I’ve been doing the online dating thing for three and a half months. As y’all should be aware of by now, I’ve had 3 dates and no second dates with any of the men I’ve met online. That’s about to change.
I met a man on Match, for now I’ll call him “Joe.” We messaged back and forth a few times. Between our two schedules, it was difficult to find a time to meet. We finally set a date for almost a week away. Some men need to continue messaging before the date, especially if the date is a ways away. Some do not. Everything being equal, I’m fine either way. He did not feel the need for constant communication. He checked in with me to say hello and confirm our date.
Shortly after we had arranged to meet, I got a message from Joe addressed to “Elizabeth,” expressing sympathy for her surgery that delayed them meeting, and telling her of course they can reschedule (that was the gist not the entirety of their conversation). My 1st instinct was to be taken aback. I very quickly got over that, after all we’re on Match to date. The part of me that doesn’t trust men gave me the oddest thought that he did it on purpose to make himself seem more desirable. What it came down to is it didn’t really matter why. It wasn’t something that would make me want to cancel the date. I wasn’t going to even say anything about the mis-sent message, but if he didn’t do it on purpose she’d probably wonder why he never responded, and he’d wonder why she didn’t reply. So I replied “I’m not Elizabeth.” His response was a longer than necessary explanation and apology, but that’s okay. Better too much than too little I suppose. He assured me he is interested in meeting me, writing “really, I am looking forward to meeting YOU. ” He uses “lol” a lot. I told him I certainly wasn’t concerned about him meeting other women ’cause that’s what we’re there to do. I jokingly told him I was slightly concerned with his overuse of “lol.” When we confirmed our date he said he’ll be the one with “lol” tattooed on his forehead. He has a sense of humor about himself. I like that.
Date day arrives and I’m honestly not really wanting to go. It wasn’t a matter of my body telling me not to go. It was a result of my weariness with the men I’ve met in person, and the bad experiences with the Fire Captain and the Musician. As you can likely guess from the title of this post, I made myself go. We arranged to meet on the patio of a nice Italian restaurant not far from my house. I was early as usual. I found a place outside to sit, ordered my chardonnay and prepared to wait. Fun fact: I actually somewhat prefer red wine. When I’m out I usually drink white wine, primarily because I am a klutz. I can guarantee at some point or another I will spill said wine. I’d rather spill white than red.
He too was early, and was dressed casually but nice. Joe sat down (next to me not across from me which I liked) and took off his sunglasses. I was pleasantly surprised that he is better looking in person than in his pictures. He has really pretty eyes. What is the proper word to use when describing the beauty of a man’s eyes? Anyhow, we had drinks, eventually ordered some apps and just talked, for hours. I really don’t recall what exactly we talked about. It wasn’t like I was dreamily staring into his eyes with no care about the conversation. We talked about a lot of things, and before we knew it 3 hours had passed! I can’t remember all that. Sheldon Cooper I am not.
Joe paid the bill and first declined then accepted my offer to pay the tip. He walked me to my car. We had a nice long hug. I could tell he wanted to kiss me, but he had to settle for kissing my cheek. We finally exchanged phone numbers and last names. I gave him the correct spelling of my first name. For several reasons, on the dating sites I spell my name “Robbie.” It’s easier to pronounce for one thing. Some people get thrown off by the “bye” at the end of “Robbye.” It also makes me harder to find. The spelling my mother gave me is unique enough as to make me easier to find. Anyhow, we agreed we’d like a second date.
As of this writing, we haven’t yet had a 2nd date. We are trying to reschedule a date I had to cancel because of a last minute schedule conflict. It will be my first second date from my online dating experience. We’ll see how it goes.