One "Goodbye" and one "Hello"

It has been an interesting weekend. This past Friday was Jennifer's birthday party. We all met over at The Mynt and I completely agree with Melinda, I don't like the place.
However, things went much better than I thought when it came to being around her. I did wish her a happy birthday at the beginning of the evening, but I ignored her for most of the night and it worked well.
I've underestimated my sheer determination to flush the girl from my mind and it worked amazingly. I didn't care. At all.
Emily was there and I think being around her really helped put things in perspective. I had an attractive girl sitting by my side and I knew that her and I would be going out on a date the next evening...Jennifer who?
I think Jennifer was a bit upset that I wasn't paying her any attention, but I didn't care...which only enforces my previous observation.

Saturday night though was wonderful. I drove over to Emily's house and we both took the train to downtown Denver, which was a nice experience alone. We walked downtown Denver together and talked about everything. All those conversations that seem meaningless, but in the end mean everything. She was remarkably vulnerable and was willing to share some of it, which I found endearing. She holds her pain close much like I do and one day when we're both comfortable, we'll share the rest together.

I did spend some time prior to the date reassessing my perception on dating conduct. I hate coming from where I do. I have all these tools that have no practical application in the real world and they only lead to friend-zoning myself. As a result, I decided that I wasn't going to kiss her at the end of the date, but I was going to make sure there was some displays of affection.

At one point in the evening, Emily was getting cold and was rubbing her hands together. I offered her my hand and she took it. We held hands for a little while, walking the streets together and trying to focus on conversation, which for me wasn't working well. I think she was having a hard time conversing too and it was cute.

After awhile though, she broke away and said that she wasn't ready for this. "This" being the hand holding. I was surprised that I wasn't hurt at all. It definitely confirmed my suspicions that she wasn't ready for a goodnight kiss. Whew!

At the end of the evening, well...1AM, I walked her back to her apartment and we had an honest conversation. She said that she had a wonderful time and would love to do it again. She had made a comment that suggested she was REALLY into me and I think that I would like to see her again too.

I'm an awesome date.

It feels good to win one every now and then...