After several months of dating, 28-year-old Owen Hinkes asked his girlfriend to hang out with his friends yet again, despite never having made an effort to meet any of hers.
“My company’s having a work party this weekend, which is great because I already know everybody there,” says Hinkes. “I figured Emily would have fun meeting my work buddies like Alex, who owns a bunch of speedboats and Tim, who doesn’t talk much. It’s gonna be super fun!”
Hinkes felt safe in his assumption that Emily would join, though he’d never once made the effort to join her for drinks with her friends after multiple invitations and mild pleading.
“I ask him at least once a week if he wants to do happy hour at Walker’s with us, but he always says he’s tired and doesn’t feel like it,” says Emily. “But then he’ll stay at home and play Counter Strike: Global Offensive with his buddies for 14 hours straight.”
“Emily tells me that it isn’t fair that I don’t ever meet her friends,” says Hinkes. “But the truth is, those aren’t my friends, so why would I hang with them? My friends are cool and she should come meet them instead.”
“I mean, why wouldn’t she want to hang out with us?” adds Hinkes, genuinely puzzled.
Emily is unsure whether to blame this behavior on social anxiety, or a general unwillingness to be uncomfortable at any point in his life.
“The only time Owen hung out with my friends, he ended up not speaking to anyone except me, ate all the pulled pork sliders and then left at 8pm,” Emily says. “He didn’t even make eye contact with them.”
Owen claims they don’t have anything in common.
“Um, how about me—the girl he’s dating?” Emily asks.
According to reports, Hinkes has agreed to attend a baby shower for a friend of Lipner’s next week, but will probably bail at the last minute due to an overwhelming desire to catch up with his mom.
