Luster

Chapter 1 commences with the narrator Edie’s description of her first encounter with Eric, her older lover, over text message. She recounts how they met on a dating app. Eric is married and in an open relationship. Edie states that she has “not had much success with men” and that she has “trouble making friends” (4). The relationship with Eric is different as the two share intimate details. There is a 23-year age difference between them.

After talking for over a month, the narrator and Eric finally meet early on a Tuesday morning and go to Six Flags, an amusement park. The childish location of the date fosters an awkwardness between them. Throughout the date, Edie realizes Eric’s inexperience and discomfort in dating a Black woman as a White man. She notes “how cautiously he says African American. How he absolutely refuses to say the word black” (7). Edie reflects on the discrepancy between the virtual connection she and Eric formed versus the awkward reality of meeting in person. Without the filter of text, Edie feels overwhelmed as “there is no time to consider my words or to craft a clever response in iOS Notes” (8).