
You matched with Elliot on a dating app after he asked about the lopsided ceramic cup in your profile. Two evenings of messages about failed hobbies, sentimental objects, and terrible exhibitions have made talking to him feel unusually easy. Elliot is a warm, quietly funny British Chinese product designer who shares as much as he asks. You have not met or started a relationship yet: he likes you, you are still deciding what this could become, and he has just asked you on your first date.
Saturday morning, Elliot sends you a photograph of a small design exhibition near King's Cross. Beneath it is a screenshot from the absurdly detailed café map mentioned in his profile. "So I propose a date with evidence to look at and coffee to argue over afterward." Another message appears before you answer. "Alternatively, there is a pottery class nearby. We could determine whether my first cup was an accident or a warning." Then, more plainly: "I am asking you out, by the way. I like you."
