Army chick


I mentioned in an earlier posting that I had dated someone this year. Now I'm finally gonna post about her.

Friday 1/13/06: It was the 2nd Friday in January. My buddy & I went to the bar that only does karaoke on the 2nd Friday of each month. Feeling a bit down, I proceeded to drink a bit more than I should have during the evening. We both sang and I had a REALLY GOOD time. It is amazing what enough alcohol can do. As karaoke drew to a close (karaoke goes from 8:30 to 11:30) I was scanning the bar and loudly asking my buddy about some of the different females I was seeing. My buddy later told me he had never really been around me when I had drank that much and gotten that loud. One girl that I asked him about was "Army chick". OK, I asked him about a certain girl in the bar, and all he could tell me about her was that she was in the Army. So, Army chick. She was over by the bar with another female friend of hers talking with some people. So, my buddy and I went over to the bar and joined into some of the conversations. Army chick was talking with another guy. I had never seen him in the bar, he wasn't a regular. But Army chick and new guy were really clicking. They had both been drinking and were already talking about getting married. WOW, how can I compete with that? So, I turned around and took a step or two and found myself in a conversation with 2 very fine ladies and another guy. I chatted with them for maybe 10 minutes or so and then turned around again to see what my buddy was doing. I heard Army chick and new guy talking and he was getting ready to leave. He was going to bring Army chick and her friend home since neither of them should be driving at that point. However, Army chicks friend didn't want to leave just yet. So, I again turned around and chatted a bit more with the 2 ladies. Now, these 2 ladies were very fine, but, very much out of my league. And I knew this. Everything about them said they were unattainable by me. A few minutes of chatting and I turned to go over to my buddy, assuming Army chick and new guy have already left. To my amazement, Army chick is still standing there. New guy is nowhere to be seen. So, I move back into a conversation with Army chick. Seems new guy went ahead and left since Army chick and her friend didn't want to go. OK, new guy... STUPID! When you have a girl that seems interested, you don't bail if she doesn't want to leave. Even I have learned that lesson. Army chick and I chat for awhile and somewhere outta my alcoholic state of mind, I ask for her phone number. I am 40 years old and I have NEVER gotten a phone number from a girl at a bar before. I was amazed when she said yes and got a slip of paper and started writing her number down. We chatted some more that night and I even mentioned that I had 2 tickets to the Bon Jovi concert that Sunday and nobody to go with. I asked if she would like to go and she said she would love to go. She asked me to call her on Sunday, not on Saturday or it would be too soon. We chatted some more then we both went our separate ways as the time ticked by. But I had a phone number!

Sunday 1/15/06: Today is the Bon Jovi concert. It is also the first day I get to find out if the phone number I was given is actually her phone number. I also get to find out if she even remembers me at all. She had been drinking remember. So, I give her a call and it goes into voice mail. OK, it was her voice and she did say it was her name, so, at least it is her phone number. I left a message. A few hours later, I called again. After all, there is a concert tonight and I need to make sure she still wants to go and find out where to pick her up at and what time. Again I get voice mail. Now I'm starting to think she is seeing a strange number calling and either doesn't remember me or doesn't want to talk to me. A little later I give her one more call. Again, voice mail. Since I'm unable to get ahold of Army chick, I go ahead and call a buddy of mine (photographer buddy). He is unable to go to the concert. So, I go ahead and get ready and head to the concert. I was unable to sell my extra ticket, so I just ate that cost. The concert was FANTASTIC. Of course, throughout, I keep thinking of the fact that I had to go alone. Couldn't find anyone willing to go with me. I still left the concert feeling upbeat. I had a pretty good time. As I'm walking to my car, my cell phone rings. I answer and it is Army chick. She had left that morning to visit family and accidentally left her phone at her apartment. She remembered being asked to do something that evening, but, couldn't remember what. She had just gotten home and got my messages. Very apologetic that she missed the concert and forgot her phone. Now I was on cloud nine. It didn't matter that she had missed the concert. She hadn't blown me off. We chatted for awhile as I drove home and made plans to meet the next day.

