Date #2 (and 4)

After exchanging a few messages with Paul, we agreed to meet by the Pier in Manhattan Beach.  He is a student who is getting his master’s degree in engineering.  We started out just wandering around the boardwalk, and he was extremely nice.  Almost too nice.  During our conversation he mentioned that he doesn’t drink and he is a vegetarian.  Well, two of my favorite things in the world are booze and dead animal meat, so I already knew that he would never be able to hang out with me and my friends.  Also, by the end of our stroll he had already started holding my hand.  Awkward, buddy… we just met.

We decided to get something to eat at one of the restaurants in the area, but couldn’t decide where to go.  Since he was the one with dietary restrictions, I suggested that he choose whatever would work for him, but he said that we could go wherever I decided.  I wanted to say “Hey, we should grab some chicken wings and beer at that sports bar,” but that obviously wouldn’t work for a vegetarian teetotaler.  We spent an inordinate amount of time trying to decide where to go before finally settling on an Italian place.  I felt obligated to order a vegetarian dish just so I wouldn’t offend the guy.  

I did agree to go on a second date with him though, because he was just too nice and I couldn’t say no.  We went to a bowling alley and then got some frozen yogurt on the Santa Monica Promenade.  It felt like I was in middle school, if only I had been cool enough to go on dates with boys in middle school.  After that we spent a few awkward moments standing on the pier looking out at the ocean.  During that time I got a text message from one of my friends asking if I wanted to party that night.  Paul asked if I wanted to go back to one of our places and watch a movie, but I told him that I was too tired.  After that I totally went out with my friends and gave my cell number to a guy at a bar.

I felt bad, but I sent Paul a message the next day saying that I thought he was a great guy but I didn’t think we were a good match for each other and blah blah blah… He was cool about it, though.  Honestly, the weirdest part about the whole thing was how he seemed to decide, within the first half hour of our first date, that he wanted a long-term, committed relationship with me.  By the second date he was talking about our future together.  Seriously, I had met another guy (next blog post) in between our two dates.  Since this is a dating website and I am actively planning dates with multiple other guys, I am definitely not ready to jump into anything that quickly.