The Older Man Part I

Chapter 2

I wanted to put my phone back down and finish watching my movie but something was urging me to read the message.

When I opened the app, I saw that a man named Vincent had messaged me. I didn't see what he had written - I was too focused on the age that was displayed beside his name. It said that he was 42 years old.

I involuntarily winced when I read that. Typically, this scenario was an overused stereotype. A middle-aged man on a dating app was practically its own species in society.

With an admittedly arrogant mentality, I clicked on his profile to see if he fit the physical stereotype as well. My jaw almost dropped in a comical way when I saw this man's photos.

He was incredibly handsome. He was obviously an older man with silver hair peppered into his black locks and facial hair. He had worry lines, emphasizing his age. He had dark green eyes and a fair amount of tattoos from what I could see in the first photo.

It was a simple photo. Just him in a white short sleeve shirt showing off the large tattoo on his right bicep. His muscles were on clear display and for a man his age, they were very impressive. I swiped through the rest of the photos he had posted of himself and felt a smile growing on my face as I admired him.

I wasn't the type of girl to go for men who were significantly older than I was, but he was definitely cause for an exception.

With a smile on my lips and a warm feeling in the pit of my stomach, I clicked on the message he had sent me and responded. I waited in anticipation as I saw the message dots loading as he typed out his response.

I felt like such a school girl getting as giddy as I was. I hardly knew this man. I barely said two words to him over instant messaging and I was already picturing various scenarios in my head.

My phone hummed as I received a message alert. I wasted no time opening our conversation to see what he had wrote back.

He asked me if I was okay with him being so much older than I was. There was a 24 year age gap between us so it was only natural that he would want to know my stance on it. I mean, he was old enough to be my father for Christ's sake.

I quickly sent him a message reassuring him that I had no issue with his age. I felt myself turn into a puddle as he responded with a suggestive comment. He was flirtatious but he remained a perfect gentleman the entire time we chatted back and forth.

I could feel my heartbeat quicken every time I heard my phone sound off when he sent me a new message. I paid no attention to the other men that had flooded my inbox. I was only focused on Vincent.

We sent messages nonstop for almost an hour before he asked me if I would prefer to talk over the phone instead of the app. His message stopped me in my tracks. I could feel myself coming down from my temporary high as the reality of the situation moved to the front of my mind.

This wasn't just a fun and games thing for him. He seemed to have a genuine interest in me after just a short while. To tell the truth, I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel myself developing an attraction to him that was beyond physical. I did feel like I was "moving on too fast" from James but I had to remind myself that I shouldn't keep myself from potential opportunities.

Yet still, as much as I enjoyed talking with him, I worried about what would happen if I gave him my phone number. I wasn't sure exactly what dangers it possessed to exchange numbers with a man I had just met through an online dating app, but I knew they existed either way.

My overly cautious nature began to surface as my risk-taking side tried to curl up into the fetal position. I felt like I was overcompensating for the foolish mistakes I had made with James.

I stopped myself to contemplate every possible repercussion that could come from him knowing my phone number and they were all dismissed with the glaring fact that if the worse did come to worse then I could always change my number and be rid of whatever problem there was. It wasn't as if I was telling him something serious like my home address.

After I'd decided to concur with my newfound confidence and give him my number, I felt my phone buzz. This time, it was an alert about a message from an unknown number rather a profile on the app.

I saw the message. It was a simple yet cute "hello sweetheart" accompanied by an emoji.

I felt a blush rise onto the skin on my cheeks as I read his message. I lightly brought my bottom lip between my teeth as I thought about what I should respond with.

I sent him back a basic "hello" with a flirty winking face. My bottom lip stayed caught between my teeth the entire time we sent messages back and forth.

Like a desperate schoolgirl, I impatiently watched the message bubble hum in the bottom corner of my screen awaiting his response.

Every time I'd receive a new message from him, my heart would skip.