Life and the trials and tribulations of dating over 40.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Date Two: The Youngun

In the 9th grade, I went steady with a 7th grader to make his older brother jealous. It worked on the older brother, but I lost interest and instead, developed a major crush on the younger boy/child.  I have thought about younger men ever since. It's funny to me that when I was in my teens, I preferred older men because of the way my friends thought I was so cool having an older man attracted to me.  And now that I'm older, I get a rush when I think about a younger man finding me pleasing to look at and delightful to hold.  

The Youngun was 10 years younger.  He found me on Yahoo! Personals.  It started simply enough with a few emails here and there, followed by phone calls. Then the big day came when he surprised me at work.  I recognized him immediately.  He had sexy bedroom eyes.  The kind with long lashes, and the way he worked them was sinful.  We went to lunch and had easy conversation that flowed well.  There was a nice connection between us that I was intrigued by.  I guess the word is CHEMISTRY. Oh, yeah!  Sparks fly and I think the tips of my ears are going to burst into flame when he gives me that first goodbye kiss.  

The same day we had lunch, but hours later around dinner time, he calls and asks if I'd like to get a bite to eat.  Twice in one day.  This one is really interested! Well, how nice is that because I feel that way too! We decide to meet at my art supply store/gallery and walk across the street to the same sidewalk cafe that the pizza delivery guy and I met at. Only this guy pulls up in something better than a green hornet.  Way better.  It's a convertible Mitsubishi Spider....black.  The bad guys always wear black and ride black horses.  These are the men women love to hate.  The bad boy. And this one is bad.  I can tell by the way he looks at me.  I start to drool when he steps out of the car and the breeze throws his scent my direction.  We have already exchanged one nice, rather quick kiss when he left at lunch time, but the one he greeted me with...it  blew me away.  

I'm in trouble and I know it.  Although my marriage ended amicably, there hadn't been any sexual contact for a long time and before that, only seasonally. 
 
"Look, honey!"  One of us would say,  "It's the first day of Spring.  Guess we should have sex."  

The same thing happened Fall, Winter and Summer. This went on for years before we finally stopped looking at the calendar, and then eventually, stopped having sex entirely.  It had been close to 2 years since someone had stirred my blood and I was buzzing with electricity.  The man could stand close to me and the hairs on my arm came to attention, reaching out in his direction.  Aching for attention.  Thing was, I didn't realize just how close I was to snapping.

We ate cheese and fruit at the sidewalk cafe and drank a wonderful wine that had my head spinning in no time.  We talked and I kept thinking about how young he was and I admit, it was bothering me a little.  I couldn't quite wrap my head around the whole 'Cougar' concept.  I didn't feel any older than him, and the chemistry was crackling like a Franklin stove.  We closed the place down around 11pm  and then walked back to my store.

It was a crisp night and I had been introduced to my new favorite cocktail.  A Washington Red Apple--shot.  Wow.  Tastes like a bite of a fresh apple.  The wine, the apple, the scent of his cologne, the bedroom eyes, his hands in my hair and I find myself pressed against the wall holding on for dear life.  OMG.  It's been YEARS since I'd been kissed with such passion.  I pulled at his shirt and tossed it into the air.  I practically did  a back flip as I threw him to the floor and had my way with him.

Afterwards, I was so embarrassed.  I stood up, ran my hands through my hair, straightened my clothing and prepared to leave the scene of the crime.  He stayed on the floor.  Right where I left him. He had rolled to his side, head braced on his hand and looking up at me with those bedroom/any-place-there's-a-flat-surface-and-we-can-get-traction  eyes.  I feel my face go blood red.  He looks like a Cheshire cat, and I wish the floor would swallow me up.  He laughs an evil laugh.  I nervously grab his shirt from the picture frame it had come to rest on, and throw it at him telling him I have to get home to let the dog out.  I hurried him out the door.  

I can't believe what has just happened. Where did Melinda go?!  The sane, rational woman I had been for two decades had disappeared for a moment in time.  I had completely lost control.  Evil smile.  And it wasn't so bad.  I even LIKED it.  But that didn't stop the guilt from setting in.  What must he be thinking of me?  Years of conditioning leave me feeling trampy and cheap that I had let things get out of hand like that.  My phone rings.  It's him, and I can't bring myself to answer it.  

