Dinner Party Dating Tips

My sister and her new man are talking about moving in together. I know they are in love, anybody can see that, but I can't help thinking it's too soon. My sister says he is her soul mate. She says people go their whole lives and never meet the one person who is perfect for them. She's not going to miss her chance, she says.

Maybe it's because I'm jealous I hope not. I hate to think that I'm putting a damper on her happiness by suggesting she wait a while just because of sour grapes. But I am older than her. Shouldn't it be me who is settling down first?

I made the mistake of mentioning all this to a work colleague a couple of days a go and, guess what? He had the most amazing idea. He was organising a dinner party and he happened to know for sure that there would be a spare seat and, wait for it, yes, a spare man. My last attempt at a blind date hadn't gone too well, but this would be different, my friend assured me. It would be relaxed and there would be at least six other people there, so I needn't worry, if I didn't get on with the spare man there would be plenty of other people to talk to.

Ok. What did I have to lose? I made sure it didn't interfere with the long distance love affair I seem to be carrying on with the man I met on holiday, and off I went. I sat down opposite a couple I'd never met before, next to a man I'd never met before, with the only person I knew in the room (my work friend) at the other end of the table. It went surprisingly well, actually. There were no awkward silences. The couple opposite were really nice and talked about how they'd met at an online gaming site, had taken the bold step of meeting in real life and after only four dates had moved in together. Here I scribbled mental notes. 1, go easy on my sister, her rush to move in with her boyfriend was nothing compared to these two. 2, if all else fails, check out this online gaming lark, if it worked for this happy couple, it could work for me!

The spare man appeared to be as nervous as I was We rarely spoke directly to each other, preferring to talk to the couple opposite us. At one point he asked me how I knew the host and he told me he was there as a friend of my work colleague's partner, but that was about it. The truth is, the online gaming couple had so much to say and were so genuinely interesting that there hardly seemed a need for me and the spare man to have a conversation of our own.

I left the dinner party with a very strange feeling. I'd just spent an evening on what was essentially another blind date, and I had no idea whether I liked the man or not. The gathering was so relaxed, so informal, that it wasn't like a date at all. The spare man, Simon, gave me a hug as we all said goodbye, which rather than being uncomfortable, felt like a continuation of an entirely chilled out night. I liked it. There was no pressure. We agreed to stay in touch and swapped email addresses, though there was no suggestion of another date. Was it a date? I'm still not sure.

The next morning I checked my in box and there was nothing from Simon, although there was the usual message from my long distance lover back in Portugal. Oh dear, I thought. I have inadvertently found myself in an email relationship with two different men. Could this be considered cheating?

Source: pualib.blogspot.com