He was cute. Smart. Educated. He had me giggling through that first date. Maybe he mentioned empathy in his profile—that garnered extra points. Or grandkids or sushi or kindness, or—(insert your sought-after partner quality here).

We spent several hours together, talking, sipping coffee, going for a walk. After that, he kissed me. He broke the lip lock to say I was a good kisser (this must be what guy code tells them to say; I’ve heard it more than once). He was not-too-tall, or super fit, or fascinating. Doctor, lawyer, bus driver; musician, tech nerd, writer;........

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