Your buddy Dave has been single for three years and thinks "hey u up" is a valid strategy. Your other buddy Mike just got dumped and told you to "just be yourself."
You showed them her text. You asked them to decode the emoji. You drafted four responses and sent the screenshot to the group chat for a vote.
She's been waiting forty minutes.
Put the phone down. Stop crowdsourcing your love life. Type something that sounds like you. Hit send. Then go do literally anything else with your evening.
It was a first for me. I've had a girl tell me I f*cked up by being late when she beat me to my house, and I apologized and we continued on with our date.
Three seconds. That's how long it took. Your shoes. Your posture. The way you held your drink. Whether you looked at the floor or looked at her.
She already filed you away. Interesting. Boring. Safe. Bold. Before you even opened your mouth.
Everything you say after that is just her confirming what she already decided.
So stop rehearsing lines. Fix the first three seconds. Stand tall. Look up. Smile like you mean it. Walk like you belong wherever you're standing.
The words come later. The impression comes first.
No mate, @derby1 is right ,this language is too low, (and No, I'm definitely not a female). It's actually harming your frame instead of enforcing it, It's pull you down instead of pull you up, no gain here for you. Learning controlling your emotions is a good trait to have , in, and out of dating life.
Taking her out as a reward for going on the first date?
Uh huh