Hard to Read

The physical therapist and I had our second date Friday night.  Showed me around her apartment.  Her dog likes me, which always wins points with the would-be girlfriend.  Same goes for roommates, friends, Moms and Grandmoms.

We went to Chow Baby on Howell Mill.  I heard about this place via a story on channel 46 news (it was a positive review, no bad health scores) and had been eager to try it out.  It’s a create-your-own stir fry/Mongolian BBQ joint with kick-ass mojitos.  I would TOTALLY recommend it to anyone, though if you go for lunch or dinner on the weekend it may be very busy and crowded… as it was Friday night.

We talked about memories of being children and stories from work.  She’s got big, expressive eyes which I love.  I can usually tell a lot about a person from their eyes; where they look when they’re remembering something can tell you if they are a more visual person or if they are more  kinesthetic… meaning they feel things at a deep level.  The theatre major I’m dating is the latter.

We finished-up dinner and drove to Dave and Buster’s in Marietta.  She did something so cute on Thursday night when I called to tell her when I’d be picking her up.  She had no clue as to what Dave and Buster’s was, so she didn’t know how to dress.  Was it more a club?  Was it more of a sports bar?  I take that as a good sign, as she wants to look good for our date but not out of place.

We played games all night.  She beat my ass pretty good in basketball and I sorta beat myself in air hockey.  Any time we won tickets we always found some cute kid to hand them off to… it was really cool to see the kid’s eyes light up when she handed him a couple of hundred tickets so he could get that stuffed Elmo or whatever.  We joked around all night, brought up inside jokes… flirted.  I would put my hand on the small of her back or around her waist to pull her in… squeezed her thigh just above the knee… interlocked my fingers in her’s when we pushed the button on some game together.  When I dropped her off and gave her a hug and kiss goodnight, she gave no objection to the kiss (nor to any of the other physical touches) yet she didn’t kiss back.  It was like kissing the back of your hand.  I’m thinking she just takes things much slower than any other girl I’ve dated.  I typically enjoy doing flirty push-pull type of interactions with girls who are attracted to me and they always eat it up, but I haven’t with her yet.  Maybe I should.

I’m having a hard time reading her interest and attraction towards me… which may be why I’m more interested in her than the other two girls who are obviously into me.  For the third date I’m planning to cook dinner for her at her place.  We’ve talked about going to Braves games and hiking/running together, but I want some alone time.

Come on Ride this Train

After a successful third date on Tuesday with interior designer, we move along to Thursday night. Initially I was going to spend the evening with the lovely physical therapist, however, her mother decided to visit this week and spend the evening with her tonight. She called me Wednesday afternoon to inform me of this revelation, citing that she didn’t want to deal with the intensive Q&A that would arise if she told her Mom that she had a date. I could tell she felt badly about canceling and wanted to reschedule ASAP.

So we’re going out tomorrow night instead. It’s Luke’s birthday, but he doesn’t seem too gung-ho about turning 26. We shall dine at Chow Baby on Howell Mill. Has anyone eaten there before? I’ve been to the whole stir-fry/Madarin grill sort of restaurant before in Kansas so I know what to expect. I’ll thoroughly enjoy it, I just hope she will and isn’t a finicky eater. Can’t stand that, personally. My brother and father are like that.

So with a free Thursday evening, I whipped-out my cell phone and called the theater girl who I have wanted to meet for quite some time now. We got a late drink at Front Page tonight… which turned into a three hour first date. I’m getting quite good at those. Unlike last week’s first date, I want to see her again soon. I see a lot of my ex in this girl, but I’m trying to decide if she possesses the good qualities or the bad ones.

Now you may be asking: “RA, it’s March Madness… what kind of heterosexual man would date a time like this?!?”  I’ll admit, I was a little upset when I left the house during halftime of the Duke game and returned to see the final score.  But last time I checked, Greg Paulus neither smells nice nor wants to make out with me.  And he’s kinda flat-chested… not that I care about that sort of thing.