My Adult Outlook

After a brief encounter with drugs, sex and rock and roll, Alton decided he wanted more out of life. He longed for love, a sweet embrace. The kind of affection that it seemed everyone else in his life managed to find, except him.

One day after returning home from his dead-end job, he flicked through the posts that had arrived that day. In the endless stack of bills was an advert from a local dating service that promised he would find the love of his life within 30 days with a money-back guarantee.

Incredulous, Alton visited the dating service website to learn more. Indeed, there were dozens of testimonials from dating service clients, all proclaiming to have had miraculous results thanks to using the dating service in question.

Still doubtful, Alton figured "What can I lose? If they fail to find me someone I'm happy with, at least I'll get my money back."

So, the day Alton called the dating service and spoke to a nice young woman there. "Gillian" was her name and she couldn't have been more helpful and cheerful. She reiterated she was confident Alton would be pleased with her company's services and signed him up on the spot for an appointment to start the process.

On Saturday next, Alton trekked half-way across the city, taking three buses and the two Metro lines to get to the dating services offices. Once there, Gillian greeted him and asked him to complete a lengthy questionnaire that would help quantify his likes and dislikes.

Next, Gillian explained, Alton would go through a role-playing exercise that would be video-taped. The purpose of the exercise was so that others could see "his real nature" and how he handled or reacted to various situations. "Better for others to see the 'real you' than to be surprised later," explained the pleasant and cheerful Gillian, as Alton readied himself for his "Hollywood debut."

After get through his "audition" with what Alton thought were flying colors, he then was taken into a room with a huge scrapbook full of photos of hundreds of women. "Every time you come across a woman you find attractive, I want you to press this button," explained Gillian. "However, you only can press the button three times in total, so make your choices wisely," she explained.

So for the next two hours, Alton poured over the scrapbooks.