The games we play

I've just gotten home from a date. It was a nice night, with a nice guy who seemed to click with me. Wednesday night is a strange night to be meeting up for drinks, but we had fun and the night really only ended because he had to catch his mus home. It's even more strange, in many ways. I'm sick of the games that go on with dating. I played this one straight down the line, not fudging anything, not holding anything back if it came out in the general run of conversation. It will be interesting to see how it pans out, in some ways. Perhaps painful in others. Because this guy was genuinely a nice guy. He seemed to be open and honest as well, a gentleman in the traditional sense of the word (holding doors open, offering to pay, not pushing any point beyond courtesy). I liked him and would like to see him again. So I didn't play any games. Told him it would be good to do this again at the end of the night. But it feels like that was too much. Why?

How is it that telling the truth about such things can scare people away? I would like to see him again, to find out more. I have the sense that perhaps he'd like to see me again. He certainly said so and, unless he was playing a game as well, we might. But what if he was playing by the rules when i had thrown them out? Am I going to be left wondering again? And how long is it right to be left wondering for? Oh, I know all the rules for when you've been on a date on the weekend...if you don't hear anything by Wednesday, it's too short notice to be free on the weekend and all of that. I know Wednesday is the traditional day for making the weekend arrangements. but I already know that he's busy on the weekend. And our date was on a Thursday. What are the rules for mid-week dating, other than not getting too drunk to turn up at work the next day?

And just as importantly,many of my friends are on the other side of the world, blissfully unaware of - or ignoring - the fact that I want to dissect and discuss what happened. I want to go over every nuance of the conversation, every piece of information that was shared. Every detail of his life that he gave away. But those of them who do know that I've been out - a select few, it seems, given how many are away on holidays or have been out of contact since the arrangement was made this time last week - are either out of contact or unresponsive. I've just been on a good date in adverse circumstances (note to self: never wear new shoes on a date. Second item, never wear high heels in icy conditions in the morning and expect an unscathed ankle come nightfall). I want to know what other people think of the fact that he was waiting until the latest moment he could be certain that his bus would still be there waiting for him after he said good night to me. I want to hear their thoughts on his let's do this again sometime. I need to know if they think it was a mistake to send a 'thanks for a good night' text when I got home, given that there's been no response. But they're not there. So I can't tell for myself if abandonning the rules I'v eplayed to date was a good idea or not. I guess I'll just have to do what every other girl on the face of the earth, including earlier incarnations of myself, have done, and what it out. I just hope he gets in touch, because he seems like he might be worth the effort, so far. Meh, who can really tell after a first date???