The Dreamer had to leave early Saturday morning to go to work, which was good because I had to get ready to go on another date at 10 am. This was my second date with the Diplomat, and he was picking me up at my house.
Now, on a first date, I almost always insist on meeting the person somewhere. There are two reasons for this- if they turn out to be psycho, at least they don't know where you live; and if the date is going horribly wrong, you don't have to endure a car ride back to your house before you can get away from it. My first date with the Diplomat was for Thai food in a boutique neighborhood not far from my house, and it definitely fell into the “bad first impression” category.
The name “The Diplomat” is a bit of a misnomer, I'll admit. He's actually an electrical engineer that works for a government contract office. His father was a diplomat, though, and I definitely get that vibe from him. He's rather reserved, shy, and to be perfectly honest, awkward. During the first date, he actually started asking me to make lists! “Name your top five authors. Your three favorite colors. Your best recipes,” etc. (In regards to this, Henry Rollins explains it better than I ever could- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9S5-EB8dR8 )
At the close of the first date, I thought he was nice but not someone I really felt the need to go out with again. I didn't count on him being so persistent. A half dozen phone calls and two emails later, I found myself agreeing to a second date.
This time, we decided to hit a nearby city that I hadn't been to yet. I figured if nothing else, at least I'd get to see the sights. After he picked me up, we used a Park and Ride to take public transit in instead of having to fight the city traffic. It was definitely the right choice, especially as I got him to loosen up a little bit during the ride by joking with him about the other riders. There's nothing like making fun of fringe Republicans to help two liberals bond.
When we got to the city we walked around a bit, seeing sights that I've only ever experienced in photos. It was almost surreal. At one point while walking down the street, I took the Diplomat's arm. I love walking with my arm in someone else's, especially when you can get the stride going right so you're not bouncing up and down in different time. That broke the ice- we spent the rest of the date playfully touching each other, holding hands, and him putting his arm around my waist while we stood.
For lunch we went to a historic building that has been turned into a food court. It wasn't your usual food court fare of Chick-Fil-A and Hotdog on a Stick, though- they had Indian, Chinese, pizza, and ice cream. We both decided on falafel from the Greek stand. The guy behind the counter kept trying to foist samples of chicken and beef onto the passersby, often to no avail. “Can't even give away free food!” he lamented to us as we waited.
The Diplomat and I had planned to stay in the city for a while after lunch, but I was tired and my feet were starting to hurt from my cute heels. We took the train back to his car, and drove back to my place talking easily about a myriad of topics from religion to music to indoor soccer.
We decided to meet again, and this time he won't have to wear me down.
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