First Date Experience: Stewart

I'm starting a new series about the first dates I go on. The goal is to do a quick assessment of how the date went, as quickly as possible after the date. What happened, how I felt after, what we talked about, details about him. How we actually met, etc. It is in hopes of better understanding the people I meet, the patterns I fall into. A better log of my dating life.

Time: 00:09

Situation: Tinder date

Feeling: Insecure

What happened?: We meet around 8:40pm. He is ten minutes late. We switch from our original bar arcade idea to a quieter bar where I know the bouncer. We order two pitchers. The first pitcher is Creemore ("Creamore") and the second, Mill St. Tankhouse. We talk about our siblings. I tell him about my precarious relationship with my sister. He tells me he's the middle of three brothers, with their age defined by the numbers of tattoos each has. His birthday is March 10th. His parents got real busy in July. I tell him about past Chinese political history and he tells me more about Brexit. We discuss our parents. His are Scottish immigrants. Mine are Chinese. We talk about Humber College, where he went, where I recently applied. I tell him about my tattoo experience and how sick I got. He says he owns a tattoo gun, and does some tattoo work himself. He talks about his roommates and his friends.

I think we have a good date, but around 10pm, he suddenly tells me his roommate with the nearly dead grandmother, now has a dead grandmother and he has to go console his roommate. I don't know if I should be hurt. He settles the bill. He mentions that I can get it next time. We walk out. I can't remember if there's a hug or not. He says he had a nice time. I can't remember if he suggests another date. He walks off. I go back inside because I ran into a friend while I was in the toilet.

It's the next day. At 00:30, I text him telling him I came home safely. He never responds. I spend Sunday more or less unsure of the date. Unsure whether I will ever see him again.

I think I'm nice during the date. I talk about the things I'm passionate about. I am honest and I am myself. I let parts of my vulnerability and insecurity slip through, but I don't think it's overbearing. I describe the experience to my best friend as meeting and talking to someone at a friend's party. There are pockets where it's a little awkward, but not unbearably so. At least, I don't think so. Maybe he does. I'm not sure if I'll ever hear from him again.