The story didn’t end on the 24th. I just got super busy. Yes, busier than a date per night. Linus is here now and work has really picked up. I will gather my thoughts, soon, and update you on the fun. Dates have been in their early 30’s, mid 60’s. Oh and I got ghosted last night by a really cool guy. Sort of “Mr DC” in popularity. Imagine that! ME… GHOSTED.

Chris and I were supposed to go to the Lions Redskins game n Sunday – he bought tickets and everything. But he really didn’t want to go. So I said I would find someone. I didn’t. Booooooo

We had a great breakfast at a French pastry shoppe then went to Whole Foods to get items for my new apartment. We walked to my new place, just two blocks from WF. He helped me unpack the groceries and the 10 shipping boxes that were waiting for me at the door. LOL – my older son helped me with Amazon ordering and many of the items were delivered.

SJ texted asking if I would see him to pick up some of my stuff from his apartment. I was busy – as I typically am. I threw poor L under the bus and offered to have her pick up my belongings from SJ since they lived relatively close together. Lets just say that “taking a bullet for me” is an understatement. I just looked at my phone and she called around 12:30 and we talked for 40 minutes about what a creep he is. I owe her big time. Chris knew that L was going there and said next time he would do it (pray for no next time). He wanted me to call him to let him know that L was safe. What a great guy. Not one of my friends can believe that I gave SJ so much time. Chris thanks him for being an idiot tho! lol

I was texting Kevin for a while. Our schedules never seemed to jive. I asked him to the Lions game but he was at brunch. He asked for a date later in the evening and I agreed.

He ubered to Bethesda, since it was close to me. He’s from Tysons. He picked a sports bar because my profile said that I enjoy them… I do. (I appreciate that guys do read profiles!)

He’s tall and in good shape. Bald but not old looking bald. Really nice smile. He wore nice-fitting jeans, brown leather casual boots, a striped long sleeve shirt with a thin, white golf pullover on top.

He was really easy to talk with and shared that he’s part of a family business of nursery and landscapers with four locations in Virginia. I had my one drink then decided for one more since I’d been there a while and was enjoying his company.

Being Sunday, I decided it was time to leave. He asked if he could walk me to my car – you know the streets of Bethesda can be scary (lol!!). I agreed. To my surprise he really was just walking me to my car. Gave me a great hug and told me how good I smelled. Opened my door and I jumped in. I opened the window and told him to get in. Not sure what he was thinking I was offering but boy did he hustle! My offer was a ride to Tysons. No make-out sesh. It was a nice ride and he talked a lot about where he was taking me next. Ummmm… he doesn’t know about one and done.

He called later, to make sure that I made it home. Then he facetimed to double make sure. Then he texted to let me know that we ARE going on a second date. Kevin. Kevin. Kevin.

I got a late start on Saturday. Rosy and I decided that, since I didn’t go to Philly this weekend as planned, we would hit Georgetown. It was fun! We walked around, go nervous about parking, shopped and had lunch. She’s a fabulous hostess and knows her way around Georgetown. It was a fun morning.

Chris came over around 3:30. We had a lot of fun. We found what I will call an “old guy” cigar shop. They were a blast and I promised to go back. Since I was CLEALY both the youngest and a female I had to ask – can I stay? They laughed and said something like – we beg women to come but they always leave. Maybe it’s the smoke or maybe it’s this guy here (joking about a friend there). LOL. I said it’s likely you and walked in. They were a hoot. It was like being in someones living room, but bigger. They closed at 8 – the owner – Remington – likes to go to bed early and since it’s his shop, he closes then. Sounds reasonable!

Chris and I were just getting started with our Saturday and decided to go to Old Town Alexandria. We had a particular store in mind to visit but they didn’t have what we wanted to we ended up back at 219. The cigar level had old school rock band. It was a ton of fun but no dancing. We wrapped it up early on Saturday – maybe midnight. The rest, as they say, is history.

OK – truth be told. Not hot. Jason is the Chief Intelligence Officer for a big travel company. He was very nice and accommodating. On the rubenesque side, to be sure. I wanted to go to a Wizards game that he asked me out to. So he won a golden ticket and got a date.

I agreed for drinks with Jason but L wanted to hang out on the same night so I told him that we could only get drinks. He was really bummed, thinking he finally got a great date. Then, L offered to tag along on the date. Jason happily agreed! He said aloud, I know this is a dream, but lets get a picture so I can tell the story that I want to tell to my buddies. We agreed it was ok. He said his dream date was Diane Lane, too, so I printed out her photo and brought her on the date. He never tried to kiss me or anything like that. I could tell he wanted to and my experience with men with a lot of money is that they usually think they own everything – even women (guessing in some cases they do). We had fun (maybe L and I had fun) and following the game decided to head out into the city. Jason knew this was where he had to part company. He asked me out again and wondered if it could be just the two of us. LOL!!! I think he knows there will be no second date. As I have said before – nice guy… for someone else.

