He drove off for the highway and slid in the upstart rapper 50 Cent’s groundbreaking CD Get Rich or Die Tryin’. It was a perfect title for Ivan’s present state of mind.

However, as soon he arrived at home and began to feel good about meeting back up with Ida, she called him with bad news.

“Ivan, I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to make it back out tonight. It’s already ten thirty and I’m exhausted. So I wanna make it up to you this weekend. Is that all right?”

What could a guy say to that? He had to agree to it.

“Hey, it’s all good, we’re all worn out. Just call me tomorrow and we’ll figure something out,” he told her. Quick and to the point was the best policy. That way he wouldn’t sound disappointed.

But when he hung up his cell phone, he was.

“Shit! I’ll just have to wait for tomorrow, then,” he lamented. Not that he expected anything major on their first date, but just knowing that Ida wanted to extend the night with him was sexy. But, with the prospect of his extended evening gone, he felt anxious with unused energy.

I hate when I feel this way, he admitted. Now I won’t be able to sleep good tonight.

“Unless I call Catherine back,” he joked aloud. He shook it off and laughed. “Nah, that wouldn’t be right.”

When his cell phone went off a few minutes later, Catherine was calling him.

Ivan read her cell number before he answered. He couldn’t imagine another positive phone call from her after he’d turned her advances down twice in a row. But he wanted to hear her out anyway. So he answered his phone.

“Hello.”

Catherine wasted no time digging into him. “You know, I tried not to say anything about this, I really did. But it’s really fucked up how you treated me tonight after I gave you the idea to start off with a small after-work network party. So I hope you’re enjoying yourself. And by the way, thanks for the gratitude.”

She hung up on him before he could get a word in. Ivan sat there in his usual spot on the sofa and wondered if he should call her back.

What the hell am I gonna say to her? he wondered. It’s probably best to go ahead and do her tonight. That’s what she really wanted, right? That would have been her thank-you.

Only he couldn’t force himself to do it. He knew that if he did call her back and went through the process of pleasing her, he would create more guilt for himself that she would use against him later. So Ivan forced himself to leave it alone.