D'oh.

Of course, when we'd made the arrangements, we both ended the conversation and that was that.

Except, d'oh, I'd once again forgotten to get her number in case things don't go according to plan tomorrow night. She might still have mine... that's yet to be established, but if something's gone pear-shaped at my end, I can't contact her.

It's like telephone numbers of pretty girls are my kryptonite.

Supposedly the best things in life don't come easily.

Fuck me, that wasn't easy.

I met AM for lunch and she got the full story on the RB thing. Well, maybe not full story... the important bullet points: met RB, like RB, no fucking, no contact since and a certain amount of RB-related distraction. Her advice, straight to the point, was exactly the same as A's - call her.

I was still worried about whether there were two girls with RB's name in her office, but I needn't have worried. Using RB's first name when calling the central line didn't provoke a "which one?" response and after a failed first attempt as she was on another call, the second paid dividends as she agreed to meet for a drink (and hopefully more than one) at the end of the week.

Weirdly, when she came on the phone, I knew it was her from her simple "hello". I might not remember her face in detail, but her voice was instantly familiar. I hope that when she appears in the pub this weekend, I'll recognise her face in exactly the same way.

I feel nauseous. I feel excited. But mostly, I feel nauseous as my nerves nearly got the better of me and that things still aren't plain sailing yet as I still remember how difficult she was the last time we met. For the record, I don't believe she will be like that and will be nice and chatty and forthcoming.

A plan?

Ideally what I need is an opportunity to speak to RB in some kind of one-on-one scenario. That could be at the pub, on the street even over the phone. Just get her on her own and ask her out for a drink.

With those thoughts running through my head earlier, I emailled A with a theory. Over the course of an hour or so and swapping a few thoughts on the matter, I came away with the idea of just calling her at work as that's the only contact details I have for her. I'm still unsure of her surname, but there is someone listed on the internet that could be the person I'm after. So, I spent the rest of the afternoon in a ridiculously good mood.

On the way home, something hit me though. There is a number listed on the internet, but it's a switchboard number by the looks of it. Obviously, if I call this place and ask for RB by her first name and am told there are a couple of them, I'm well and truly borked. If not, I can assume I'll be speaking to RB. It has sown an element of doubt into my plan and I'm not sure how this is now going to turn out. Will I still phone? Ultimately, if it was a direct line and I had her surname, I'd have called already, but the uncertainty of the details is making me a little apprehensive about "cold calling".

Talk is good.

The call came in. AM has a sixth sense. I guess she knows I have something on my mind and has agreed to meeting up without getting in to a huge chat on the phone tonight.

Final details are to be arranged but I'm hoping to see her on Thursday.

Contact and AM and steps foward.

I tried to contact AM today to meet for lunch and to chat about the RB thing. I don't know what I hope to accomplish with this, just that I want to talk to someone and AM is probably my closest friend. She might have some advice and she might not. I hope she does. She will listen though, which I think is what I need most right now.

I texted her and called her, but she was busy. She's promised a call back tonight, so I'm waiting for that while watching Elizabethtown. Let's see what happens.

*sigh*

Last night, just before bed time, the foul mood I'd been in all day just vanished. I don't know why... it just did.

Today, I woke in a great mood, totally the opposite to yesterday. Weirdly, I was extremely upbeat and positive about the situation and totally and utterly convinced that this was all going to work out in my favour and that I would get the date that I so obviously crave with RB. I was distracted all day though... pre-occupied with something... how to get in contact with RB, I think, without being an absolute fucking loser weirdo. If I find out her surname and send a small bouquet of flowers to her work place with a note, does that make me nuts? That's one of the thoughts that's crossed my mind today.

That's not going to work in my favour and I'm going to crash again.

*snarl*

I was in poor form today. I don't need to explain why, do I?

