Monday, January 16, 2006

Chivalry is not dead...Part II

So Don and I head for the exits, but stop on the way to try another time for vouchers to assist with the cost. I tried everything, but to no avail. American has become very stingy, but I wasn't going down without trying everything I could. I finally admit defeat and we go down and grab a cab. At this point, I've known Don for a couple of hours and I had decided that he was a good person. My instincts were telling me that I could trust him and this is where I become stupid. My thought process - I'm in New York, with no place to stay, a flight at 6am and so many things I could experience. If I had gotten a hotel room, I probably would've just stayed at the hotel. If I stayed at the airport I wouldn't get any sleep and would be bored silly. So instead, I did what every woman should never do - I took Don up on his initial offer to crash at his apartment. But really, we only spent a couple of hours there in total. Our cab dropped us off and we went up to drop off the bags and turned around and headed out on a tour. It was a warm evening so we walked along the water and tried to spot Lady Liberty, but she was hiding in the fog. So instead, we kept walking and ended up at the site of the World Trade Center. It was the first time I had been there in person and I was overcome with emotions. Even though many years had passed, it felt like only yesterday that chaos struck NY. We walked around the site, talked with other visitors and just experienced something that I never thought possible. I shared a very personal moment with a complete stranger, and I think we were both forever changed.

Eventually, it was time to move on and we walked to SWNY for a few drinks. It was a cute place and it was quiet enough to get to know each other. We spent many hours chatting and as time went on, I knew I was getting into trouble. Don was getting progressively more flirtatious and was trying so hard to woo me. He was a sweetheart, but definitely not my type. I tried everything I could to dissuade him from continuing his quest, but unfortunately, he - like most men - just didn't get that I wasn't interested. Eventually, the bar closes and it's time to get our nap. The cab is scheduled for 4AM which leaves only a couple of hours for sleep. We head back to his apartment and I take his bedroom and he takes the pull out couch in the living room. Thankfully, it's a corporate housing deal, so it's cleaned daily and I didn't have to worry about any nastiness. As I'm shutting the bedroom door, Don comes to me and gets down on his knees to kiss my hand and express his amazement at 'meeting such a wonderful woman'. I make him get off his knees, but he proceed to give me a quick kiss goodnight, which I was unable to avoid. I did manage to get the door shut without any other incidents and immediately blocked the door so that I had some protection. I also made sure to have my cell phone under my pillow and the hotel phone was also right there. I did manage to get a couple of hours sleep and woke to find Don ready to go back to the airport. We still had a few minutes before the cab came and there were a few minutes of awkward silences which were occasionally interrupted by Don wanting to look into my face so that he could remember everything about it. By now, things had moved from sweet to a little bit creepy, but I think it was because he doesn't have much experience with women, because in the cab he ends up professing his love for me. Saying it's love at first sight and how he wants to take me out and have a real date, either in Chicago or when I'm back in New York. Why all this happened I may never understand. As far as I was concerned, I never gave him a reason to think that we could be anything other than friends. Obviously he thought differently. Once at the airport, we checked in for our flight and I managed to get a seat on the earliest flight and he ended up flying standby. We still hung out at the gate in our haze due to lack of sleep, but the talk was minimal. After getting on the plane I managed to end all contact with Don and finally got a little more sleep. Since I was at the front of the plane, I was able to get off quickly and headed straight home and never looked back. I felt a little bit guilty for how I left things, so the next day, I sent Don an email thanking him for his hospitality and making it very clear that a relationship was not possible. He did email back, but there was no talk of a date so I think this time he got the message.

And that my friends was my Friday night adventure. I was stupid, but was able to tell the tale. Please don't try this at home!

Posted by Maple :: 9:14 PM :: 5 Comments:

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