The Case of the Missing Man... or Why Men Just Disappear.

One Week.

That's all it takes to go from cautious optimism to embarrassed defeat. And the worst part is you never know what happened. He just disappears.

We've all been there. One good date is a fluke. Two is a blessing. Fantastic good night kisses, the kind that shouldn't be indulged if one party has no intention of seeing the other again. You're beginning to give the butterflies in your stomach a little free reign, starting to think "Hey, I could like this guy"

And then the communication stops. He doesn't call, he doesn't return texts. He simply ceases to exist in any tangible form you can access. He has become a foggy dream that is starting to feel like an uneasy nightmare. The only blessing is the fact that it was only two dates, and you managed to keep your feelings in check. If it had been four, or even three dates, the emotional fallout could have been much worse.

As it stands, you will be fine.

But it's impossible not to feel the slight disappointment, the sharp reminder that someone has found you not worth the trouble of seeing again, much less giving you a moment's thought afterwords. You are trying not to be hurt.

The truth is that it's the simple cessation of contact that is the most irksome. And the knowledge that if you persist with trying to break through the radio silence that you risk looking "desperate" or "pathetic", but you somehow hold on to the idea that perhaps he didn't get the message... or he lost your number? or he's just holding back and playing hard to get?

And the worst part is you know you've done the same thing to others before... that karmically speaking you deserve it... So really you know you should just shut up and take it. But you don't want to. You're fighting the urge to send one more text. The question is... what response do you expect? And if there is no response again, will that just make it worse?

So do you send that text, leave that one message... or do you put down the phone and walk away?