Meeting without the help of the internet
A couple of times recently, I've tried something I'd never done before, which is meeting strangers through face-to-face interactions. I gather this is one of the ways it was done before the internet, but, damn, it amazes me that anyone managed to get any before the internet. Though it's becoming less mysterious, happily.
So, back in the winter, I met a guy at a bar while I was waiting for friends, and we struck up a conversation that was interesting and engaging, and then my friends showed up and I went off to have dinner with them. I realized, though, that I wanted to continue the conversation and, of course, the guy was quite to my taste, and the only way to keep chatting would be to ask him for his number or give him mine. So before I even had a chance to second-guess myself, I gave him my card where I'd jotted my mobile number on the bottom and suggested if he ever wanted to get drinks, he should give me a call.
I was, after the fact, incredibly proud of myself for having the nerve to do that. I hadn't really let myself think about it at the time, but afterwards, I had a big rush of adrenaline and, "Oh, my god, did I really just do that??" It was merely icing on the cake when he called a couple of weeks later and we had a couple of truly outstanding dates.
More recently, I pulled more or less the same maneuver in a much more planned-out way, and I have to say, that was approximately five gazillion times harder. This time, I plotted to have drinks with a friend and slip the guy my number before I'd even gotten to the bar (he works there). It took me an hour and a half to work up my nerve and find a moment when he was alone and didn't seem to be busy before I gathered all my courage and went to talk to him briefly:
Me: *proffering card* I don't know if you're seeing anyone, but if you're not, I'd love to get together for drinks sometime.
Him: *taking card* I'll call you.
Me: Great! *fleeing*
And he did! I actually had convinced myself that he wouldn't, because he struck me as kind of shy, and I really had no idea if he was interested in me, despite the fact that we've been making eyes at each other every time I've gone into his establishment for the past 3-4 years. I mean, he could just be cute and flirty or shy and blushy, right? Anyway, we have a date next week. But now I have to figure out how to broach the "I just want you for sex" conversation without the convenient forerunner of an up-front CL ad.
