Life

15 Emotional Stages That Follow A Great First Date

by Lindsay Tigar

If you’ve been out there swiping right and left for far longer than you’d care to admit, you probably already know about the big downfall of a great first date. While it can be refreshing and often times, exciting, to meet someone who could be something more than a Tinder match, they can also be stressful. Because, really, what do you do after a good first date? It's not the date itself, but the after portion of the date that brings up all of the questions: Will they text? Should you text them instead? Was this awesomely amazing person for real ...or just trying to get laid?

These great first dates are so few and far between that when they happen, you go from being this cool, collected and (mostly) calm dater to having an inner meltdown until you hear from them again. Before you give yourself a hard time, remember that really, it’s fine — we’ve all been there.

But if that date on Friday night goes way better than you expected (and you have another round than you planned), remind yourself to take a deep breath, another shot of tequila and have a little confidence in yourself. And if you need it, read about the emotional stages that you might go through:

1. After the Date is Over, You’re Tempted to Start Dancing Around Like Molly Ringwald After Being Kissed For The First Time, But Instead, You Opt For A Long, Loving Sigh.

2. Because Tequila Told You It Was a Good Idea, You Excitedly Text Your Friends That You Might Have Just Met Your Person. It Was That Good.

3. And Though They Promised They'd Text When They Got Home, And That Was 30 Minutes Ago, You're Fine. They'll Definitely Text. That Date Went So Well. And Plus, You're Hot.

4. The Next Morning You See The 'Had Such a Great Time! Sleep Well!' Text, And You're All Like...

5. You Obsess Over What To Write Back And Send It To Approximately Five Of Your Best Friends to Weigh In. Ultimately, You Go With Something Casual, But End With a Question So They Have To Respond (Obviously):

6. When They Haven't Responded In An Hour, You Decide to Go For A Run And Leave Your Phone At Home. But... You Can't Focus, So It's Kind Of A Mess:

7. Two Hour Pass. NO RESPONSE.

8. You Decide To Turn Off Your Phone For Another Hour. Surely, They'll Text You By Then. It's Like, 11 a.m. Already.

9. ...Ugh. Nothing. You Text Your Friends, Send Them Screenshots Of The 'Conversation' And Ask If Anyone is Free For Wine... uh, Dinner.

10. By 6 p.m., You’ve Decided It’s Time To Adopt Cats And That Going On Dates Is A Bad Idea. They're A Waste Of Your Time. The Time You Could Be Using to Scoop Your Future Kitty Litter Box.

11. Oh. But Wait....!!!!!

12. They Want a Second Date?! And They Want to Go To DINNER?!!!

13. Yes, YES, YES!!! They're THE ONE!!!

14. ...But, Wait. You Have To Be Cool. What The F*** Do You Say?

15. First, Before You Respond... Let's Drink A Bottle Of Wine. You're Busy Anyway. Make 'Em Wait.

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