Monday 1/16/06: OK, if memory serves me correctly, this was a holiday. I was off work. Army chick had a doctors appt that day, but, called to see if I wanted to go to the IKEA store with her. Then because of the timing of her appt, we changed those plans and decided to meet for an early dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse. She was there a bit before I was and had already gotten a table and had a glass of wine she was working on. I joined her and we finally were able to sit face to face, both sober and chat for awhile. It was a nice, casual "meet and greet". Neither of us actually called this our first date. Just a chance to sit and find out a bit about each other.

Friday 1/20/06: Our first date. I like to make sure I have first dates planned so I can make a decent impression on my date. Tonight was no exception. I had stopped at my florist and gotten 3 red roses in a vase. I arrived at her apartment on time and presented her with the roses. She had 2 glasses of wine poured, so I sat and we drank a bit of wine and chatted a bit. We left her place and headed to our destination. We were going to the Pocket Sandwich Theatre. We got there, got seated and ordered our food. We ate and chatted and I felt things were going pretty good. She ordered a pitcher of Sangria for herself. Since I was driving and since I didn't want to get drunk and act like an ass, I was just drinking soda. The play was fantastic and, as always, lots of fun. At the 2nd intermission, Army chick ordered a 2nd pitcher of Sangria. When we left, there was about a third of the pitcher still on the table. I took that as a good sign. Unlike my last date partner, Army chick knows when to stop drinking. So, the play comes to an end and we are headed to her place. She has class in the morning, so, it can't be a late night. On the way home, she isn't feeling very well. She had a bit too much to drink. So, when we get to her place I escort her in. I want to make sure she is OK and gets inside etc. I put her leftovers in the fridge for her and I undo her necklace when she asks me for help. Because I know it cannot be a late night and I know she has been drinking, I'm not expecting or trying for anything to happen. She walks me to the door and as I'm holding the door open with my body, we move in for our goodnight kiss and hug. The kiss passes the goodnight peck timing. Hmmmm. OK, I'm gonna go with it. She didn't appear really drunk since we got back to her place, so, maybe she does know what she is doing. The kissing and touching continue. She pulls me closer inside and the door closes behind me. Wow, very nice. Our hands keep roaming over each other and our lips never part. Here is where I will say that things progressed into the bedroom. And, I will also say that never before in my life have I been part of the "trail of clothing from the front door to the bedroom". NEVER IN MY LIFE. Well, this night, I was. I'm not going to go into detail about what transpired in the bedroom. Other than to say that, for me, it was one of the best sexual experiences I've ever had. I did ask her if I had gotten her off and she responded with "5 times". It was a lengthy, very pleasurable, experience. When I finally gathered up all my clothing and left her apartment, I was on top of the world. Life could not have been better for me.

1/21/06 through 2/13/06: During these days, we did see each other for more dates and some get togethers. We went to a movie. I met her at Target for some shopping. We went dancing at Cowboys Red River. I stopped on the way home from work and picked us up dinner and brought it to her place. We talked on the phone fairly often. She would call me in the morning while driving to work. We talked in the afternoons. However, I was getting extremely mixed signals from her during this time. For instance, when we were out dancing. She told me that I was calling her too often. She also told me I needed to calm down. I was being too nervous and was driving her crazy. She also said "Next time we go dancing, we can go to Cowboys Arlington and get a hotel room and spend the night". Now, to me, those are mixed signals. Another mixed signal time was when we talked on a Sunday and she invited me over. I stopped and grabbed myself something to eat since she was eating when we talked. I got over, sat at the kitchen table and ate my stuff. We went into her bedroom so I could show her some pictures on a website. I went back and sat at the kitchen table and she came out of the bedroom and said "We can sit on the couch, it will be more comfortable.". OK, to me, that is a good thing. Sit next to each other. More contact. Hold hands, etc. We sat down, she had the TV on. She pulled a blanket over herself. Her arm on my side was outside the blanket, so, I reached over and held hands with her. Then her phone rang and she had to get up to answer it. She kept the conversation short and came back and sat down. Again, she covered herself with the blanket, however, this time her arm was NOT outside the blanket. OK, to me, that is a bad thing. She didn't want to hold hands, so, she took that option away from me. Maybe I was just over analyzing these days. But, all these times we saw each other, the most we did physically was a hug and peck when I was leaving.