I still feel I should try another attempt at getting RB out, but I don't know how to do this. I do know where she works, but I don't have her full name, so calling the switchboard and asking for her might be troublesome if there is more than one girl with that name, plus I don't want a stalker tag. Being keen is good, being stalker is bad. I could call up to her house, but even my new-found bravery isn't going to stretch that far, especially after nearly three weeks.

It's frustration and anger at myself about not being in control of the situation, I think. I should have gotten her number and called her. At the very least, the rejection would have been a definite end rather than me analysing this thing to the very molecule over the past three weeks. However, you can't overlook how utterly fucking clueless I am with women. When trying to chat women up I am blind to body language and just utterly clumsy all round.

As luck would have it, I might have spotted her in the town at lunchtime, but as I've previously mentioned, I'm useless at faces. I'm maybe 60% certain it was RB, but she was with a friend/colleague and I was with a friend otherwise I think I would have asked if it was her (or I'd like to think she would have stopped me herself). Then I spent the afternoon hoping she had seen me (though I had tried to catch her eye but I don't think she looked in my direction) and would get in contact tonight. She didn't, though.

SSCW figured out I wasn't in a great mood and tried to talk to me about. I let slip some details... SSCW knows it's women-related, that I was waiting for someone to get in contact and that I don't think she will. I let slip a few other details, but not a lot. I did want to talk to SSCW... I've been trying to get QC1 and QC2 out for a while now exactly for this reason, but SSCW has a habit of bringing these things up again at a later date to other people. In a separate conversation later, I explained to SSCW that I was extremely private.

Before I clammed up, she seemed quite positive that I should get in contact though. Her suggestion was to go back to the same bar on a Thursday night and see what happens. I didn't tell her I'd already done that, albeit not deliberately.

I don't know what to do, really. I thought I'd put this one to bed at the end of last week, but my frustration at how this has turned out is worse than it was last week and my optimism/wishful thinking that she might get in contact is back with a vengeance. I'm also very angry at myself for not getting her contact details originally.

The end? (Part Two)

So, despite being convinced that RB's not going to phone, I have toyed with the idea that I might make another attempt at getting in contact. I have no idea what this might be, but I was kind of encouraged to consider it when I was reading a few posts on a forum I frequent where I am fairly anonymous member. These posts weren't replies to my own circumstances, but rather general dating and relationship issues that can apply to me.

Essentially, a few female members had posted that being keen early on is not a bad thing (which I guess I am), that another attempt at contact should be seen as “what have I got to lose?” which is also a valid point to make. The final reason was a old quote or saying “a faint heart never won fair lady”, which is also true.

Into this, I have to factor various facts and assumptions that would support further effort:

1. I'm not 100% sure she got my first note. Reasonably sure, yes. Perhaps to about 80%, but not certain.
2. She was keen during the night and a little affectionate in the morning. The early evening stuff was based on drunken lust, of that I'm reasonably sure, but there was enough there in the morning to suggest it wasn't all alcohol based.
3. There was a fair amount of embarrassment the next morning. My guess is that taking a guy back to hers and jumping on him is not something she does very often, if at all. We didn't fuck, but it appears that we did enough to make her self-conscious. Enough not to call? I think so.
4. I think some things she said during the night didn't add up. Not vitally important things, but there were half a dozen things said that might not be true and if she remembers the early part of the evening, might not want to revisit that and have to admit to the fibs.
5. She admitted that she was single and that she was unhappy being single.

And these factors that support no further effort:

1. She might well have gotten the phone number and just isn't interested enough to want to see me again.
2. It's been two weeks and really, things are now cold. Had I wanted to follow up on this, I should have done it early last week. Even now, by the time I figure something out and act on it, it could be another week passed.

Ideally, I'd bump into her in the street or in the pub and this would be moot as I could ask her straight out for a lunch date or her number, but with that being reasonably unlikely, forcing the issue with more contact is something I have to consider if I do want to see her again. How to go about this is the kicker, though.

Ruuude talks films.

Go see The Dark Knight right now.

