SueAnn Porter

“..And pull a comb thru your coal black hair…”

I met him online during the Great Dating Dry Spell of 1998. He had sent me a pic. He had coal black hair and his skin, the color of mocha. Nice. We chatted online and agreed to meet at a local restaurant. He said that after dinner we would go to the movies.

He showed up on time, and we met in the parking lot. He seemed normal enough. He had a job; actually he had a good job. But so did I.

We were escorted to a table by the hostess. I then took off my jacket. He stared at my chest, and I don’t think he ever looked into my eyes again. That was my first hint.

We chit-chatted over dinner, we mostly talked about the Healthcare Business. Then the check came. He opened up his wallet, and said, “Now how did that get in there?” referring to a one-serving package of aspirin. But the intent of this was to show me that he had a $100 bill in his wallet. Gee, I ain’t never seen me one of those before?!  Seriously?

So he did pay the bill like a gentleman should. Then, silly me, I thought we were going to drive over to the movie theatre. He said, “So what are you up to tonight?”

I replied, “No plans,” stupidly thinking that he was going to suggest a movie.

“I’m going to go play basketball with my friends,” he responded.

Ok. No biggie. So I’ll call my friend Arlene and John who were going to see the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies in concert. (Also, remember, this was before cell phones.) I had to run home real quick to catch them before they left.

So Mr. Gentleman walks me to my car and gives me a kiss on the cheek. (Talk about your mixed signals.) He says the mandatory, “I’ll call you soon,” but I really wasn’t interested at that point. I had to get out of there quick and find my friends.

As fate would have it, I called Arlene, only to be greeted by her answering machine. I left the message.  I missed the concert.

I spoke to her the next day to find that they had left five minutes before I called. Figures.

Mr. Gentleman actually did call me the following week, and I listened as the answering machine recorded him asking, “Would you like to meet at XYZ restaurant at 6 o’clock tonight?” It was 5 pm. I don’t think so.

I ran into him online a month later. He had met someone and she had moved in with him. So I guess he found what he was looking for!

My search continued.

Read Worst Date #1 here