MaryB and the City

I hate this part.

Recently I retold a story about a guy from India hitting on me @ a bar. I decided for various reasons not to pursue a date with said gent. He gave me his number, I wouldn’t give him mine, and we walked away with the understanding that, ”I’d call him if I wanted to get together.”

This is what happened next.

Right before I’m leaving work to attend my very first “happy hour” [therapy appointment] on Wednesday — a bright-eyed female colleague swings by my cube with a bouquet of flowers in a vase. My heart sank. I thought they were from Mr. Ex. Opening and reading the tiny card in record time, I realized it was from Indian dude.

“You shouldn’t be too busy to smile, have a great day… Just remember to call me.”

Woah. How the heck does he know where I work?? Google maybe.

After getting over the initial shock, I then couldn’t decide it the gesture felt cute, or creepy. But remembering the vibe I got on the night we met, he truly seemed harmless. So let’s just write this off to the man being ambitious…and savvy with the Internet. 

But now, I *had* to call the guy back. Two days later is better than never, right? Strategically I decided to call from the office since, well, he clearly already knows where I am from 9-5, and this way he wouldn’t get my cell digits.

Me: “Hey, it’s MaryB. I wanted to call & say thank you for the flowers, that was so nice of you.”

Dude: “Glad you liked them. I was wondering if you got them.”

Me: “Yes I did, and they’re really pretty.”

A few miscellaneous filler comments about work being busy & the weather.

Dude: “Well I’m out of town next weekend but wanted to see if you’d like to grab some coffee.”

Me: “That sounds nice, but as I was telling you when we met, I just got out of a relationship & I’m not ready to jump back into dating yet. I have your number and can give you a call when I get there?”

Dude: “I never asked you on a date.”

Me: “Ummm, yeah, you asked me to dinner that night & gave me your number.”

Dude: [awkward stumble] “Oh, well, what I really meant was breakfast. Anyway, just thought coffee wouldn’t be too big of a deal.”

Me: “Again, I’m just not in a place to start the process [of dating] — coffee or otherwise. I hope you understand.”

Dude: ”I do. Well, you have my number…and I don’t have yours…and I won’t ask you again since you haven’t given it to me. Give me a call when you’re up for it.”