Pat

I started chatting with Pat on pof while I was on vacation in Florida visiting my parents. A good friend of mine commented on how she loved how I was busy lining up dates while on vacay... priorities, people! Ha. We decided to meet the day after I returned. I really didn't know too much about Pat except that he was 42 (older!), and a special education teacher originally from Ottawa.

Initially, we were supposed to meet up at a pub in the market at 8pm but then Pat changed the location to the Pump on Elgin an hour earlier. Easier for me to walk to, I thought. As I headed to the Pump, I texted Pat to ask him how I would find him inside. He responded with the EXACT text I had sent him earlier about running errands after work. It didn't make sense, so I naturally responded with a "?" text. He then called (who calls anymore?!), so I picked up. He explained that the text was meant for his friend and that he was already inside (so was I). He described where he was sitting and I made my way to him. I should point out that his pictures were somewhat blurry online... a potential red flag. He looked like his photos, but definitely appeared older in person. Still, not a bad looking guy. Pat had already ordered himself a beer and made some comment about how he didn't know if I would be showing up (aside: even though I was on time!?).

We chatted for a good three hours and the conversation flowed easily. A few strange things happened though:

1- his phone was blowing UP. and it was out on the table. at one point he "joked" (at least I hope it was a joke) that he should check to see if he had received any  new pof messages.
2- the time/location change for the meetup was explained... his buddy works at the police station across the street, so if the date hadn't worked out, he planned to meet up with him for a drink later. ummm thanks, maybe don't tell me that?
3- he asked if I had ever been married/had kids. when I turned it around on him, he explained that he had been married before. I couldn't help but feel slightly duped and wondered why he doesn't mark himself down as "divorced" on his pof profile...although, I guess he was being upfront about it on date #1.
4- there were a few times where he was clearly flirting with our waitress, which was awkward for me to watch.
5- he also told me about how he had been on a date (second date) with a woman the night before our date...

I was (and still am) intrigued by his job. He works with cognitive disordered adolescents who are court ordered to the Robert Smart Centre. He's worked with children in the Oncology dept at CHEO. Any guy that goes into that kind of work must be compassionate, I thought. He seems to love it too, which is refreshing. By age 42, I was keeping my fingers crossed that this guy would have his sh$t together, and it seems like he does... owns a house in Orleans, owns a cottage, good group of friends, good job, loves kids, etc.

After Pat paid for the bill, he got up to put on his jacket and that was the first time I was seeing his body. He definitely was not as athletic as he made himself out to be on pof. As we parted ways, I went in for the hug and then Pat ASKED me for a "little kiss", which even as I type that out, sounds hella creepy. Guys: just go in for the kiss. It's a huge turn-off to ask for one. I was obviously put on the spot and didn't want to, but I gave him a quick peck on the lips and then called it a night. I heard from him later that night saying that he had had a great time and to let him know when I'd like to do it again. He also texted me the next night saying that he was going to be headed out of town to a friend's cottage where there would be no reception, but that we should chat on Sunday. This would be sweet if I were into him, but I just told him to have fun. I did not hear from him on Sunday. In fact, I just heard from him yesterday on Wed.

I need to pay closer attention to my gut, and my gut is telling me that I'm not physically attracted to him.