It's absolutely fantastic.

The end?

As it's now two complete weekends since RB's had my number (or rather since she should have had my number... I'm still not 100% certain she did receive it obviously), I have to assume she's not going to use it.

Thursday and Friday were weird days for me. I was in a terrible mood. Not bad tempered, but rather, I don't know, disappointed? A general feeling of anti-climax, perhaps? The realisation, sub-consciously that she wasn't going to phone even though I knew that from the start of the week. There was also a false alarm on Thursday evening as I received an SMS message from an unknown number, but it turned out to be one of E's friends who had a new number. I was also contemplating other ways of getting in contact having seen quotes elsewhere that implied that taking risks was a good idea. It's an idea I've yet to reject, but I'd need someone I know and trust to confirm that it was a good idea before I'd continue down that route. I might post on this another time as I still have these thoughts running around my head that I need to straighten out.

Anyway, I spoke to A about it and she empathised with me as she's been in a similar position. I also managed to talk to FP about it in the early hours of this morning, at least to tell him I'm disappointed that RB didn't call and that I was (or still am) reasonably keen in seeing her again (mainly because she was a lot more personable in the morning than she had been the previous evening). His theory was that RB was embarrassed about the night because his assumption was that we had fucked. I put him right on that score (we didn't), but I do think his theory is partly right and that we were a lot more intimate that night than she would have liked (despite her being the more aggressive one). So, even though I sent the note (assuming, again, that she got it), she's still embarrassed by the evening. She admitted as much herself on the Friday morning, but I didn't believe that would be enough to stop her from getting in contact.

Fair play to FP though, he did listen and there was no piss taking, only some theories on why she didn't call (as he saw how keen she was) and declarations that women were mad (and he's right ladies, you are). He should be like that more often.

I've been busy since Thursday which has helped a lot. I still wouldn't mind seeing her again, but at least I'm not focussed on a potential phone call.

Sigh.

The RB thing has been annoying me. While I wouldn't say I've been obsessive about it, I have found it hard to put it out of my mind and just deal with it if/when she calls (as you can tell from the amount of posts on the subject over the past two weeks). I've been keeping a careful eye on the phone since the earliest point when she could have received the note (last Wednesday night) at times where I think she might call - lunchtimes, during the evening after tea-time etc. even though I don't get a lot of calls on my mobile and don't usually pay it a lot of attention unless I'm actually using it myself.

Is it a big thing? For most people, probably not. For me? Possibly. As I am quite picky when it comes to those I take on as friends, girlfriends etc. getting in contact with RB was a big step for me. The decision to make contact and the actual act of getting the note out are minor compared to the fact she is someone I'd like to see again and that I've been pro-active in trying to do so. The ambiguity over what this might turn in to if she does call is still there. RB is a very attractive, sexy girl (or rather, I remember her being a very attractive and very sexy girl... I have a terrible memory for faces) and there's no doubt that I am attracted to her romantically/sexually a little (though not to the same extent as I was with Kiwi Girl, for example) but not enough (in my own opinion) that I should be this focussed on waiting for her call, especially when it could as easily go down the platonic route as the romantic one.

Logically, I think I know the time has passed for her to call. However, that doesn't stop me clutching at straws and thinking that, for example, the rules of the game mean she might not be in contact until up to a week after she got my details (from a conversation with R) which gives her until Wednesday or Thursday or that there's no hard and fast rule about contact and she might be considering her options (from seperate conversations with A and USHW) or that she might be waiting to make arrangements for the weekend which gives her until Thursday to actually call. Who knows where that last one came from?

I guess I invested more in this than I originally thought.

Contact

Nothing from QC2 today, which is confusing. QC1 did get in contact however, but she's not available until next week.

I was chatting to FP on MSN last night and he was questioning whether RB had my phone number. He was more interested in questioning whether my story about this girl having my number had changed from the last time we spoke about it than he was about finding out if I wanted the girl to call... which I obviously do. This is why we don't have more serious conversations, because he's more interested in making jokes or pointing out inaccuracies than actually listening.

