[Continuation From Previous Post]

I hadn’t been out on a date in months, and I also hadn’t been out on a date with a guy in almost a year. Feeling that this made it some sort of out-of-the-ordinary special occasion, even with a not-so-special (yet?) person, I decided to spend a little extra time on my appearance. I’ve got a job where formal attire is required, sucking the excitement out of being “dressed up for a change.” So, a little more effort is necessary to stray from my routine look. I know I don’t “need” makeup, but spending some extra time applying it differently from my usual look, paired with the extra 5 minutes on my hair, I did feel that I looked pretty hot that night. (That’s not a word I typically use to describe myself.) Even if it was just the confidence boost it somehow added, it was nice to feel that way. Knowing the person I was about to meet was really my second choice date for the night, I figured I’d arrive a little early to have a pre-date drink and psych myself up for it a little more. Maybe I was also hoping to get someone else’s number before he arrived. I spent the first 20 minutes in a crowded bar desperately looking for some place to put my glass of wine down so I could take off my coat. I leaned against the wall in-between the jukebox and the ATM hoping someone might separate from their group and use one of them.  Eventually I did ask someone very attractive to hold the glass for me for a moment. Their body language screamed “I’m not interested in you.” Thanks. I wasn’t off to an exciting night.

The date showed up mostly on time and I was surprised that his accent, clothes, and just about everything about him felt like he’d been plucked from some old New York film from somewhere around the 1920-1940’s. It was quite interesting and even more so hilarious. I decided to pretend we’d gone back in time and I went with it. Of course, he was clueless to this game –as this was just who he was present day. He used the restroom and when he walked out immediately said, “Ah, you’re still here, that’s good.” I figured it was a joke, but wondered if anyone had really been that rude to him before and just vanished moments after meeting him. At my suggestion, we got out of that bar and went a couple of blocks down to the less crowded place I was actually supposed to meet my first choice date at. Wouldn’t it have been funny if he had been there with someone else? I wouldn’t have been surprised after how excited he’d sounded over the bar. He wasn’t there, that I noticed. So, second choice date and I talked. He talked like we were living decades in the past, and it fueled my game of imagining we’d gone back in time when he talked about his distain for the latest technology and refusal to use textmessages. Even when I asked about his family he seemed to ramble more about New York history, when this and that bridge was being built and so on, than their actual lives. Perhaps he had been a time traveler! My little sci-fi fantasy was probably the only thing keeping up my excitement about the date. From the start I wasn’t feeling very into him, and had to keep my mind from wandering to the beginning where he’d noted I was still there after he’d stepped into the restroom. To pass the time and keep myself entertained, I talked a lot, and I talked about things that interested me. If you’re interested in someone, I suggest asking to hear more about that person rather than talking their ear off about yourself. That’s sort of a general rule number one on dates. That is, dates you want to go somewhere.

I didn’t mind when he kissed me because I’d had a couple of drinks, but it woke me up to realize he was somehow into me even after my non-stop chatter, or just looking to hook up, and I shouldn’t lead him on. I told him I was tired and I had to go head home. Sometimes I am actually tired and sometimes I have had a good time, but feel it’s getting late. So, I can’t tell you that it’s every time, but there is a very good possibility someone isn’t into you or the date if they tell you they’re tired. He seemed a bit surprised as two hours hadn’t even gone by yet, but he walked me to the train anyway. I hugged him goodbye and quickly had the thought, “Well, you’ve already kissed him, maybe it would be weird if you didn’t kiss him goodbye now” –Of course, there wasn’t much time to give it a second thought because my train was about to leave, so I kissed him goodnight and hurried on my way. I was still humored over the idea that he’d really been from some other decade in time, and although I’d never know without seeing him again, I figured it might be more fun to keep it as a sort of mystery novelty idea. I might have just gone on a date with a time traveler. That was a much more fun way of putting it than what the more probably reality had been.