After L convinced me to get on Bumble, I changed around my dates to accommodate a new flock of men. It was easy, and my first date was something else.

His name is John. 58. ATTORNEY!!! I told him that I swore off of attorneys and wouldn’t date them so he said it wasn’t a date. We could call it something else! He works for the Securities and Exchange Commission and takes the metro everyday to Union Station. He has the most amazing blue eyes, a sparking smile, a kind heart, a runner, divorced with no kids, veteran. He is an animal lover; raises and rides horses. His outfit was nothing to write home about. Baggy jeans and a nice, light blue, button down shirt that looked great with his eyes.

We had really good conversation right off the bat. He picked out a dive bar, based on my profile saying it was a preference. He was a true gentleman and stuck to my one drink policy, which he carefully ordered the minute I sat down. It was an orange infused wheat beer that we both thought tasted similarly to Shock Top. We lingered over the beer as both seemed to not want the date to end. Then he said “I have wine back at my place.” Didn’t work for the prison guy – for sure worked for John. I drove since he walked.

He lives pretty nicely in a cool loft in Arlington. He’s very tidy and had some nice pieces of furniture and art.

I went to the bathroom and when I came out he had two stemless glasses, each filled with a perfect amount of merlot, each glass wading in its own bowl of warm water. Ummmm… ??? He explained that he opened the bottle earlier and worried that it would “fall apart” at room temp so he put it in the fridge. He wanted to get it to the perfect drinking temperature. Warming it a bit that way was beyond sweet. Adorable even. I think that may be the moment “it happened”. I wanted to date him again. Like, real date. Dress up. Nervous energy. Shopping for an outfit kind of date. 100% against my rules as this was supposed to be harmless fun.

He complimented me. Made fun of himself. Didn’t say one word about his ex. Didn’t blather on about nonsense. We had intelligent conversations about politics, botox, dating, transportation, travel, animals – horses in particular as they are a passion for him.

Like the others, he texted me this morning. Unlike the others it didn’t say “great date or good morning sexy or when can I see you again?” Instead “I’m seriously dragging this morning. But glad it isn’t raining on my way to work!” Taken aback I screen captured and sent to my friend John, for the male perspective and L for the female perspective. In a strange twist they both seemed to agree: a positive that he texted and take it as he wanted to communicate. One difference, L asked he to set her up with his tall rich friends! I will surely try!

Let’s see if I get asked out on a second date. I hope so.

Jay, the ever optimist, messaged me asking how the date went, hoping it “went south” and that he could “comfort me”! I told him it was awesome and that I was not in need of breaking the glass for an emergency booty call. He said that he would keep trying. I have no doubt.

I was lucky to lure L away from Crofton to lunch with me in my hood. We met at Whole Foods and bought waters and shrimp. Being classy, we found chairs (I found a chair, L redecorated the WF lounge until she found a chair that suited her) opened the box, scarfed right there.

We had great conversation about life, work, exercise, eating right, and dating (of course). She convinced me to get back on Bumble… so last night, I did. Nice!

We looked through the lineup of scheduled dates. Travis was supposed to be my date for this evening but L didn’t like his body and told me that I had to dump him. So, I did. He, like the others, didn’t take it laying down and sent a few funny replies. Being me, I screen captured them and sent them to “Heartless L who crushed his spirit like a big”. HA!

Following the shrimp cocktail, L and I romped around the city taking photos at Tiffany’s, Sax, a gorgeous furniture store, and by a really pretty tree. It was lunchtime, we ate so naturally a walk was called for to get some energy back. Window shopping never hurt anyone and I started my Christmas wish-list. Any guy wanting to impress me can contact L for ideas! 😀

This deletion of Travis created an opening so I contacted the wait list. I texted Reinaldo, the realtor, first since he has been sending sweet texts. He was getting his hair cut but asked if we could meet later. I put a pin in the idea and moved on to Jay, aka FWB, who begged to hook up. After a virtual slap we bantered about my night and I decided he could get in on my fun so I told him about the candidates. Up next was Mark – a senior partner at a law firm. He facetimed me but we ended up not meeting. He was too far away and I was getting hangry. Plus, Mark starts EVERY text with Good morning sexy (good evening, good afternoon) and I’m getting tired of the lack of lawyer creativity. Tony, a GM of a nice restaurant asked me out to several places but couldn’t get there until 8pm. WTF!? I will keep him on the list for another time.