I'll never know what he wanted to say that night.  I was so embarrassed and new to this whole dating thing that I didn't know how to handle the situation.  I didn't answer the next time he called either.  Or the text asking me to lunch the following day.  By then, I had convinced myself he was purely after sex.  After all, that's what I made him think.  At least I thought that's what he thought.  He's the one I'd like to have a Mulligan on. A do-over, because it might have been something more than something physical, but my fear and insecurities got the better of me.  I still see his profile online and I cringe a little when I see those sexy eyes.  I cringe from shame and from wondering if I let something special slip through my fingers.
 

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Date One: Manufacturing And Distribution

I've found him.  He's on Yahoo! Personals.  My first date in 23 years.  He's tall at 6'2", dark with big brown eyes. Nice body, if his photos are up to date and he states in his profile, that he grew up with sisters and therefore knows how important it is to put the seat down. I like that.  I pay my hard earned money to enable the communications to begin.  I send the first message.  One word is all I write.  "Nice."   And I wait.  By the end of the day, I hear back from him.  He hasn't paid to communicate, so he changes his profile to include little snipets from MY profile in an effort to let me know he knows I'm interested,  and he suggests meeting at a place I mention on my profile.  It's Christmas and I watch, "You've Got Mail" over and over.  It becomes my favorite movie. 

We are to meet at the appointed spot.  A great sidewalk cafe.  I'm expecting him to arrive at any minute.  Is my lipstick right?  Hair in place?  It's sort of chilly.  Cars are zipping by and I'm looking at the driver hoping to spot him before he spots me. I'm laughing to myself when I see an ugly green Honda Civic of antique proportions go by. That's probably him. I shake my head.  Nah....

There  he is!  He's got a great walk and looks very nice. Friendly. Handsome. The cafe is closed for a Christmas party, so we need to drive somewhere else for dinner.  The conversation is easy.  Right up until I realize he is walking me toward the ugly green Honda!  Yep.  It WAS him.  He refers to the car as the Green Hornet and insists we take it rather than my convertible.  I scan the area for people I may know....shallow, I know.  And then it hits me...Manufacturing and Distribution?  Just what sort of job does he have? It wasn't a complete lie.  Turns out he delivers pizza!  A man of 45 should not be delivering pizza unless he owns the restaurant.  

The Beginning


Divorced after 22 years of marriage. Didn't see that coming. It was a marriage that was mostly good, but also one that led me down the path of least resistance.  It dawned on me one morning.  I could live another 40 years. Crap. And what's worse, so could he!  Immaculate house, dinner at 6, but not a lot of adreneline going through me. Unless I did something, the lifeless, boring road I was on was going to continue for the remainder of my life. And his. Unless, of course, I killed him first.  Since that wasn't an option....we decided to divorce.  

We do divorce very well.  And actually, we like each other again. We've come through it as friends and we occasionally go to dinner and a movie when our dating pools are a little shallow.  He's in love with a married woman, and I only like bad boys who break my heart.  So, we are a safe, neutral territory, but without the sex.  We love each other, but in such a different way than when we first met. He's still my family.  We just aren't a good married couple.  So many people have drama-conflama when they divorce.  I'm a lucky girl. 

So, along the road to recovery, I have started to date again. I waited six months before I started.  Sort of a cleansing period.  Like sorbet between courses.  It's been about 18 months of singledom and I've meet some interesting people.  Some in the real world and others via those popular dating sites scattered around the Internet. Men are not shy.  I've been asked questions I never thought I'd be asked by a stranger. From sexual positions I like, to my breast size. And all before the appetizer. Sometimes even before we make it to the actual date!  Maybe next time, I need to ask about penis size before I agree to go out with them....turn about is fair play.  Sort of a disclaimer. Like the ones at the entrance to the roller coaster...You must be this tall....er....long... to ride this ride.

These events, commonly refered to as dating, are pretty funny, and friends and co-workers have been after me to write them down.  Sort of a testament to my fortitude, I suppose.  And to the fact that people will say and do anything they think might get them one step closer to nekkedness.  Let me differentiate.  
Naked = without clothing.  
Nekked = without clothes and planning to have sexual relations.

So, this blog, is dedicated to those who find my efforts at finding a companion, suitable or otherwise, entertaining and laughable.  I personally have found it to be somewhat humiliating and downright scary at times, complete with a stalker.  This is my story.  My dating adventures...