Tuesday 2/14/06: OK, Valentines day. Big day. Leading up to this day was a rollercoaster. She normally has class on Tuesday evenings. The week before, I had asked her about this and she said she would skip class so we could do something. Very nice. I made some plans, made the reservations and all. Then on Monday evening, she calls to say she found out they were having a test in class and she couldn't miss it after all. So, I had already stopped and bought a couple cards and a stuffed animal. Now I wasn't gonna see her at all on Valentines day. On Tuesday while I'm at work, she calls me again. She was going to be studying for another test after class on Tuesday, but, she knows that material well enough, so, I can come over Tuesday evening after her class. O-boy. I run home from work and stop at the grocery store and buy some flowers. My florist is closed at the time I get home from work so, this is the best I can do on such short notice. I get everything ready and I head out Tuesday night. I stop at our normal, 2nd Friday karaoke bar where we met, on the way to have a few drinks before going to her place. I need to calm my nerves. I have a few drinks, then I head over. I'm there for about a hour and a half or so. She gives me a card and a small stuffed animal. Nothing too romantic or anything. I give her the flowers, my 2 cards and the stuffed animal. The stuffed animal is one where you squeeze the paw and it makes sounds. I also brought cookies for us to snack on. We sit, talk, watch a bit of TV. Then it is time for me to leave, she has to work the next day. Another hug and peck at the door. I leave her place and head to meet my buddy at our Tuesday night karaoke place. I was feeling pretty good about the evening, all in all. I still don't know why I was. Nothing special happened. We had a fairly good time at karaoke. I sang 3 songs I had never sang before. Had several more drinks. A very good evening.

Sunday 2/16/06: When last I saw Army chick, she had said she was probably going out of town that coming weekend. So, since I had previously been told I called too much, I didn't call all week after Valentines day. I called her home number on Sunday, midday. I got her voice mail and left a message.

Monday 2/17/06: Today was a holiday. I wasn't sure if Army chick was still out of town or if she had to be back and work today. So, I called her home number again today and left another voice mail message.

Tuesday 2/28/06: OK, it has been 2 weeks since we saw each other. I've had zero contact with her. I stopped at the bar where we met to have a few drinks on my way to meet my buddy for our Tuesday night karaoke. Army chick was there. I didn't go say hi or anything. I wasn't sure that she even knew I was there. I had my few drinks and left.

Saturday 3/11/06: I have had no contact with Army chick since Valentines day. Nada. Zip. Nothing. So, I called her today. I apologized to her about not saying hi on the Tuesday that I saw her. She said her friend told her I was there but, she only saw my backside leaving when she went to look for me. I told her I hadn't felt like dealing with anyone because I was in a bad mood. I was having trouble dealing with how she ended things with me without even telling me or returning any phone calls. She just said that when she gets stressed, she pulls away from everyone and hides within herself. Yeah, right..... I'm not stupid. OK, I am stupid, but, I'm not THAT stupid. If you have ANY feelings for a person, you don't just cut them loose without any contact at all.

So, another one stabs me though the heart. I REALLY felt like she was "the one". I know it was a fairly short period of time we dated, but, it just felt so right to me.

Oh, wait. I forgot. Here was one of the best things she said to me on Valentines day. She said she felt she had taken advantage of me. I asked how. She said sexually. On our first date. That night she just really needed it and she felt she took advantage of me. So, now I'm left with the knowledge that it WASN'T ME AT ALL. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I really did mean absolutely nothing to Army chick.

Live and learn. Valuable lessons learned this time. First, even if I have sex with someone, she may still feel nothing towards me. Second, that's what I get for trying again. Just more heartache. Third, enough alcohol and the pain fades away for brief periods of time. Maybe I should give some real thought into becoming an alcoholic.

Oh, just an FYI: My prior post titled "The Dream" was written while seeing Army chick. And now in hindsight, it looks like I could have left out "Ending 1".