaching to take a sip of her Apple Martini.

 

“Thanks guys, that means a lot,” I reply.

 

My life was not completely based around finding the one. But it has been a while since I was last out on the dating scene. And oddly enough I did miss the single nights at bars with cheaper drinks, and doing the odd speed date, while trying to closely work out if she could be right for me. So for me it’s time to suit up, and get back out there. I mean what have I got to lose.

Author's Note

What do you think of the story overall? Help with spelling and grammar would also be great.

Reviews

[Marie]

Your third paragraph from the end is bady puctuated. Look at it and you'll see what I mean. I saw no other errors.

Being with two people who drink apple martinis and feed each other is enough to keep anyone single.