The Parking Lot Guy

Category 1: Those who do not learn from others' mistakes.
Category 2: Those who do not take "no" for an answer.

As usual, Parking Lot Guy seemed normal. He was tall. Yea! He had an education and a job. Nice! He had a son he adored. SEEMED like a nice, normal guy. I think we can all agree at this point in the blog, that "seem" is a four letter word in my life. Most people are not what they seem. The trick is to see how long they can keep "normal" up. So I often wonder, are some people better projecting normal than others or am I just getting better at discerning the nutcases. It is probably a combination of both.

Sorry, tangent.

So I had lunch with Parking Lot Guy. We went to a sports bar, had a nice lunch and good conversation. He was a little bit shy, but that was fine because I don't have a problem filling the silence as long as there is some participation from the guy. I do actually want to get to know people, and I can't do that by talking.

BIG RED FLAG

An aside that becomes relevant later...during lunch, I kept hearing this noise coming from his direction. It was like something in the back of his throat. Hard to describe in words, but it was a little tone, almost a quick hum, from high to low. It was purr-like or a sort of meow. This was perplexing. Did he know he was doing it? Was it a nervous habit? Was I imagining it? My mind reeled. Internal dialog ran amok. At times I couldn't focus on the conversation because I was anxiously awaiting the next meow to see if it was all in my mind, or if he was aware he was doing it. Every time it occurred, I analyzed his face to see if he had a reaction...a glimmer of awareness. How could he not look even slightly self-conscious since I was exceedingly conscious. Such a mystery.

Another aside. If there is something like a meow distracting you from focusing on the actual date. NOT A GOOD SIGN.

After lunch we walked down the street to the park at the pier. Beautiful day. Nice walk. We sat on the benches that the pier and looked at the water. He was shy and sweet. He held my hand...very sweet...and didn't try to get fresh with me. And as hard as I tried, I didn't hear the meow. Good news.

The next day, he invited me to drive to Alabama and he would show me around his area. We met at the outlet mall, had a little lunch and then got in his car to see the sights. He had a convertible, so this was a perfect day for a drive....a long, long, endless drive. Apparently there was no destination. He drove me by some work he had engineered. He drove me through downtown. He drove me down rural roads. He stopped for gas and chewing gum. And he drove some more. I hadn't thought to ask, but I assumed we would stop at some sight to see somewhere and see a sight. Not to be.

One of the things we had discussed on our date the day before was our experience with first dates. I relayed the Walmart Parking lot story to him and he laughed and laughed. So you can imagine my surprise when after 3 hours...let me say it again...3 hours of driving, he pulled into a parking lot. It was not Walmart, so let's just stop to give him a little ovation just for that. It was some industrial area near the interstate.

"Is this ok?" he asked.

"What? What are we doing?"

He kind of giggled.

I was thinking, really? He is not. He is not pulling into a parking lot. Well hell.

So, he said, "I have been wanting to do this all day."

Well crap.

He leaned in for a kiss. Short and sweet. So okay, not that bad. But then he curled up and put his head on my shoulder. Did I mention he was 6'3"? He had to scoot way down in his seat to even accomplish the head on my shoulder position. I don't know why I feel this way, but a big, grown man slinking down to put his head on a woman's shoulder is kind of weird. I felt like I should pat him on the back and tell him everything would be okay. It was little boyish, I guess.

Alas, the shoulder position didn't last long. He moved back in for the kiss. And there it was...the meow. Now considering that I was a little bit miffed by the whole parking lot thing after I had told him the error of Walmart Parking Lot Guy's ways, and the fact that I had a destinationless date, I would have stopped him sooner, but the fact that he was meowing was just, well, fascinating. So I let him kiss me a little longer than was comfortable (well, none was comfortable) while I tried to figure it out. I couldn't. The whole time he kissed, he meowed. I have to say, hands down, weirdest kiss I have ever had. It was kind of a whimper meow. I still can't figure it out.

I finally had to say that I needed to get home as my kids were coming back soon. I didn't ask about the meowing. I wish I had. It's a question that comes to me every now and then. An unsolved mystery. I did have the nerve to say, "I can't believe you took me to a parking lot." He laughed at my "joke." I guess it's better for him that he thought it was a joke. He spared his own feelings.