Ruuude talks films.

Clerks 2 is a great film!

Grrrr...

The weather has improved here as the day has gone on. The (warm) wind has dropped to almost no air movement at all, a lot of the cloud cover has gone and it's pretty much constantly sunny. I've made another request to FP for a trip to the pub, but he has now got things to do... things that I would guess he knew about earlier and could have cried off then.

Now the thing is, despite us knowing each other for about twenty years, FP and I don't swap a lot of personal information. I know why I don't do it... it's because FP is one of those people that always has a witty retort about him. It's hard to get him into a so-called serious conversation. I was kinda hoping that tonight, in the pub, we could at least chat about RB (he was there that night). It wouldn't be that heavy... all he would need to know is that she has my number and that I want her to use it. From my initial ambivalence last week, I am now at a point where I do want her to call/text. I did quickly get to that point, though. If FP then asked questions to find out more, I'd be more than happy to answer them (as I do with any one else). But not tonight...

Malaise.

What has happened over the past week or so is that I've entered another 'unhappy' phase. I don't know if this is a direct response to hooking up with RB and subsequent impatient/hanging around waiting for a call or if this is just the normal cycle that I fall in to every now and again. However, I'd say that I am currently unhappy being single, that I am unhappy living at home and that my social life could be better (it's a nice day outside and I wish people were available to go out and do stuff rather than me sitting on my bed typing this up). I think the social and relationship issues might be inter-related actually. I think what it might be is simply a desire to be more social. Today, for example, I could be out at a cafe with friends or a girlfriend, chatting and generally chilling. This is what frustrates me most, I think. I like meeting up with people to chat, but that's been difficult over the past few years as more and more people settle down to start families and stuff.

There are fewer people around on MSN/Facebook too, so it's not as if there's a ready-made solution on the internet. People just move on and that's understandable. I snatch the odd conversation with R or A or USHW from time to time, but they're rarely online for various reasons.

The living situation is an ongoing thing... it's always there at the back of my mind, but when small apartments in reasonable areas of the city are going for at least £175,000, I'm never going to be able to afford that. That's a mortgage of about £1000 per month, which is way beyond my means. As I've said before, I don't want to rent, at least not in this city. Renting is dead money, unless there are extenuating circumstances. The only way I'd rent is if I knew the people I were renting with... a group of friends or (going back to the above point), a girlfriend.

Ho hum. I've texted FP to ask if he fancies a drink tonight. Typical form - he's being non-committal. "Maybe" is his reply. Thanks for making a decision, FP.

Talk is cheap

I still haven't had a reply from QC2 regarding meeting up, so I fired off a quick text to her on Friday. I still haven't had a reply, which is quite weird. QC2 is usually better/quicker at getting in contact than this. She was quite mysterious about her private life when I last emailed - she says things were "busy at home" and left it at that. I hope she's in contact soon... preferably this week. I want to get out of the house this week and do more stuff.

I also chatted to E earlier. As per usual, I never mentioned the ongoing situation with RB because I've no idea how to raise these issues in a conversation. It seems to happen naturally enough with A and USHW, but with people like QC2 or E, unless specifically asked, I don't know how to raise the subject in a normal conversation. It was nice to chat to her, though.

I also fired off an email to QC1 to see if she fancies some lunch this week. I should be able to talk to her about this... she ALWAYS asks about my love life!

Boys and Girls

I was at my sister's house today and my brother-in-law was asking if I'd heard from RB. I replied in the negative and said that if I hadn't heard by tomorrow night, that I'd have to assume she's simply not interested.

However, when telling the tale to R over MSN earlier today, she was of the opinion that it was futile waiting for contact over the past three days and it's only now that the window period is open for contact. She reckons that women will wait between three days and a week before contact. A week? Bloody hell!

