Life in the Lowcountry

Back to my dating life.

After NYC trip, I arrived home to find that Ben Sills had called. He’s my 3rd TOGETHER person. For those of you not in the know of 90’s dating, Together Dating is a service where you actually go to a physical brick and mortar office and fill out a questionnaire, a dating profile and they use their patented (don’t know if it is or not) matching system to match you up with potential dates. They do background checks, etc. on potential clients and then you pay a fee for their services based on the number of matches you want to receive. I don’t exactly remember, I think 3 was the least expensive package, may have been 10 but I opted for the least expensive as my earnings weren’t quite what my spendings were. I was seriously in debt at the time. I liked shopping a whole hell of a lot.

Message from Ben sounded promising so I called him back and we hit it off. He was very witty and I thought if nothing else, we’d be friends because he gets my sense of humor and we had some things in common. So I gave him my work number and he said he’d call me next week. Monday, he called and we made plans to meet at the Spring Garden Brewery for a drink. I got there first but then again I’m always early. So imagine my eagerness and hopefulness when I see a new BMW pull into the parking lot and a single guy gets out, and he’s actually very good looking. This was a first for me because guys I’ve met before were usually late and not that good looking. Bonus Points if this is in fact Ben. He was nicely dressed and punctual. I’m liking this. It was Ben because he walked straight up to me and said, “You look crazy.” Which was what we’d agreed in the previous night’s phone call that I was really not, in fact, crazy. To which I responded, “It’s got to be you!” Another kooky conversation call-back to our previous night’s phone call.  We had a good laugh. I really didn’t feel nervous around him. I was lost in the conversation and daydreaming about the things we’d do as a couple, CRAZY, I know but not AWKWARD! We had a couple of drinks and loads of great conversation and agreed to make it an early night because he was coming down with a cold. The end-of-the-first-meeting conversation went like this:

Ben: “If we get together again, I’ll cook um, hamburgers. Never mind the McDonald’s wrapper, that’s just the plate.” (To which I laughed appropriately, I hoped.)

Me: some inane off the cuff remark about ‘sporks’ with him laughing appropriately and then I said rather boldly, “If you are asking, I’m game for dinner.”

Which I thought conveyed the interest I have in him without seeming too overly anxious to see him again. Trying to strike that delicate balance of playing hard to get and not seeming so fucking desperate. I think he may have seen through me.

I really read this one wrong. He didn’t call. I didn’t have the courage or drive to pick the phone up and call him. At this point, my self-esteem is at an all time low and I really don’t know how to put myself back out there again. But wait, I still may have Together Dating to come to my rescue again. The hell if I’m giving up this easily.