I have missed writing so much this week. It has been a fairly insane week for me. Tuesday night I had something that I needed to attend to, so I had a babysitter come to watch the children. As my time with my children is fairly limited, I had never chosen to have a sitter come over but I had obligations that were necessary to attend to and their father had plans that he could not change.
Tuesday night, I'm sitting at my function, bored out of my skull and desperate to leave. All of a sudden, I get a text message from Dallas. "Hey, I'm in town. I decided to come a night early and surprise you." I inform him that the surprise is not entirely welcome, but that I have a sitter so I have a short amount of time that I can spend with him. I knew that he was coming in Wednesday for business, and we had dinner plans with some of his clients.
So, we are having a glass of wine on Tuesday. We talk about the following night and he gives me the low-down. One of the men that will be at the dinner is an integral prospect for him. The man is the President of an investment bank and he *has* to have him onboard for the project. The other people that will be attending are all related to the project - there are a couple of programmers and a couple of creative types...all in all, it sounds like fun. We wrap up this conversation with Dallas saying to me, "You have to help me get this guy to commit. Will you help me?" I tell him that I'll do what I can - little does he know I spent years in that role, so I'm looking forward to playing that little game again.
With that topic covered, Dallas says, "Listen. I have a beautiful suite at the Omni for us tonight and tomorrow night. Come over and spend the night with me." I tell him that I can't - remind him that my children are home with a sitter - and he gets a little pouty. He is adorable, but his pouting is not. I remind him that I have obligations in my life that are not negotiable.
He says that he needs to tell me something, that he lied to me.
"Oh, you're married." I say.
"No, of course not. I lied to you about my age."
"Just say it."
"I'm not really 32. I'm 37."
"Perfect!" I say, genuinely relieved.
"Minus ten." He says.
"What? You're 27?" I say.
"Yes. But I've always been attracted to older women."
Groan. At this point I'm thinking that if the word "cougar" escapes his lips I'm going to have to kick him. Hard.
I tell him that I'm very uncomfortable with the age difference. Very. We are in completely different places in life. Now, he's got his act together, he's very smart (and did I mention how cute he is?) but seriously...I can't be with someone that much younger than me. He returns to the subject of the suite, he just wants to watch a movie, spend some time together and then I'll see that it's not as bad as my perception of it is.
It's late, I need to get back to my sitter and I need some time alone to process this new information. I tell him that I'll still go to his dinner the following night, but that life I'm disappointed by the lie. He sort of sulks off and I'm sort of amused, sort of appalled by this new information.
The following evening, I meet his group at a great little restaurant/wine bar for dinner. I love the evening. The conversation is easy, robust and rowdy. Dallas has taken the head of the table, his important prospect, Walker, is on my right. I find him very easy to talk to and we have a great deal in common. We are the same age, he's a father of young children (I can't help noticing that there isn't a wedding ring), we both share a genuine love of wine and we chat all night. Early in the evening, we exchange email addresses and make plans to go for a run together at some point in the future (it's not often that I meet a man that runs my pace, and with the night coming so early, it would be much safer to have a man to run the trail with).
I'm looking at him closely, and despite his baby-face, he's a commanding presence. It's funny to watch the others at the table stop speaking when he speaks. He's sitting in the middle of the table, but the waiter instinctively chooses him as the group leader.
The guests begin to trickle out. Eventually, it's just me, Dallas and Walker. Walker excuses himself to the restroom and Dallas informs him that we'll wait outside. Once outside, Dallas says to me, "Where did you park. Let's go back to the Omni." I tell him that I am not going back to the hotel with him. He doesn't like this answer and says, "I'll tell you what. It's time. We've seen each other 5 or 6 times now. I've made every effort to come down here and spend time with you. If you don't come back to the hotel with me, we're done. It's over."
What? No really, are you giving me an ultimatum? Ah, now I see your youth. Give me an ultimatum and you'll see me dig my heels in the sand. That's pretty much the BEST way to make sure you're not going to get your way. He did it, I'm not budging. You know, it's sort of funny too - I haven't been intimate with anyone in so long that I'm absolutely desperate for touch. Had he finessed the situation just a hair more, he might have gotten his way.
I wouldn't say we had a "fight" right there on the street because I wasn't speaking, but he's definitely talking louder than necessary, trying to incite me. Dallas leans down and kisses me on the lips, then turns abruptly and begins to walk down the street towards the hotel. I begin to giggle. When he turns to me and says, "I'm serious. This is your last chance!" my giggle turns into full-fledged laughter. Yep, he's 27 alright.
I felt myself completely detach from the situation. I'm watching the entire scene unfold as if it were a B-movie and it's seriously one of the funniest things I've seen in a long while.
I begin walking in the direction of my car when I hear someone call my name. I turn around to find Walker chasing down the street after me. "Where did you park?" He asks. I tell him and he informs me that he's walking me to my car (now you see where his nickname came from). I assure him that I'll be fine on my own and continue walking. I'm a little tipsy, a little angered and a lot amused by the evening.
"I'm not letting you walk by yourself. Especially into that parking garage. So, you might as well just slow down and talk to me."
He walks me to my car, tells me that he enjoyed my company and tells me to email him when I want to go for a run. I thank him for the evening and the walk and drive home, happy to not be dodging Dallas' immature advances in a hotel room, looking forward to crawling in my bed and sleeping.
The next morning, I get an email from Walker.
I haven't replied. Part of me is so bored with this whole dating thing, but part of me is very curious about this man. I have tons of obligations this coming week with trying to buy a house, Thanksgiving and work, but maybe the following week. We shall see.
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