The blokes seemed to agree with me... after all she's had my phone number for three days. The girls, however, are the opposite. Only now can I realistically expect a call/text.

I don't understand women.

Patience... or the lack thereof.

The pre-interview nervousness that I have been feeling for the past two days has faded... eventually. It has been replaced by a gnawing impatience and a desire that a line is drawn under this episode, but sadly, that line cannot be drawn by me, at least in the short term.

Somewhere in my head, I've made the decision that if I don't hear from RB by a certain point then it's safe to assume she won't be in contact at all. So far, I've had three "certain points": this evening, tomorrow evening and some time on Saturday.

Based on my assumptions that a) she did get the note I sent and that b) she got it last evening when she arrived home from work, these are the three time scales that make sense to me (although, admittedly, I am not a girl and so this logic is MAN LOGIC). I wasn't expecting anything sooner because there's a game to play... she can't appear too keen, so wouldn't have contacted me immediately. Plus, as A advised, she has friends to confide in, to ask advice from and to receive advice from. That, to me, gives her at least 24 hours to start the decision making process. However, I think the traditional game ploy is to wait at least three days before making contact which means, if this is the case, it'll be Saturday evening at the earliest and really, she's not going to call/text on Saturday evening, so then it's in to Sunday.

I had a strong gut feeling that tonight would be likely if she was interested and if she was keen on meeting up this weekend. Tonight is the latest she could be in contact before the weekend that would realistically enable me to make arrangements and not book myself out. (She doesn't know my social life is crap, obviously, but I do have plans this weekend). My gut feeling went so far as predicting that she would call or text between 9PM and 10PM because these are my rules for contacting people and the last cutoff is 10PM. This didn't happen, obviously. My gut feelings are reasonably accurate (6/10 is probably a good approximation), but not this time.

It's been a week since we initially hooked up, but as USHW pointed out, it took a few days for me to get a note together and another few days for it to be delivered. In terms of "time scales", it's only a day for her, but it's longer for me. Now I'm falling back to the other two time scales of tomorrow or some time on Saturday, but why I've got these days in my head isn't really based on logic at all, perhaps with the exception that these things do need sorted fairly quickly. The note implied that we go on a date, not necessarily a romantic date, but a date nonetheless. Even with the game to be played (not appearing too keen etc.), it's my opinion that her first contact needs to be made reasonably quickly, even if she replies positively and we don't actually meet up until next week.

If she's not interested and if that decision has been made, there's no harm in getting in contact now. I think the same can be said if she's only interested in a platonic friendship. Taking her time to make the right decision for her is a good thing and no news is probably good news with regards any romantic angle (as USHW wisely said), but there's a fine line between playing this game and hanging around for too long.

So now my patience (or lack thereof) is wearing thin. I do want to hear from her, though my note was left open and didn't explicitly ask for contact even if she wasn't interested. I'd hope that she'd consider last week's antics as an indication that I am interested in seeing her again and that the note does require a response in some shape or form and not to be ignored if she's not interested in meeting up again.

With regard to my opening paragraph, she can draw a line under this by contacting me... if she doesn't then I have to play the guessing game as to when "not in contact yet" turns into "not getting in contact at all".

Ho hum.

Bloody hell.

I'm not great at meeting new people. I never have been and I think it's been a real monkey on my back over the years. It really used to annoy FA2 who could never understand it, but she never saw me vomit because I was so nervous. Things like job interviews etc. are difficult, but there's nothing more difficult than meeting family and friends of people I'm close to. Fuck knows why.

E's birthday celebrations were a prime example. While I wasn't physically ill, I still had that nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach even though there was nothing to be nervous about. Meeting FA2's family and friends was exactly the same. I think the issue is that I have no confidence in my ability to start conversations and everything stems from that.

Things were different with USHW and A (to name but two examples) as I had "met" them over the internet where things were slightly different to actually standing in front of someone and having to be involved in a conversation. I've always been a much better listener than a talker.

