At the end of the party on Saturday, I had gotten Mariah's number. She was glad when I accepted her invitation and proposed that we meet next Saturday at a cafe just to get coffee and talk. During the week, I started to have second thoughts about it but couldn't cancel because I had already made a promise. The fact that I wasn't looking forward to it as the week progressed added to my reluctance. And when the day came, I was more convinced that this wasn't a good idea. I had to remind myself that this wasn't really a date. She wanted to talk, and I was going to listen and answer her questions.