I agreed to meet Ben for coffee tonight in the hopes that I totally miscued his signals.

I brought a book to Starbucks with me because, frankly, the thought of being stood up is vivid in my mind. I was immersed in my book when Ben called to apologize for being late. He promised an explanation when he arrived. Ben presented me with a single red rose upon his arrival. He then explained that he was late because he was cooking up a gourmet lunch for me to take to work tomorrow.

I was 1) flabbergasted 2) amused 3) flattered. I have never had a man do that for me. Not even ex-hub in the early days of wine & roses between us did he do that.

I can almost hear the marriage proposal. My bones sense it coming. What is it about me that makes men who barely know me want to propose? He wants to spend every waking moment with me, wants us to speak each night before we go to bed....you, my dear blogger friends, can almost see the tire marks I will be leaving as I move to another state.

My plan is to send him an email tomorrow and try to salvage this rapidly deteriorating (in my mind) situation. I intend to set the boundary that we can be friends, we can spend a SMALL amount of my free time together, but that is it. I kept telling him that my free time was shrinking by the minute with two new clients signing on each week and my masters program, but what he heard must have sounded like this, "I have nothing to do EVER, so yes, please come move into my apartment with me and let us never part company." I am almost nauseous at the thought. I told a friend this week that I thought I was going to end up being sixty, alone with bitchy SassyKat to keep me company rather than in the company of my near-dream man. *sigh* will all the components ever be present in one man?

And for the record, Utenzi, Mr. C will never ever ever score another date with me. He blew it.

Labels: dating hell