Enter Boston4849. He was really cute and had a banging body… I mean banging. So much so that it deserved a share to L. She said she would date him for sure so I agreed. L, my personal detective, was dubious of the body shot and ran it through some photo website called tineye.com to see how many times it showed on the internet. Not to her surprise, the body shot was fake. I told him I knew it was fake, sent him the web address. He said the face and “dressed body” were all him and we should still meet. Um, no. Blocked. OF NOTE: he was really good looking. Not sure why the fake body shot. Well, he’s clearly lacking in some area.

Sooooooo – hungry, I went to Roti with Rosy. John called me (aparantly he has been feeling neglected and has opted to charge me for his time – lol), Rosy, and I talked on the walk but the elevator posed a challenge so I hung up on John. SHIT – I forgot to call him back! Got a really nice bowl but had poor service. I won’t be back. By the time I got back to Rosy’s, I had calls from all the guys. Oh shit, I forgot to list Rosy and John in my headline.

Chris, still believing that I don’t eat, asked for a photo of the food when he called. Ha!

I said goodnight to Chris, finished dinner, started and finished my Bumble, heard a ping. SHIT REINALDO!!! His haircut was done and he was ready to meet. HAHAHA! Oops. Rosy said I should go but I was now doing laundry. He was once again, shelved.

The day was really odd – starting with an overpriced hair day. Dusty, who I rescheduled, again didn’t reply quickly enough for me so I had to cut him lose… again. He really didn’t like that and let me know. I blocked him.

Chris had been texting cute things all day and asked if he could take me to dinner. He thinks that Im not eating anymore (I’m not, really since I bought this cute black dress that needs my curves in the right places). We went to a chinese place by my apartment. The sushi was amazing but it’s loaded with carbs so I backed off. The steamed veggies were tasty as was the white meat General Tso’s, not fried chicken. As always he looked amazing. Thin, soft black leather jacket, cut perfectly. Indigo jeans and a french cuff white shirt. He brought me a rare pair of Ray Ban sunglasses as a gift. I thanked him and we walked to his car. That was about 8:30pm.

David reached out and wanted to meet. I thought – what the heck… it’s early. I agreed to drive about an hour to Baltimore and meet him at “R House”, a really cool bar with an artsy vibe. Last call was about 5 minutes from when we sat down so we ordered, quickly, gulped, decided to find another place.

David is the head of IT for the prison system in DOJ. A big job. I kept reminding him that he couldn’t accidentally let all of the federal prisoners out because he was hung over. Or, if he did, that he couldn’t blame me! Ha!

He’s 5’7″ and not bad looking but sort of forgettable. Great teeth and nice eyes. He claimed an athletic build but I’d say more slender. Nail biter tho. He drank only IPA’s and by his third, he was feeling it. We closed three bars before midnight. I guess that part of town needs it’s rest.

He said that he had a bottle of wine at his apartment which was the exact moment that I said I was going home. Sorry, David but Elle Jay don’t play. He texted me twice on the ride home and once this morning already. He too is a catch, for someone else but I did have fun and it’s good to have friends in high places.

Jay and I have been chatting for a while. He’s really funny is a New Jersey sort of way. He makes “what kind of 45 year old guy does…” jokes (in reference to SJ). My side hurt from laughing one night. Jay doesn’t drink and loves yoga. He’s filthy and crude. I assumed it was joking but it turns out he wanted FOB. I’m opposed to that and texted him a Dear John. He immediately texts back – “Break glass in case of sever booty call emergency. I’ll come with Hendricks and tonic.” I replied great idea and we started joking again. Funny thing is that I bet we become real friends and I tell him about my adventures.

Enter Reinaldo – an area realtor. Taking my chances with a realtor, I know, but the housing in this are is nuts so I assume he does ok. We agreed to meet at 7:30pm but traffic was killing the vibe. He kept wanting to push it back until I said we could reschedule. It’s looking like January unless he wants to be on the wait list. Didn’t ask.

Fred has been on the radar for some time and I scheduled this Thursday for him. Since I had nothing to do, I told him he was not on deck anymore but get to the plate. I was on speaker phone and Rosy was listening to the conversation. It was funny as he was nervous but excited. We opted to go to BJ’s in Tysons. I didn’t mind the drive – again, escape route coupled with learning the area.

Fred is in international telecom and contracts with the government. Sounded exciting and he seems to really enjoy his job. He’s tall with a distinct chin and athletic body. Dr. D (my sister by the way) thought he looked Italian. I didn’t ask, but will. He is a good dresser but I could help him improve as it was on the baggy side. He was really playful in text but was noticeably nervous when we met. He asked if he was being punked because he never met anyone like me in online dating. I hear that a lot and would LOVE to know what the hell that means.