Anyway, I've been a little nervous all day long because of the last week. It's not because RB's a potential girlfriend or a potential fuck or a potential friend... it's because she's someone new and I'll have to sit down with her and chat for a couple of hours and hopefully be funny or interesting enough that she'll want to do it again . Erk... no pressure, eh?

Dedicated to...

No matter what actually happens in the remainder of this week with RB, my thanks have to go to USHW and A, both of whom have offered advice and opinion on the situation.

USHW has been instrumental in me actually getting in contact and that, for me, has been a fairly big hurdle to overcome. Her feedback on my note as well as encouragement has been invaluable. So, USHW, thanks for that. I know you'll drop by here at some point and I wanted you to know that. Thank you.

A's contribution has been slightly different in that she's made me more positive about the fact that this girl might actually get in contact and that this might actually turn in to something interesting. I wobbled between abject negativity and illogical optimism during the course of the weekend, but A managed to ground me with some good observations based on her own experiences/mentality (it's not unfair to say that A can be quite negative herself about her own similar situations), but now I'm thinking that I will see this girl again under favourable circumstances. I have to thank A for that, but she doesn't know about the existence of this blog and I will tell her personally, but for the sake of this blog, thank you A.

The clock is ticking.

The note went in the post last night, which means it's now running around the system. Based on postal times, her work start times etc. I don't expect RB to actually get the note (assuming I've gotten all the details correct) until after work on Wednesday at the very earliest (and it's quite possible, with the public holiday delay in the mail, that it could be Thursday night), so any contact (if there is any) will unlikely to happen until nearer the end of the week.

Just get on with it already!

I'm probably making this a bigger deal than is necessary, but with my track record with women, these things ARE a big deal to me. I'm about to nip round to the shop for some envelopes and then I'll be double-checking the note, ready for posting. I'm happy with the wording, I already have a version on paper, but my pedantic nature wants me to re-write it to make it more legible, though I don't consider my handwriting to be that bad.

I'm also swaying between wild optimism and wild pessimism over the entire thing. I don't think there are any real reasons why I should feel either way, especially when I'm being fairly ambivalent about RB anyway.

I was at my sister's yesterday and they got some details of Thursday night's action. When asked if there would be a follow up, I let slip that RB had my number and it was in her hands. Of course, that's not strictly true right now, but will be if/when I post this note.

In the cold light of day...

I realise that the last post is a little bit of a mess in places. There was a lot I wanted to say and I couldn't get it all to flow, but I think I managed to say everything that I needed to say, if only to get things sorted in my own mind. That's mainly why I blog because, as I mentioned in my previous post, I don't socialise enough and so I can't talk these things through with QC1, QC2 or AM for example. USHW is a great help but sometimes I want more points of view, plus there's an element of me wanting my friends to know what's going on in my life. Sometimes I think they don't realise half of what goes on in between these infrequent meetings we have.

E was online earlier, but chatting to family again, then she suddenly disappeared and never returned. I dunno if I'd have talked this through with her. She seems little interested in my love/sex life, never really asking any questions and I tend not to bring stuff up unless directly asked about it. She doesn't know, for example, of my dalliances on holiday. Ah well... maybe QC2 will get in contact this week!

Re: Murphy's Law

From my previous post, I mentioned a girl, Recruitment Bird (or RB for brevity). Yes, that's right a real, live attractive girl. She made initial contact and we had a bit of banter for a while, until the barman had served her. As she left, she made a comment about asking her out. I dismissed this as just fooling around, but more on this later.

FP and myself chatted with a few other blokes we had met (FP's friends, naturally) and it looked like this girl was actually seriously interested. Regular readers will know by now that I'm fairly clueless with women, often only realising there's potential when it's far too late. Coming back from the bathroom, I noticed that this RB's table was empty. It seemed that she, and her friend, had gone. I nipped outside, away from the other blokes, to send USHW a text message as I'd been texting her that night, only to find this girl outside on her own, having a cigarette. So, I sent my message to USHW and got talking to RB.

