The King of Hoboken

So I had my second dinner date last night with …well let’s call him “Doug” because he looks like Kevin James from The King of Queens. No, he’s not fat…actually he was a big College football “All American” running back. I have to say, he is probably the first…no second…real athlete I ever went out with. My past dating life has included actors, republicans, drunks, Greeks and lawyers. What a combination!!!

Anyway, I’m very perplexed and I don’t know what to think. This is the first guy who has actually not made any formal moves on me by the second date. We had a nice dinner at Margherita’s – one of my favorite “Ma and Pa” Italian restaurants in Hoboken. He brought the wine and we sat there for a few hours getting reacquainted since I hadn’t seen him in a month. We talked about typical conversation, i.e. how all his friends are getting married, a little about relationships, strip clubs, gambling, and his 14 year old nephew with the porn problem. Dinner was fun…he not only ate his complete dinner but part of mine, cleaning both our plates. Since we both had work in the morning, we decided to leave. Now Margherita’s is on 8^th Street, he lives on 6^th Street and I’m on 2^nd. So when we walked past his apartment, he immediately stopped, looked at me and said, “well, here’s where I live”. He gave me a quick peck on the lips twice and said, “Have a great week”. I was flabbergasted! That’s it? I was sent off to walk home alone 4 blocks in the dark. The first date, he kissed my cheek, now the second date, he pecked my lips. Oookay! Now, Doug is 32. Maybe I’m just not used to an “older man” who unlike younger men want to get as much action as they can for as little expense as they can. Anyway, my paranoia is setting in and I’m analyzing the situation like this:

1. He wants a “female buddy”? Now this is new for me. I am not normally the “female buddy” type. I’m more of a girly girl who would not normally go to a bar just to sling back a couple of beers and watch a sports game with the guys. I know very little about football. I know that Eli Manning and Tom Brady are hotties and that is the extent of my football knowledge. Men do not want to hear about that. I watch college basketball while on the treadmill at the gym so I can talk a little about that. Baseball….now that I love! I do love baseball games. But if I went to a Mets game with Doug, I’d have to refrain from wearing my “Looking for Mr. Wright” t-shirt!

2. His guy friends are all getting married and he needs to slowly and cautiously dip his big toe into the dating waters.

3. He thinks my head is shaped like a football and that is all the attraction he has for me.

4. He just came off a broken relationship and he is mistrusting of females.

5. He didn’t feel like walking me home because there was a game on ESPN that was about to begin and he just couldn’t bear to miss it (besides he’s allergic to Oreo and this could present a problem) or...

I don’t know! I am perplexed. Doug is a guy’s guy. To be honest, I thought I would be fighting this guy off of me. Like, he’d be going for the touchdown at kickoff or at least…going for the extra points. NOTHING!! Hmmmm. It’s somewhat unusual that “good little girl Tara” is saying to the jock…What are you waiting for???….pass it!!!!