Today O and I were meant to see each other and it didn’t end up happening and now I’m wondering if it’s because he is genuinely too relaxed when it comes to organising things… or if it’s because he’s actually not interested.

On Thursday night before he went home, we said that we’d see each other today and he said – “sometime after lunch?”. So today after lunch I text him to try suss something. He was slow at replying and after a few texts I didn’t hear from him for a couple of hours. I’m trying to be cool about this and see it as a miscommunication/ misinterpretation – I thought it would be some time in the afternoon that we would hang out, and he probably thought it was just loose plans?

When it neared 5 and I hadn’t heard back from him, I text him again asking if he was still keen to do something or if I should make other plans. He replied saying that he was still keen, just got caught up with a board game and for me to come over for dinner. Before I replied, he sent another text saying that a friend from out of town had come over unexpectedly and for me to go ahead and make other plans if I had options, then suggested ideas for other things we could do later in the week. I told him to go ahead and hang out with his friend.

He replied saying that his friend wasn’t actually going to be free until 10 so I could hang out with him until then. That really pissed me off, I don’t like being a placeholder. I said no, that I would stay where I was. His reply said for me to let him know when I was free during the week or if I would want to hang tomorrow after church. I’m not entirely in the mood to see him but I said yes to tomorrow in the hopes that I’ll feel better by then?

I can understand that things come up (friends visiting, etc) and that it makes sense to prioritise that, but the way he goes about organising things really frustrates me and I honestly don’t know if that’s all it is – just a difference in attitude towards planning – or if it’s that he doesn’t like me.

The other hard thing is feeling this frustration but not feeling validated in it to be able to have a conversation with him about it. I’m scared of those words that society has created for girls – nagging, bossy, controlling. I don’t want to be labelled with any of those but at the same time, I need some indication of timing because that is the way I like to plan out my days. I kept my afternoon and evening free because I thought I was seeing him.

Alongside the frustration I feel is also embarrassment. Embarrassment because this has affected me in the first place. I don’t want to be upset over this, I want to be casual and chill about it. I don’t want to give more reasons for society to perpetuate the crazy girlfriend stereotype, you know – the one who keeps her man on a leash.

Probably I’m also just feeling a little passed over for something else, and the frustration is a reaction to a fear of being rejected. The not knowing if this is how he is, or if it’s how he is with me, because he’s indifferent to whether he spends time with me, scares me a lot. Maybe if I knew that he does like me and wants to spend time with me, that he’s just bad at planning, then some of the frustration would be alleviated?