You have no idea how persistent, annoying and aggressive some guys can be. A fake number is a quick exit strategy when you’re in the cross-hairs of someone who just won’t take no for an answer. Sure, you could stand up to him and make a point of telling him that you’re not giving him your number and why but most of us have been through that seemingly-endless conversation and have little or no desire to live it over and over again.
Example: Some months ago I went out and a guy was hitting on me. He wasn’t hideous and I had no reason to believe he was anything other than a decent human being, but I felt no attraction to him whatsoever*. It’s always embarrassing to find yourself talking to someone who is clearly attracted to you when it’s not mutual. Anyway, I told him straight out that I was always happy to make new friends but that I wasn’t looking to meet a guy at the present time (which was true, even though it omitted the fact that I wouldn’t be attracted to him even if I was cruising for guys) and there was no chance for romantic involvement between us. I said he didn’t have to run off and I’d be happy to continue to chat if he wanted to but if he opted to move on, I understood. He wanted to know why I didn’t want a romantic involvement. I told him - with a smile - that was my own business and not something I wanted to share. He asked if I’d had my heart broken, or was I involved with someone else, or if he’d done something wrong or if it was something to do with his looks/personality/approach. I told him again that it just wasn’t open for discussion, that my reasons were my own and that all he needed to know was that I wasn’t looking to get involved with anyone, the end. He persisted in pushing me to tell him why I wasn’t interested. I told him that I didn’t think I owed him - a stranger - any answers and that it was my own business, and just because he was attracted to me it didn’t make me obligated to share my personal life with him. He then asked if he would come in the following week to find me with my tongue halfway down someone else’s throat, as had happened to him in the past. I asked how long he thought was a reasonable time for them - and me - to wait, and said that even if he did find me in such a position, it was none of his business and that if I changed my mind about getting involved with someone then I certainly didn’t feel I owed him an explanation for it. I pointed out that I’d allowed him to buy me one drink and I had returned the favour by buying him a drink so we were square, that I hadn’t lead him on in any way and that I’d told him the truth outright so that if he wanted to look for something more with someone else, he hadn’t wasted his whole evening on fruitlessly pursuing me, and that beyond that I didn’t think he had any right to any piece of my life. Finally, after what felt like forever, he gave up on the attempted persuasion and emotional blackmail and left me alone.
If I’d given him a fake number, that discussion would have been over in 30 seconds.
- I didn’t know what I didn’t like about him before I rejected him but as we had the conversation described above, I decided he was possessive, demanding and manipulative, and decided my intuition was spot-on. He was not someone I wanted to get involved with, at all, ever.