I think RB was about to get a taxi home, but when I started talking to her, this seemed to change and she dragged me back inside to listen to the band. This is where things got weird. I bought her a drink and we settled into a couple of vacant chairs for a chat. I'm not sure how long we chatted... it was probably no longer than an hour or so. However, when I asked her about herself, she got very agitated and defensive, wanting to know why I was asking about her. RB had made various statements/questions about why I should get her phone number (despite having not asked for it) and also about how I wasn't getting “any” that night either. At points during the conversation, she accused me of hiding something (including continually checking to see if I were married), when I'd been nothing but honest with her until that point. There was at least one point, maybe two, where I got up to head back to FP and his friends because she was making life difficult. Attractive she might be, but at this stage, she was being very unpleasant. I don't think it was deliberate and she was incredibly drunk, but it wasn't nice.

As I stood up to leave, RB grabbed my hand and pulled me back down again, somewhat placated. Weird, huh? She even initiated some kissing shortly afterwards. We managed to continue the chat without further drama until closing when the bouncers kicked us out. We remained outside the pub as everyone else got taxis and went home or to other pubs. In fact, we were still there almost an hour later, snogging away like teenagers.

I suggested more than a few times that we should call a couple of cabs and get her home. I lived in the opposite direction and would require my own cab. Each time I did, she... ahem... attacked me with renewed vigour. Eventually though, RB caved in and agreed she should head home. She asked me if I would go home with her and I said that I would.

Back at hers, in the comfort of her living room and sofa, we engaged further kissing. Before too long though, she was started to fall asleep. Similarly to the pub, when I woke her to suggest she went to bed (and I got a cab), the snogging would start in earnest again. This time, the snogging did evolve into heavy petting and while I was enjoying this a lot, it was getting very late (or very early, depending on your viewpoint). After making the same suggestion a few times, RB eventually agreed to bed, asking me to stay over. Again, I said that I would.

She led me upstairs to a rather bare looking room where we got into bed (fully clothed) and resumed our heavy petting. When she started to doze, I let her and she fell asleep while we were wrapped around each other. I'm terrible for not sleeping in my own bed and especially after something like this, so I think I got about 30 mins of sleep in total. True to her word, there was no sex. I never pushed for any, either, if I'm being perfectly honest, though I did enjoy myself a lot and the cuddling was very pleasant indeed. I'm a man of simple pleasures. Oh, and there was the added point in that I might have wanted to see her again. While fucking on the first meeting isn't necessarily going to stop that from happening again, you can't tell with some women and I played it safe. Despite the fact she clearly was extremely horny, I never pushed any boundaries and let her dictate what was "allowed", which is why it remained heavy petting rather than full on sex. All clothes remained on at all times, although hands did wander under the clothes from both parties.

The next morning, RB had to get up for work, so when the alarm went the first time she snoozed it for a while and we cuddled and dozed until she could postpone it no further and had to get ready for work. When she was ready, I got up and she gave me a lift into the town centre where I could get a taxi or a bus home. I must admit, she looked rather fine in her work clothes... possibly better than she had the night before. I must have been a mess though. Urgh.

So, that all seems straightforward. Obviously, it's not because yours truly can be a Muppet with women. Unlike many instances before (Kiwi Girl, for example), I remembered about contact details, but I was in two minds about whether it would be worth it, given our initial hour or so of conversation. Things went a lot smoother after that obviously because there was only snogging/petting rather than conversation, but still there were some small things that really didn't fit that, while unimportant on their own, all added up to something that simply didn't sit right – pieces of conversation, things I noticed about her house etc. That was offset by the fact that she's extremely attractive and, from the twenty minutes or so of conversation the next morning, seems quite interesting.

