Page 13 of The Reality of Wanting Him (Love Without Labels #1)
BLAKE
Producer: Do you prefer to plan a date, or be invited on one that’s already planned?
Blake: I think both? I’d like to bring my partner to do fun things with me, but I would also appreciate them inviting me to things that they want to do too.
D ay three is a little hectic, but I manage to fit in dates with all five of my matches.
The first hour flies by with LM. Even though we talked all night, it’s easy to pick up right where we left off.
They tell me about a neighbor who’s helping out with the farm while they’re here, and I share a story about my mom’s last charity gala—where she spent the whole night trying to set me up with her wealthy donors’ daughter.
I leave out the part about how badly one of those dates went.
L doesn’t need to hear how rude the woman was to our waiter, or how she said it was so great we were both blond no less than five times.
There hasn’t been any chemistry with any of the women my mom has tried to set me up from her circle.
I’m disappointed when the timer goes off, but we both agree to schedule another date for day four.
The next two dates don’t go nearly as well. Maybe it’s because my time with LM feels so effortless that everything else feels forced and awkward by comparison. I catch myself glancing at the clock more than once, silently willing the date to end.
When I got here, I was confident I’d want to keep my options wide open, play the field, and talk to as many people as possible to increase my chances of ending this show with a wife.
But after today, it’s clear my strategy needs to change.
It’s not about quantity anymore—it’s about the right connection.
And I think I already know who mine is with.
If I’m still struggling to hold a conversation with someone at this point, I don’t want to force it, so I don’t plan any more dates with my second and third matches.
After lunch, things pick up again. My final two dates with RR and MW feel more relaxed.
The conversations aren’t as deep as the ones I’ve had with LM, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have potential.
I don’t want to count them out just because LM and I connected over something heavier early on.
If I’m not bringing anything deep to the table, I can’t expect them to either. It’s not less valid—just different.
That said, LM is definitely monopolizing my time outside of the dates, and I’m not complaining. They talk me through making meatloaf while we laugh and joke the entire time. We stay up late again, and I find myself smiling like an idiot when we finally say goodnight.
At one point, they ask where I’d go if money wasn’t an issue.
I tell them about some of the places I’ve traveled, and they say they’ve always dreamed of Hawaii.
Their parents went there on their honeymoon and they remember their mom talking about how it was the most beautiful place in the world, and that they’ve wanted to visit it ever since .
As they’re telling me that, I catch myself imagining us going together.
Even though I don’t know what they look like, it’s easy to imagine a vague daydream of holding someone’s hand as we walk along a beach, palm trees and ocean waves lapping against the sand.
I’ve never subconsciously planned a future with anyone. That’s gotta mean something, right?
Day four feels a lot like day three, just with fewer dates. Since I’ve narrowed things down to only LM, RR, and MW, I finally have time to check out the apartment gym, which is a nice break. I message all three of them while I work out, so totally still being productive with dating.
That evening, Andy appears on the TV screen with a new update informing us it’s time to narrow down our connections to our top four. Which is irrelevant when I only really want to keep talking to the three of them that I have left anyway, so I only rank three.
Bright and early on day five, I wake up to a message from the producers reminding us that we’ll have to narrow our connections down to our top two by tonight.
That gives us the next two days with just our top two to figure out who we want to move forward with as our final match.
On day seven, we’ll determine if we want to ask someone to move in with us as the next step before an eventual proposal.
It’s cool that we have the opportunity to try out living together before getting engaged.
Living with someone is more serious than any relationship I’ve ever been in.
It almost feels like a bigger step than a proposal, because hopefully, by the time you propose, you already know their answer—and that you work well together as a couple.
Living together means no pretending to be a better boyfriend than I am; they’ll see all of me.
Today’s twist is “planning” our own dates. We each get to request props that the producers will deliver to the other person to use during our time together.
