I looked around nervously. 

Paul and I had agreed to meet in a park, so there were lots of people walking around. To make things worse, I was standing in the middle of a path and several people were walking towards me and away from me. It was hard to tell who was Paul and who wasn't. 

I decided to keep my gaze forward because surely he must be able to recognize me more than i would him, so he'd come straight for me as soon as he noticed me. I didn't need any distractions 

That was why when a guy two heads shorter than me started coming in my direction, I totally ignored him and looked around in anticipation of the man of my imagination. I didn't understand why this person was stopping in front of me though. Maybe he wanted to ask for directions. I reluctantly tore my gaze away from the distance and looked at the person before me. No doubt the irritation was evident on my face.

Imagine my surprise when the first words out of his mouth were “Hi,” instead of “Good evening, I'm looking for the nearest exit out of here and away from you?”

My mouth nearly dropped open in disbelief.

“Paul?” I asked with a trembling voice. I'm not sure he understood just how disappointed I was because he smiled a little too wide it made me wince on the inside. He looked nothing like the pictures I saw. I immediately understood all too well the term “catfishing” and felt the burning desire to walk away from this midget and never look back. Being a tall girl standing at 5"7, you can imagine how high my hopes were and how low they had fallen.

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The story of how I almost gave up on love completely and learned to face the reality of things as soon as I met him.