making the call

Yeah, so an explanation: At the CABN meeting, there was this guy. (I bet you already know where this story is going.) We made eye contact and then I got distracted by the youngest attendee of the meeting, who resembled a japanese cartoon monkey. He and I made eye contact too. But I cut that shit short when I realized his email address was mariahcareyboy@aol.com. Anyway. Gute Guy in Zip-Neck Sweater (CGZS) and I talked after the meeting, when all the CABN peaole crashed the party for the Trans Amendment passage going on next door. I believe the conversation started when neither of us really felt comfortable raiding the snack table because the celebrants who were supposed to be eating weren’t over there yet. The conversation continued to the exclusion of everyone else, and covered most of the important bases- school, work, etc. Then we’re leaving, and I’m like “ok, I go this way” assuming he’s gonna get on the train and head out to someplace on the brown line where he lives. “Well, do you wanna get a drink?” He asks. And of course I can’t say no, even though I feel a little awkward about the situation at this point, like it was one thing when we were standing around in ann sather’s, but kinda quite different when we’re headed off to a bar. But head off we did, and of course got booted after about 40 seconds, when he tried to get some beers and the gnarled troll behind the counter (to call her a bartender would be misleading) got belligerent. So where did I suggest we go? Of course, the pick me up. So this now quite extended conversation continues and we’re talking social theory and it’s all very enlightening, and blah blah blah, and we’re definitely looking at each other a little too long, and each pause is getting more and more meaningful, then we hafta leave and we’re outside having the “end of first unplanned date” conversation, which goes something like

CGZS: “So am I going to hear from you again?”
me: ”yeah, definitely.”
(awkward pause; both fiddle with coats, gloves, etc)
me: “So supposing I were to call you, what number should I call?”
CGZS: (gives number, kinda flustered, obviously expected I would give my number) “and what about you, do you have a phone?”
me: “yeah, but it’s a cell, so I don’t have it on all the time.”
CGZS: “mine’s a cell, too.”
me: “oh.”
CGZS: "are you gonna call me?"
me: "maybe."
(awkward pause # 2)
CGZS: “so can I kiss you?”
me: ”um, (short pause) yeah.”

5 hours of unrelenting guilt ensue, the whole situation finally resolves itself when I call two days later and he claims he only wanted to be friends. Which obviously works for me.