Call Girl

Dear Mistress Maeve,

I got a girl's phone number on Saturday night. How long do I wait to call? I always thought it was three days, but I've seen everything online from "call immediately" to "wait seven days." I'm tired of being single, and I just want a date with no drama. What's the right answer?

Steve

Dear Steve,

I can tell you right off the bat that the answer is neither "immediately" or "wait seven days." If you wait a full week, the woman is likely to think you weren't really interested in her, and when you do call, she might be put off by your seemingly lackadaisical attitude. If you call immediately, you run the risk of appearing overeager — it's true, some girls do like a little bit of a challenge.

Thus, the age-old question still lingers — what's the appropriate waiting period? If you asked me this question ten years ago, I would have said to call early on the third day. You meet her on Saturday night, and you call her Tuesday morning. However, we now live in a world where everything is at our fingertips 24/7, and we do not like to wait for what we desire. That said, I believe the average appropriate wait time is now two days. You met her on Saturday night, so call her Monday. She'll know you're truly interested in her, and if she likes you too, she'll be glad you called sooner rather than later.

Of course, our high-tech world does leave room in the dating game for variations on the two-day rule. For instance, if you get her cell phone number, you could drop her a text message later that evening or the following day saying that you enjoyed meeting her and that you look forward to giving her a call. If you both happen to be on MySpace, it's okay to make a friend request quickly after meeting, but don't send her a message — be a man and make the phone call.

Above all else, be yourself. These rules are merely suggestions to make dating easier to navigate — if you're more comfortable with a different approach, try it out and see what happens. But, whatever you do, try not replicate this scene from Swingers:

Kisses,
MM