Dinner with CBDG

After our many missed attempts to connect over the weekend, I decided to be proactive and text CBDG to see what the story was for this evening. And at around 4 PM, I got an e-mail from him, saying:

I thought I would email you instead of text as it looks like I'm working then!

Tonight - I'm not too fussed about where we go to eat. I'm not a bit Chinese fan, but love a good curry. In fact, I've not had a decent curry in London! Someone told me Brick Lane is good for that, but in the same breath said it was a bit dodgy :S Is there anything that tickles your fancy? I can't stay out too late as I've got to be up early tomorrow, and last night turned out to be one hell of a session. Having started drinking at 1300 we finished about 2230. Ouch this morning.

Okay, so it looks like there might actually be a plan? We settled on meeting at Aldgate East tube station and then wandering down Brick Lane from there. And just when I'd been wondering about this guy, his last response made me laugh out loud:

Brick Lane sounds good to me. Aldgate East, now I have to make sure I go to the right one! There's not going to be a P trail if I go to the wrong one so I need to remember. Shall we say 7, then it means that one of us doesn't have to stand around waiting for the other for potentially 15 mins :P Saying that I'll aim for between 10 to and 5 to! (Subject to delays. Please visit www.tfl.gov.uk for more information) :P

So he's funny and he makes me laugh. Points in his favour despite his incredible disorganisation. So I was looking forward to seeing him.

We met up outside Aldgate East tube station and went for a walk, while he told me stories about his epic night out the night before, which had been supposed to be just a lunch and a few beers with an old friend.

And we had a good time at dinner. We found a restaurant, had a nice meal, and didn't seem to lack for conversation all evening, as we talked about his work, my work, and various other topics.

And yet.

I've been asking people a lot lately the question, "How do you know if it's a date?". As lately I've had quite a few guys say to me, "We should totally get drinks next week!" or "Dinner sometime?" and so you start to wonder, "Are they asking me out?" Sometimes I like to actively deny that it might be a date, and accept the invite to go out to a lecture as though they really just invited me out as a friend. (Sophie always just says with a knowing laugh, "You just keep telling yourself that, my dear!")

And then sometimes, it's a guy like CBDG. Who always buys me drinks when we're out at the pub, and asks when he'll see me again, and keeps suggesting that we get together. Who, I'll be honest, is displaying all of the same behaviour as those other "friendly" guys, but with the difference that I'm not so resistant to the idea of being a bit more than friends with him. But does he feel the same? I honestly don't know.

So at the end of the meal, he asked for the bill, but when they put it on the table he didn't make a move towards it. Not like I necessarily expected him to, but I sort of feel like that's one of the most obvious "moves" a guy can make to indicate his interest in you, to pay for dinner. Yet when it became clear he wasn't going to pay, we split it. (To be fair, he paid more because of how the change splits, but still, when the whole bill was less than £30, you figure he might have just paid the whole thing, right?) So I found myself starting to think, "Hmmm...maybe we're just out as friends."

Not like I'm really that fussed, as this guy has no long term potential. He says things like, "I was talking to me mates" and enjoys going to football games for entertainment. He's cute and makes me laugh, but I just can't quite imagine having fascinating things to talk about with a guy who doesn't like pub quizzes because he never knows the answers. I mean, for someone who values intellect as highly as I do, the more I talk to him the more I feel my moniker for him is deserved: "Cute, but dumb." Plus, he doesn't even live in London, so what's the point of it all? It's just for entertainment, right?

Although, let's face it. My ego demands that he desperately want to sleep with me. I can bet he's holding back as the logistics don't really work (I don't even want to know how young he is), but even as I intellectually know it won't work, my pride demands that he desire me.

I puzzled over this on the entire Tube journey home, and so was then somewhat mollified when my phone buzzed as I rounded the corner back home. He'd texted, "Hey, hope you got home okay. Bloody District line delays! I watched 5 go the other way but was stubborn and waited. Thanks for a lovely evening. :)"

Boys. They can drive you nuts, but they provide the intrigue that make every day a little bit more interesting...