I went out with friends for brunch this past weekend. We went to a great place that has an 'all you can eat' menu. Danger #1: I have no will power when it comes to food that is delicious and unlimited. Danger #2: Cocktails were included, no additional note needed, you know how dangerous that is.
We got to the restaurant at 11:00am, right when they opened because we were a large party and didn't want to wait. When we got to the hostess stand, she told us we could either wait two hours or sit at the bar. The bar it was!
We sat. We drank. We ate. We chatted. We drank some more. Eight women with mimosas. And bloody marys. And summer shandies. And some tapas mixed in for good measure.
Our bartender was awesome. His name was Carlos. I asked his name during the first drink because I anticipated we'd be at his bar for a while and wanted to make friends. The more I drank, the chattier I got, and the cuter Carlos became.
Uh-oh. Bartenders are my kryptonite.
After about four hours (yes, you read that right - a four hour brunch), the overconsumption special ended, and as we were preparing to leave, I told my friend Dolly that I had a crush on the bartender. She fancies herself a master matchmaker, which I think is stupendous, and bellied up to the bar to talk to Carlos and find out if he was single, straight, a serial killer, etc.
Turns out he was looking for "a nice, young lady" so Dolly called me over and pulled a Barney Stinson, "Haaave you met my friend Betti?"
I gave him my number and told him where I would be hanging out that night should he want to stop by. Then Dolly, who is tall, but not exactly physically imposing, pulled down her cardigan to show off her guns. She then threatened Carlos, the slightly beefy bartender and said, "If you say you're going to call my friend, and you don't, I'm gonna beat you up". It was awesome.
Dolly's threats worked because I had a text from him 30 minutes later while we were enjoying another libation at a nearby establishment. After an hour we decided to make our way to a party at a friend's house-BBQ, with a quick pitstop at the wine bar where Carlos was drinking after his shift.
We arrived at the wine bar and there he was, talking to a couple in their 50s, who appeared to be from Utah. I got nervous. Really nervous. Thanks to encouragement (read: peer pressure) from Dolly and Veronica, I walked over and said hi rather than standing awkwardly.
He bought me a drink. My friends stayed at a safe distance. Then he bought me another drink, and my friends decided to head over to the party while I hung out with Carlos.
I learned some things about him, we talked about family and work, things we did for fun, what we did for work, cycling, running, etc. After a while he told me he was going to ask me out on a proper dinner date. (Hooray!) A nice, cute guy with killer calves wanted to ask me out on a proper date.
After I finished my seconds drink I told him I had to leave to walk my dog. He asked me not to go. I told him I had to leave, and I left. He texted me three times on my way home. Funny texts, charming texts, silly texts. I replied.
Later that night, after yet another drink with different friends, when I was on my way home, Carlos texted again and asked me to meet him out. I wanted to say, "Dude, you're cute, but come on! It's late, I've been out forever and I'm tired. Unless you're the hot guy from Criminal Minds I'm going home." Instead I texted back that I was on my way home, but was looking forward to seeing him "later".
That was Saturday, it's now Wednesday and I haven't heard from him.
All in all, I feel good about it. I met a nice guy for an afternoon. He added a bit of excitement to an already fun day - like the cherry on top of a sundae. When I was 25, I probably would have met up with him on my way home, become more invested, then felt stupid and sad when he didn't call. Now I just feel generally silly and kind of great. Saturday was a super day.
If he calls and asks me out, will I go? Yes, I probably would. Do I fancy him enough to pursue him? I do not. Not even with those calves.
