A nervous date with a side of dinner and a movie - Date Diary #7

This has been by far the busiest week my little love life has ever experienced.  I had 3 dates with 2 different guys, and it was not nearly as fun as I imagined it would be. Dating is so exhausting.  The silver lining is, I never have to cook anymore.  Luckily, I only have 2 dates next week, so that should feel more like a vacation.  Now for the details of my second date with Milton. 

Pre-Game

 

I had all day Saturday to be lazy, but instead I ended up going to a co-workers going away party.  It was fun.  I didn't know many people there, but going on all these dates lately gives me lots of good stories to share with strangers - kind of like a live version of the blog.  Sometimes all my ego needs is a fresh audience.  I left the party around 6, which only gave me about a half hour to get ready. 

 

Here's what I looked like - not bad for a 30 minute turnaround (maybe it's bad form to pay myself compliments):

 

Second dates are strange because there's some anxiety about whether the good parts of date one will be magnified or missing in date two.  So, that left me feeling sort of like this:

 

 

You'll notice I sort of recycled my outfit from my date with Miami Vice.  What can I say, if a look works, you work it hard.  In my defense, I had washed it so it wouldn't reek of my last date.

 

The Date

 

Milton was perfectly on-time.  When I answered the door, I was surprised to see him a little overdressed.  He was wearing tan slacks and a nice button-down shirt.  I suddenly felt a little janky in my denim shirt and grandma sweater, but there was nothing I could do about it.  He didn't say a word about the phonebooks rotting on my front porch.  Now I'm thinking I should just leave them there as a test for future suitors.  That would dovetail nicely with my master plan to be super lazy and not throw them out.

 

The conversation when we got in the car was a little forced. This surprised me, because our conversation on date one was so great.  I sensed that Milton was a lot more nervous this time around.  Perhaps he's been burned on so many first dates that he doesn't even get excited about them anymore, but a second date...that's legit.  He changed the radio station once we started driving because he remembered I don't listen to country.  If I had to come up with one word to describe this guy, it would be considerate.  He listens to everything I say and can recall details of those conversations days later.  That's rare, folks.

 

When we got to the restaurant, he had made a reservation so there was no awkward waiting.  By that point, he had warmed up a little, but we still hadn't found our groove.  I should probably recognize my own culpability in this.  After being on so many dates lately and a party earlier that day, the introvert in me could really use a few days of silence.  It's possible I didn't bring my A-game along for the date. 

 

We perused the menu - sushi involves so much reading!  He was a little timid in ordering.  I asked him if he liked sushi, because I had a suspicion he had picked this restaurant just because I had mentioned it was one of my favorites.  He acknowledged that he had picked it for that reason, but that he could eat sushi even though it wasn't particularly his favorite. See what I mean?  Considerate.  We settled on a few rolls and waited for the food.  I had ordered a beer, and he didn't.  He didn't seem to mind that I did, but I still found it a little strange.  Although, I went on a date the other day where the guy asked if I was okay with him having a drink because he was driving, so maybe that was Milton's hesitation as well.  One of the rolls I ordered had eel in it.  I'll admit, this was a bit of a test.  I like eel, but it's not for everybody, and I wanted to see how broad his palate could stretch.  He admitted that it wasn't his favorite, but he certainly ate his half no problem. 

 

Conversation through dinner was much better.  We found some good topics, and I learned a lot more about his family.  He was very cognizant of our time, but not in a weird way.  I'm so used to having to be "in charge" when I'm out with friends, so it was nice to be with a guy who can take the lead on that stuff.  This must be what it feels like to relax.  The movie was good - not great, but not terrible.  I think I was a little too tired for a 9pm flick, but I managed to stay engaged.  The conversation on the ride home seemed forced again, but I feel like we were both tired at that point, and it's just hard to be sociable sometimes in those situations.  I will say, I don't think sitting in silence with this guy would be that awkward.  He's pretty comfortable to be around.  Another rare quality.  

 

 

The Good

• His car was clean and so was his driving.
• He opened my car door for me every time!  Such a big deal, fellas!  Seriously!
• Once we broke the ice a little, the conversation was good.  There's something I like about looking at his face while he talks.  He's so genuine and pleasant.  He makes it very hard not to like him.  I'm still not in the romantic zone, but I'm definitely interested in spending more time with him.
• Listening to him talk about his baby sister was a real treat.  You can tell how much he loves her when he starts talking about her - his eyes light up.  So. Cute.
• He walked me to my door when he took me home.  The end of the date stuff wasn't really that awkward. We both said we'd had fun, and then he said, "Well, I'll give you a hug."  I appreciated that he took charge a little and didn't just leave me wondering what I was supposed to do.  We all know what happens when I'm given a little too much rope.  The hug was okay, not as invasive as the one I got from Miami Vice (thankfully), but definitely less awkward than the one I shared with Old Ginger Spice.  He stood on the sidewalk while I stood on the porch, so it helped even out our height a little.   
• He didn't ask me for another date last night, but he texted me this morning and asked if I'd like to go out again on Friday, so I said yes.  The way he asked was so funny - it wasn't as much of a request as I would have expected.  He said, "My next early day at work is Friday, would that work for you to go out again?"  I don't know what we're doing yet, but I'll just see what he plans.

The Bad

• His chopstick skills need a little work.  He asked the waiter for a fork about half-way through the meal. The waiter gave him the normal condescending eye roll one has come to expect from such establishments and then proceeded to bring a large tray containing a fork resting on a palate of cloth napkin. It was quite a show - basically saying, "Hey look everyone, this newbie wants a fork." That plus the fact that I made a little joke about getting him a kids set made him buckle down and give the regular chopsticks one more try. After stabbing at a piece a few times, he commented, "This is so strange, usually I'm so good with food on a stick."  Deflecting with humor - Point, Milton.   Hope he didn't leave the restaurant too hungry. 
• We did more walking on this date, so I got a chance to see what it feels like to stand next to a guy who is 6'5".  I've never felt more petite. 
• I'm still disappointed that the conversation wasn't better throughout the whole evening, but I think he was more nervous for whatever reason, so I'm going to try not to worry about it for Friday's date. 

The Ugly

• One of the previews for our movie was Fifty Shades of Grey. I cringed internally as soon as it started. I'm not sure why, it's not like we're not both adults. But I think we can all acknowledge that watching pretty people partake in a little BDSM is not what you're looking for on your second date.  After the preview ended, Milton leaned over and whispered, "That's not what I thought that movie was going to be about at all. I thought it was about old people, sort of like Cocoon." I'm 90% sure he wasn't serious, but either way it definitely lightened the mood. 
• He mentioned maybe playing tennis together at some point.  He's a pretty decent player and actually plays in a few leagues.  The only problem is, I play tennis about as well as a two-year-old plays Jenga.  I'd hate for him to see how uncoordinated I am just when things are going so well.  He assured me, he was a patient instructor.  We'll see.

Today's Updates

• I have slowed down my activity on the site until after I go out with Engi-Nerd and see how things progress with Milton.  I just feel like trying to juggle more than that right now would push me over the edge. 
• I've been texting with both Milton and Engi-Nerd off and on all day.  I still feel a little like I'm cheating on both of them, but I know that's not true. 
• I got a text this morning from Miami Vice, so I guess he didn't quite get the hint.  I never responded, so I'm hoping that will put an end to it.  If I get any more texts from him, I'll send him my standard "let's just be friends, with the understanding that we are in no way friends" message.