Wow.

Earlier this evening, I had my date with J, the cute blonde mentioned in the last two posts. (Side note: It seems I know a lot of people who have 'J' as their first initial.) I was a little apprehensive this morning, because she IM'ed me and said that she'd realized Monday night that she's not quite over the effects of breaking up with her ex-boyfriend, and didn't think she was ready to date right now. Me, being Mr. Flexible, countered with the notion that for me, we'd have to start out as friends to begin with, and as long as we weren't totally shutting the door on her and I dating, I was cool with just hanging out. After which, I asked her if she was free to hang out tonight.

So, we had our Not-A-Date at a local sports bar/restaurant. I procured us some billiard balls and a couple of drinks, and we proceeded to talk for over an hour without even racking up the balls. Damn, she's cute. Tall, feminine, and utterly cute. She was telling me she can get up an hour before she needs to be at work because she doesn't fuss with hair or makeup. And yet, wow! We're pretty similar, it turns out. Our musical tastes aren't really all that well aligned, but she doesn't listen to anything I absolutely can't stand. She's an engineer, but not one of the socially-retarded kind (I view myself as a high-functioning social retard). So far (on the evidence of two games of 8-ball), she's better than me at pool, though she seems cursed to scratch on the 8-ball, so I technically won both games. Since I left at least three balls on the table each time, I have to count those as victories for her.

She said she had to leave by around 8:00 to do some work for a relative, so at around 7:00 I suggested we have dinner in the restaurant portion of the bar. We talked all through dinner. I don't think I've ever felt as immediately at ease conversationally with someone. I take that back...there was a girl in college, A, who I had a similar rapport with. Interestingly enough, A is the first woman I seriously proposed to, even knowing she'd turn me down (given that she was engaged to another fellow at the time). A's been married for like 15 years now, with two little girls, so I guess she made an okay choice.

I know I'm getting ahead of myself, and I'm probably setting up for a fall, but I really like this girl. I'm enchanted, entranced, enraptured...and my ex-wife felt the need to call my cel phone THREE TIMES during dinner before finally just leaving a message. To my credit, I didn't take any of the calls, and it was no big damn deal, but S just can't seem to stand me not being where she thinks I should be. Hell-OOOOO, we're divorced, and I didn't know about her new boyfriend until the week he moved in with her, so I really don't feel the need to be where S thinks I should be all the damn time.

We ended up being so engrossed in talking that we lost track of time a bit, and didn't end up leaving unti 8:30. I told her I had a great time, and was really looking forward to hanging out again, and we parted.

And now, the analytical portion of my brain will have a go, listing possible incompatibilities:

• She seemed interested that I grew up Catholic, but didn't make any comment other than that. Of course, it came up in the context of me coming from a large family, and she said her second guess would have been Mormon, so maybe it's just a stereotype thing. I didn't quiz her on her religion, but since she's a Texas girl, born and raised, my guess is probably Southern Baptist.
• I am eleven years older than she is. Not necessarily a problem, as she seems to have a history of dating older men (what brief history I got).
• I have a 10-year-old daughter. Again, she seemed interested the few times that Daughter came up conversationally, and didn't seem at all fazed by it, so maybe a non-issue.
• She might have assumed I was trying to get a peek down her blouse while we were playing. I was really doing everything I could to avoid that impression, focusing on the target pocket rather than her while she lined up shots, etc., but the top she was wearing was...generously cut. Certainly a desirable view, but she might have assumed I was focusing there, rather than getting accidental glances.
• I may seem too "into" her to be trusted to stay "just friends" until she decides she's ready to date again. Not that I made it a secret, though I think she knows she's attractive. I did tell her that in my opinion, the difference between "hanging out" and a "date" at this point was whether I'd try to kiss her at the end of the evening. (No, I did not. Wanted to REALLY REALLY bad, but didn't even do a "test lean-in".)

Okay, enough from the Critic. I'm calling this one a Win, and I'm very much inclined to keep playing.