He likes really nice things – restaurants, bourbon, cigars, travel. He really wants to impress me and was giving me crazy fun options if I was willing to keep the Thursday date. I told him I have a strict (except for hot Chris) one date policy and they are typically on the waaaay innocent side. He mentioned helicopter tours, holding a wind machine for me when I enter rooms, sending flowers, even waiting for the cable guy while I was at a spa. HA! I told him yes to Thursday but I may get a sever case of appendicitis if it’s lame. He said “wait, what if I don’t feel like going after tonight?” I said ok – plenty more of you where you come from. He nervously laughed and said absolutely wants to spoil me. Good. Thursday is a go. Look out DC – I have a feeling we are taking over.

I decided that I would ride the metro, for the first time, by myself. I was headed to DC to a cool spot called Open City. It’s described as a restaurant by chefs, for chefs. I got on the metro and was only supposed to take three stops to get to my destination. Then, we all had to get off. The trains were down and I had to get on a bus and figure out how the heck I was going to find this place! Luckily everyone was nice, helpful, and in a good mood.

I found the place, and Paul. He was dressed in a very J Crew look. Layered button down with a cashmere sweater over and taupe slacks. Paul is an Urban Planner and sort of looked the part.

We both got the same thing – water and huevos rancheros. It was really good. Our conversation was a bit forced but he was passionate about his work, transportation, why the metro was down, and helpful with things I should know. He paid, we hugged, that was it. He’s a catch – for someone else.

Chris didn’t want last night to stop and I didn’t either. So we decided to go to Ocean City. Our dive down was a lot of fun. Great conversation, listened to swing music, and I let him smoke his cigar in my car. He was stunned and very happy. I joined him with my Blondie.

He took me to a place that looked like Chuck-e-Cheese. He saw my face and said “trust me, you will love the food and have fun”. He was right. While the screaming kids were playing on one side, the bar and restaurant side was really nice. Our food was out of this world. We talked about playing games. Basketball shooting, skeet ball but I was looking good and didn’t want to exert energy. We decided to go to a bar where there was dancing and stayed for about two hours. I ended up getting sweaty after all. It’s dancing! And FINALLY a guy who took me dancing!

Thats all the update you get. 🙂

SUNDAY: I dropped him off at his car around 2pm the following day. (Did I mention that I drove? I needed to be sure I could scram if I needed to.)

Went to my sister and brother-in-laws house (Dr. D and Dr. S) and made cookies till 8pm. I’m guessing they will appear, as guest roles similar to John and L, in future posts.

Went out to play pool with L and may have shared some details with her. I didn’t exactly play pool. I took photos of her and updated her Bumble. Seemed like more fun plus my manicure was on point.

Where to start, where to start.

Hot chocolate indeed. He looked like he stepped right out of the Ralph Lauren look book for fall. Plaid cap, Tom Ford glasses, beige cable knit sweater (he is really well built and the sweater was a bit snug in all the right places), dark jeans, brown belt and boots that were flat leather with high shine. He smelled amazing and had a manicure. Small diamond earring rounded out the look.

Everything that I looked forward to went even better than I expected. The venue was a good choice for sure. So good that I have told a few people about it and they are making plans to go. Top floor is a fine French restaurant with several side rooms for parties of varying sizes. Middle level, where we were for most of the night, a nice cigar bar with live music. The band was AMAZING! We were up dancing for most of the night.

I hadn’t eaten all day so I ordered Chesapeake Chicken. It was soooooooo good. Chris is really into fitness and clean eating so he didn’t join me. I must have looked like a crazy person because I practically licked the plate. Good thing because I was also enjoying Hendricks and soda – a nice food base is key. He doesn’t drink so I felt obligated, for the bartenders job security, to cover both of us. His vice is expensive cigars. He was really polite when I told him that i like Acid Blondies. He was really nice about everything, in fact. He bought me a pile of them and I think that I smoked 4. If you havent had one, it’s like smoking candy and tastes like it too. A sweet aftertaste on the lips doesn’t hurt! 😉

We met this friendly trio of folks who plunked down next to me. It turned out that they were from Detroit! The lady’s sister is very, very ill. They were taking a break from the hospice to unwind. They did seem to have fun. We hugged and said that we would remember her in our prayers. Oddly, it was not as sad as it feels now, typing this. They had come to terms with what was happening and were ready for the next step. Since I just went through it, I know what they are going through.

After the band stopped at 1:30am we decided to head down to the basement. OMG!!! It was like a 1987 night club. Music and all! It was small, packed, high energy, dark but with glow lights. It was so much fun to dance to that music after being in a jazz club earlier. Perfect!

At about 2am I remembered that i had a 45 minute drive ahead of myself. That SHOULD HAVE caused me to leave. Alas, we walked to the water to look at the boats. Let’s go with that.

I then had to remember where I parked my car. Lucking I always take a photo of my parking spot – for just this reason. Found it then took him to his car. He opted for the Mercedes.

The ride home was fun.