Negotiating the dating minefield
No matter where you hook up there’s usually tension in the air between two people on a date. Dating can be awkward, especially if it’s still early days in a relationship, or even a blind date. There are expectations. Conversation topics to avoid. How do you compliment her sexy dress sense without appearing to be ogling her assets? How do you explain he has food lodged in his teeth without embarrassing him?
Sexy date
One of my most memorable dates was when I’d casually invited a work colleague out for a drink. I admit I did have a crush on her so I was secretly delighted when she agreed to rendezvous in my favourite wine bar. But she strolled in wearing a tight-fitting dress showing off wonderful curves I’d never noticed in her office suits. Her hair, normally bunched up in a ponytail, was cascading down over her shoulders. It took a supreme effort on my part to remain cool and charming (because if I’d been a cartoon my chin would’ve just hit the floor.)
Dating might seem casual – a meal in a restaurant, an evening at the cinema – but there’s so much going on beneath the surface. All my date was doing was displaying a bit of confidence, letting me know the evening might lead somewhere really exciting. If I played my cards right.
Swapping partners?
One of my friends tells a love story with a twist. He was dining in a trendy restaurant, trying to impress a date with his knowledge of the foreign cuisine, treating her to whatever cocktails she asked for. She simply looked bored and far more interested in checking texts. When she disappeared to powder her nose, he noticed a girl at the next table smiling at him. Her partner was similarly engrossed in his phone. They kept exchanging glances, sympathizing with their shared dilemmas. After settling the bill, my friend mumbled some excuse to his date and shoved her into a taxi. The other woman did the same thing with her companion. Then my friend invited her back inside for a drink and a moan about their respective disastrous dates. They’ve been dating ever since!
More unusual stories
I have another friend who’d had one too many when he arranged a date with a girl in a club. When they met during the week he didn’t even recognize her and embraced the wrong female waiting outside a pub. His real date stormed off in a huff!
But the important thing to stress is that dates are like anything else in life. For every disaster there are bound to be far more of the other kind: where something beautiful sparkles between them. Just remember. Your very next date could turn out to be the one where you discover your soulmate!