So, as I said, I was in two minds. When we went our separate ways, I didn't ask for a number. Having pondered this for a day or so, I realise this was a mistake, so I'm planning on getting in contact during the next week to give her my number and see if she's interested in, well, something. I'm not even sure she's relationship material, but I'd like to see what she's like sober. With any luck, she's not like that person I met the other night for the first hour and we can see what develops... friendship, romance, whatever. To be perfectly honest, anything. It's a no lose situation. I can gain a friend (see my New Year's post) or a girlfriend (ditto) or she doesn't use my number (nothing changes). And you know, I think I'm being quite upbeat about this. There are still one or two grey areas that concern me... she seemed, I dunno, embarrassed the next morning on the way into the town centre. I'm not sure if that's because she doesn't normally pick up men in pubs and take them home or if she knew that she had been harsh the previous night. She said that she was single and I've no reason to doubt her. During the evening, she seemed quite keen that this wouldn't be a one off (she never said as much, but she did mention me getting her number quite a bit), but in the morning, further contact wasn't mentioned. I'm in two minds here. She was very vocal the previous evening about how sexy I was etc. so I'm kind of concerned that it was simply a case of alcohol-induced horniness, just as I've posted about before here. I'll have to see what happens next week and hope that, like myself, even if she isn't looking for anything in particular, that she's at least inquisitive enough to meet again.

Murphy's Law

I ended up in the pub last night, with FP. It was Murphy's Law, really. Out of my usual pre-pub routine, there was no shower, no shave etc. just a quick change of shirt and a splash of deoderant. So, being a little scruffy in the pub, I attracted the attention of a really pretty blonde girl who I will christen "Recruitment Bird".

There's more to it (lots more), and I will blog about this at a later time/date, but I couldn't help thinking about the irony of the situation.

Out and about.

I was in the pub tonight with QC1 and AM. This is the first night out I've had with just the two of them in god knows how long... at least six years. Anyway, they were probing me about my social life and my recent travels and unlike E, they know to ask questions, which they proceeded to do.

So, they got a few stories... my two dalliances on holiday, the one that got away and E. They were very interested in my relationship with E. QC1 asked if I wanted to kiss her. This was just teasing, but there was a serious question behind the words. My answer? Sometimes yes, mostly no. It's the kind of conversation I can't have when their husbands are around. I dunno... I'm just not that comfortable opening up when there are other blokes present.

Still nothing from QC2 though.

The four beer buzz...

...has just been poured. Sadly, while that buzz is great, it'll be wasted cos I've no-one to talk to. A, F, and USHW have all made comments on how much they enjoy talking to me when I have this buzz on. Well, F and USHW more than A, but A's a big fan too.

Yay!

I was speaking to E a few hours ago and I was pleasantly surprised to see that she was wearing the jewellery that I had bought her as a pressie a few years back. I've not seen her wearing it before and had always assumed it wasn't to her taste, so it was nice to see that my previously assumed excellent resent buying skills were intact.

Go me!

Moving forward.

It's been a slow, albeit fairly enjoyable week. Work has trundled along and has *touch wood* been quite good and that should continue into next week. I've gotten some peace and quiet this week as the 'rents have pissed off on holiday. I've not really taken advantage of that, really, apart from a frivolous invite to E last week to come back for drinks after the pub (which she declined when she found out I had no mixers in the house). It's strange really, because I usually have a good run of "form" when I have the house to myself (not that I bring a lot of girls back here at that time).

I've also made some slight adjustments to my finances that will enable me to pay off my debts slightly quicker, too. When that's all done, I can start, really start, to save for a mortgage... assuming I can afford a house that is with the current house prices.

My recent travelling has left me somewhat restless, I think. Well, there's that, E's recent visit home and the ongoing issue with work. I've been considering my options this week, but I'm still fairly aimless. I have made tentative steps in three directions: looking for a new position within my current employer, considering foreign employment and increasing my marketability by taking a class or two at evening classes next year.

So, things are looking forward, if not upwards!