I entered The Vine scanning the room for my wine tasting date. I regretted not paying more attention to his picture. I flipped through the profile pictures stored in my mind and panicked and asked the first man sitting by himself at a table by the door. This guy was typing on his laptop, probably not someone on a date.
I approached the counter and saw a man conversing the dark, haired young woman pouring a bottle of white wine. I looked around the room and everyone else seemed to be busy, so this must be David waiting for me. I hoped he didn’t see me approach Laptop Guy.
I took a moment to assess him and was pleased with his looks. I knew he was twelve years older but he possessed a young aura which was what mattered. He had brown hair and was American looking. Ethnicity doesn’t really appeal to me.
He recognized me at once. And gave me a kiss on the cheek. We had the wine girl to break the ice, and David handed me a wine glass and I gave it to her to fill. She spoke at a low volume, between that and the uncertainty you feel in a new environment it was a struggle to understand her wine jargon.
I sipped the first glass of white wine, I wanted to like it. I didn’t dislike it. It was the same for the next white wine, and the last two red wines. If I had to pick, I would pick the last one, the California wine over the French wines.
When we had spoken briefly on the phone earlier, I called to accept his invitation and he told me we would sample a few and get a bottle of wine. Having not been treated like this in a long time, I was surprised to have him choose a $30 bottle of wine. He chose this when I didn’t know which of the four we tasted to pick. None of them spoke to me, but I felt uncultured, because their silence.
David said we would find one and he placed his hand gently on the small of my back and guided me to the bottles on the built in shelves. It was a brand that I’d never heard of but Étude reminded me of playing the piano and we were off to a good start.
I told him I would trust his judgement and we made our way to the bar on the other side of the store. There was a refrigerated area with a cheese section and he asked me if I wanted cheese. I’m not frugal, but I have a hard time with someone I don’t know biting things for me. So choosing one cheese was hard, but selecting a second cheese was painful. But he wanted me too. I hadn’t heard of most of the cheeses there but I pickled a spicy and we co pro used and he picked a truffle.
The shop was divided into sections there was a long, low bookshelf dividing the shop in half the opening faced the seating area which were wine barrels with a round table top, there were five of them in the barrel garden. Near the front of the store were regular tables, one filled by a group of six seniors and the other with three single ladies.
From my seat I could see a chess game and a silver box that looked like Backgammon.
He let me select the table and we took our seats. A few minutes later the waitress came with our corked bottle of Pinot Noir and a saucer of our sliced cheese and little tiny crisp slices of bread.
Even though we were getting along well I could tell as David poured our second glasses of wine, that it was like a magic carpet helping us soar through this date better.
The wine glass felt gigantic and I compared how David held his glass expertly at the little of the stem with his thumb, index and middle finger and swirled the wine. I tried holding my glass like that, but I couldn’t get a good handle and was afraid I would spill the wine and waste it. I didn’t like to waste wine or time.
But he taught me, or tried. He grasped my had and tried to get me to do it. He took every opportunity to touch me, and be close to me throughout the night.
We talked about our experiences with Match, past jobs, a very light discussion about last relationships, and so many other things. He was one of those guys that got IT. He got so many things without my having to explain. It was so refreshing.
I was so happy to meet a normal guy and have a nice first date. Unfortunately I did not feel a spark. At first I was trying to be open to the idea of giving it a chance because he was so great, but now that a few days have passed, I don’t think I can forgo the passion.
I’m not sure what is happening on his end, he has been texting me throughout the week, however there has been a decline as the week has gone on.
Maybe he’s busy, maybe he thinks I’m not interested (we had tentative plans for Thursday if he didn’t have to work late but I have had some late nights all week and asked for a rain check. ) This weekend is also his birthday and he plans for each day so perhaps the celebrating has begun.
If I could make myself like him, I would. I really enjoyed him, but I can’t. What does it say when you assess the guy your on a date with to try to figure out which of your friends you can fix him up with?
At any rate, it is a great start, to encourage me with my dating project. It gives me motivation to keep moving forward.
cafeterraceatnight 