Date 20

As I was putting money in a meter at a local coffee shop, I thought, "Why in the hell am I doing this to myself?"  It's tough going on these dates.  It takes energy.  And if I were actually looking for a man, I'd probably have more drive.  But I made this bed, and off I was to lie in it.

Ernest was already sitting outside as I approached.  He's a broad African American fellow.  Not fat.  Broad.  He towered over me and gave me a big ole bear hug.  I'm not much of a hugger, so as I pulled away, I realized the hug was not over, according to Ernest.  This is always fun for me.

One thing that impressed me about Ernest was that he had not yet purchased his beverage.  He was waiting for me so he could buy mine as well.  Point for Ernest.  He then came back with a cookie and demanded me to eat half of it.  A food pusher.  Point taken away.

Ernest is an intelligent fellow.  How do I know this?  1)  He was the first man on pof.com who understood subject/verb agreement.  2)  He kept up with me and contributed to the conversation.  3)  He told me so more than once.

Ernest talks loudly.  Sweetheart, but a loud one.  I kept answering all of his questions in a whisper, hoping he'd imitate me at some point, but no.  The good news is that everyone at The Coffee Bean knows what he does for a living.

Back-and-forth, back-and-forth, the details are not important, but Ernest is an aggressive fellow.  Not Lifetime movie aggressive, but he puts it on the table quite quickly.  He told me more than once that I was beautiful, which is sweet.  However, I have to say that too many accolades make me uncomfortable.  What am I supposed to say?  "You too?"  He also said that I was prettier than my picture, which I've heard before.  This makes me think I take crappy pictures.

Towards the end of the evening, Ernest asked if he could see me again because he wasn't "looking for friends.  That's what Facebook is for."  Ugh.  I don't like the end of the date pop quiz.  I need to go home and marinate.  I need more of a dance.  Why must I answer this question RIGHT NOW?

The best part is what he wanted to do on the second date.  Horseback riding.  You read that correctly.  Two hours, in the daylight, no libation (again!), on a horse.  I told him that I'd have to think about that as I was thrown off a horse as a kid and horseback riding did not seem like the kind of thing I'd be up for on a 2nd date.  Of course, this later made me giggle when I was re-hashing the night with Sash.  What if I did that with every date I was asked on?  "Coffee?  Can't.  My mother was brutally scalded with coffee when I was in high school.  I could not bare to be in a coffee house.  You understand."

In other news, Teacher and I are like 2 ships passing in the night.  I texted him whilst at work that I had received his message.  He texted me before my date to ask if we could talk.  I text back that I was meeting a friend and asked if I could call afterward.  He said yes, but he may be out at some point.  I called after my coffee date and Teacher didn't answer.

And so we wait.