It might be kind of lazy, but I requested the same activity for all my dates. I want to see how each of them reacts to the same setup. Plus, I think doing a puzzle says a lot about a person.
I did pick a different puzzle for each date, though, but I made sure we’d both be working on matching ones. That way, it still feels like we’re doing it together.
“A puzzle?” RR asks as soon as we’re both in our rooms.
“Yeah, I thought it could be fun to work on together.”
“Umm, okay. I asked them to set up fondue, do you have some?”
“Yup! The chocolate looks great. Should we do that first so the puzzle doesn’t get dirty?”
“Sure.”
I pick up a strawberry and dip it in some chocolate. “So why fondue?” I ask.
“I forgot to ask for chocolate on my grocery list and I was craving it. No special reason,” they say, followed by what I now know to be the distorted sound of a laugh through the voice changer.
“Valid,” I agree. But, I’m also kind of disappointed that there isn’t something deeper. I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface with R.
We enjoy the fondue and move on to the puzzle.
They don't seem super into it or anything, but they make some comments while we’re talking that make it clear they’re actually working on it.
We also talk about vacations, but they seem more focused on which of their vacation posts got the most likes on social media than what they actually enjoyed during their travels.
I’ve always appreciated social media and sharing my experiences with other people, but not at the expense of those experiences.
I finish the puzzle well before our time is up and try to focus on talking.
“So, do you want kids?” they ask.
I perk up a bit. Finally something real.
“For sure. I’ve always thought about what I would do differently than my parents.
I’m not in a rush or anything, but eventually I do,” I say.
I’m not trying to be intentionally leading with my answer, but after I’ve said it, I wait to see if they’ll ask me about my parents or what I’d do differently.
Instead they reply with, “I think I want two kids, but I also don’t want them right away or anything.”
Not quite as deep as I was hoping, but still great to know.
Our time is up, so we say our goodbyes. I have my date with MW soon, but the producers ask me to go back to the main area of my apartment so they can set up for the next date.
I drink some water, and they eventually give me the okay to come back in.
“Oh, there’s a puzzle here?” MW asks when they join the call.
“Yeah, I thought it could be fun to work on together.”
“But we’re not even together, this will take forever by myself.”
“I just thought it would be nice to be doing the same thing even if we’re in different rooms,” I explain.
“Okay. Well, I thought it would be fun to share some wine,” they say.
I eye the bottle and glass that are set up for me wearily.
I’m not usually one to turn down drinking, but it’s only my second date of the day.
I don’t want to judge M—maybe this is their last one, and they figured a drink would help us open up a little.
Nice in theory, but I’m not about to risk messing up my date with L just because I got a little buzzed with someone else.
Besides, I should probably get along with my future partner sober.
I’ve done enough drinking in my single days, I think I might actually be ready to focus on more important things, whenever I figure out what they are.
Holy shit, do I actually want to be better for someone else?
Is this what my dad meant about finding purpose in a relationship ?
I shake off that disturbing thought and focus on my date .
I hear the cork pop on M’s end, and debate opening mine so that they won’t realize I’m not drinking, but decide against it. They don’t call me out on not opening it, and I’d rather some producer enjoy the unopened bottle later than waste the entire thing.
M definitely enjoys the wine, bringing up different wine tastings they’ve been to and what they know about this bottle, but when I ask if they’ve started the puzzle, they make a noncommittal noise and I’m pretty sure they never even open it.
They do a lot of talking about themself and their friends and family.
I’m a little impressed that they’re able to keep all the details vague enough not to give away their gender or age, even as their topics get more and more random—and they obviously enjoy more and more of the wine.
I’m relieved when it’s finally over, and I wish them well, but I think our ignored date ideas make it clear that we’re not on the same page.
I take another short break before my date with LM. I’m so glad this is my last date of the night so I can end on a high note after the second one was such a flop.
“A puzzle?” L asks when we’re both in our rooms.
“Yeah, I thought it could be fun to work on together,” I explain for the third time today.