Slow Your Roll, Dude…

Written by Adam Stone

OK tiger, you scored a babe’s phone number.  Now what?! Ask any of your female pals how long you should wait before calling a woman that you’re interested in for a first date, and I guarantee that the response you get will go something like this:

"Call her the next day…"
"Don’t play games, girls hate games…"
"Just follow your heart…"

All of the responses above are absolute rubbish.  Hog wash.  Poppycock.  There is a reason we get these types of silly responses from females, and it is not because women necessarily hate games – it’s because they don’t like being on the other end of the game play.  Woman love to have the upper hand.

So, How Long Should You Wait Before Calling Her?

Let’s just cut to the chase and get to the meat of this discussion.  I’ve been around the block once or twice, and in my experience I’ve found that the real issue is not necessarily the number of days to wait before calling, but rather what it takes to not come off as too eager.  Over-eagerness is the culprit that will stop you in your tracks.

Generally speaking, however, the two-day rule is a good rule of thumb for maintaining the desired position that you don’t wreak of desperation.  (Even though you and I both know you stink of it – I can smell you from here!) The two day rule is ONLY a General Rule of Thumb, because quite frankly, the time that you wait before calling a woman for a first rendezvous depends on the circumstances.  Let’s break this down in to some hypothetical situations:

1. If you’re out drinking and having a good time with the boys, and an attractive babe slips you her number with a note that reads, "I want to tie you up and do naughty things to you – tonight, call me" – you do NOT have to wait two days before calling.  In fact, in this situation, I would recommend calling her right away.
    
2. If you’ve just met a gal and exchanged numbers, and she sends you a text message that night asking you what you are up – you do NOT have to wait two days before calling.  Again, in this situation, I would recommend calling her right away, while her interest is still piqued.
    
3. If you’ve connected with a woman on a dating website, such as Match.com, and you’ve already been communicating through email or IM, then the Two-Day Rule is not relevant.  Go ahead and call her to set up a date.
    
4. If you’ve met the woman of your dreams, it’s a Thursday night, and you’ve agreed that you’ll call her sometime to hang out – do NOT call her in two days to ask for a date.  What!? Why the hell not?!  Well, because in this particular situation, waiting two days would place your call to her on a Saturday.  Calling a girl you’ve just met on a Saturday isn’t the best idea for two reasons: (a) it shows lack of consideration on your part that she may already have plans for the weekend, and (b) it illustrates to her that you DON’T have plans.  A woman will find you more attractive if she assumes you’ve got something better to do than hound her for a date.  Since weekends are off limits for a call in this situation, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday don’t count toward the "two-day rule," and you’re best off if you call her on Tuesday.
    

Whew, pretty complicated, huh?  Not so much.  The key takeaway from this stuff is that you cannot come off as too eager, or you risk losing any chance you’ve got with the girl.  Women like to be pursued, but they’re much more receptive when you’re calm, cool, and confident about it.  Generally speaking, if you wait a couple of days you’ll have nothing to worry about.  And granted, if you call too soon, you may not jeopardize your chances with a particular woman, but why risk it?  It’s just not worth it.  The Two-Day Rule exists for a reason… it’s a solid rule of thumb.