Page 14 of Biggest Player
I hesitate for a moment, trying to choose my words carefully. “Well, let’s just say there have been a few interesting men.”
Wyatt smirks. “Interesting? Is that what we’re calling them now?”
I shoot her a playful glare, trying to deflect and change the subject. “How is it you’re only ten?”
She acts nineteen.
My mother leans forward, curiosity piqued. “But seriously, what’s it like? Do you ever worry about meeting someonedangerous?”
“Dangerous?” I shrug. “Sure, but not really. Everything carries a risk, Mom. But I like to think I have a pretty good radar for detecting red flags.”
As I’ve done with thatDexcharacter.
What a douchebag that guy is!
I take a few mental jabs. Pow pow—take that, catfish!
Wyatt sits contentedly in her seat, nodding along. “Mom is like a dating app detective. She can spot a catfish from amileaway.”
Confession of a single parent:I may have shared that Dex story with my child at bedtime the other night—don’t judge me.I’m a single mom, and hey, sometimes entertaining stories are hard to come by!
Plus, Wyatt knows I’m trying to date, and it’s only fair that I keep her sort of informed.
Baby bits, anyway. She doesn’t need to know everything.
“I wouldn’t call myself a red flag detective, but I do smell bull poop from a mile away. That much is true.” I smile at my daughter. She’s too adorable. “I’m having fun at least. I’ve only pissed one man off so far!” I add. “But he deserved it.”
Mom puts her fork down on the plate; it clinks. “What do you mean? What happened?”
My shoulders move up and down in a shrug. “He was lying in his profile and using fake pictures, and I called him out on it. It’s not fair to women for men like that to prey on them.”
“You’re so brave.” My mother holds a hand to her heart dramatically.
“It must be strange meeting someone for the first time after chatting online.” My father wields the butter knife, waving it this way and that as he talks. “Do you ever worry about whether they’re like their profile?”
“Totally. That’s called a catfish—when people lie and use photos that don’t belong to them.”
“Ah,” he says. “I was wondering what that meant but didn’t want to ask.”
“You learn something new every day, Grandpa,” Wyatt chimes in with all the wisdom of her youth.
I sigh, feeling a twinge of vulnerability creep in. “I think I already have app fatigue.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s burnout. When you’re on it too much, or it’s not giving the results you want, you burn out.” I pick at the food on my plate. “I’m not saying I want to give up, I’m only saying ... if I see one more man holding a fish, or read one more biography where the guy is searching for his partner in crime, I’m going to explode.”
“What’s wrong with saying you want a partner in crime?” Dad’s fork is suspended in the air. “Your mom ismine.”
They really are cute.
And close.
Which is one of the reasons it hasn’t been easy to find a man who wants to dive in headfirst and commit to me.
“Why can’t you meet someone at the grocery store?” Mom finally says, dabbing at the corner of her mouth with the napkin that was on her lap. “I don’t understand why you’re still single. You’re a beautiful girl, Margot. You’re funny, you’re smart.”
I stare at her. “I wish it was that easy.” Believe me, I have my eyes on more than the produce when I’m at the store, no stone left unturned and all that.
