Ups, Downs, and Downs

Submitted by Tom:

Angela was a student loan officer at my college.  She was just a couple of years older than I was, and we met as a result of my stopping into the financial aid office to check on my loan status.

The first time I met up with her, we joked around a bit and spoke more about each other than about my loans.  Because I thought she was cool, I made another appointment to see her next week.  I didn't want to waste her time, but I figured it would be obvious why I had opted to meet with her again.

Sure enough, at our second meeting, our words went from platonic to flirtatious in a hurry, and I asked her if she wanted to hang out after work one day.

She took my hand and pulled it close to her and said that she'd love to.

Fast forward to our date, it became one of the strangest, most uncomfortable experiences of my life.  The perfect encapsulation was if we were walking, she'd take my hand.  Just when I'd give her hand a squeeze, she'd drop my hand for no reason and keep walking.  Why take my hand in the first place, if you're not going to hold it?  That's small.  There's more.

At dinner, I said, "You're very pretty."

"And you're very handsome," she replied, making me feel great for a second before finishing, "A lot of guys who go to this school are cute."

Here's another one: she traced her fingers up my arm before saying, "I can see us getting really close.  Like a brother and sister.  A brother and sister who don't have sex."

At one point, I had to clarify, "This is a date, right?"

She said, "I don't know.  Is it?"

I told her that I thought that it was.  Didn't she?  Her response was a shrug. 

I didn't know what to make of it at first, but then convinced myself that maybe she was just taking it slow, and that she didn't like the idea of labeling things.  I could understand that.

Until after dinner, when we took a short walk around campus.  We stopped and sat down on a bench by a fountain.  She looked at me and said, "I'll bet that you're an amazing kisser."

Thinking this a transparent cue, I went in for it.  She laughed and pushed me away.  She asked, "What are you doing?"

I said, "Showing you that I'm a good kisser."

She said, "Slow down there, cowboy.  We're just friends."

I had enough of her mixed messages.  Maybe she was confused, and she had every right to be.  However, that sort of hot-and-cold behavior wasn't what I was looking for, so I walked her back to her car and called it a night.

I drove my own separate way, and received a text from her about 20 minutes later.  It read, "Are you still on campus?  I'm possibly reconsidering that kiss idea."

I didn't respond, as I was possibly reconsidering going to bed, waking up, having breakfast, and finding a woman who wouldn't "possibly reconsider" anything.