This is a bit of a long one. Sorry about that. This is a bit embarrassing, since it is pretty basic stuff.
Okay, so I know that it is generally not a good thing to get caught up on one girl, but the fact is sometimes there is one that just feels particularly right. Well I really blew this one after it was going quite well. But, I don't think it is completely lost. It is still quite early.
So here is the background: I am 51, she is about 33. I went through a coding bootcamp program then stayed on as an assistant for the next session. She was a student in that one. There were a number of attractive women in the group, but she is by far the most attractive. I was friendly, but professional with all of them. Since I was managing the student records I saw that she had put down a husband as her emergency contact. I would never mess up someone's marriage. That is just bad. But, I could still enjoy her company. I think that allowed me to be a little more relaxed and natural with her.
Things got interesting when, near the end of the course, like the first week of December, she, another guy and I went out for a drink and she mentioned that she had moved to the city and left all her stuff at her old place... and was staying with a friend... Of course that got the wheels turning in my head. Hmm, I am beginning to see where my mistake started. I knew she would need some time before she would really be ready to have a relationship again... Or that is something like what I thought.
Shortly after that I texted her asking if she would like to join me for a hike. She was receptive to it but was with friends and was not able to join that day. The next day was Monday and she was clearly happy to see me and happy that I had asked her to hike. That was just the first of many good interactions after finding out that she had left her husband. We exchanged emails over the Christmas break and talked about meeting up. We went to lunch on Jan. 5th. I was working on a project for the bootcamp company and she was starting her job search so we were both quite busy.
Things changed on January 27th… and somehow I didn’t really register the implications. Just thinking of it makes me feel sick. I was working on Friday evening in the computer lab and one of the guys from the group I had assisted was talking about going to dinner with a few others. I did not expect her, but she turned up and came over to me when she saw me. The whole evening went better and more easily that I could have even imagined. We just talked about what was at hand and going on in our lives, but I had her laughing a lot and it seemed like every story I told had a perfect combination of ups and downs. When we left for dinner I suggested that she could leave her backpack at the school as I was doing with mine. Throughout the dinner I was more engaged and entertaining for the whole group than I usually am. When it was done the group was walking back and everyone peeled off to go their various directions except her and I. I had a bit of nervousness about being alone with her, but here is where I made some grave error… Somehow I did not consciously register that this was the opportunity to take it to the next level. When we got back to our packs she started asking me things like if I would like to go for a run sometime or ride bikes in a particular place, more interest than she had been showing previously. We stood near the elevators for a while and I can recall, my mind was still on trying to build rapport. We hugged a couple times there. She then suggested that we go over to my bike, which was in a dimmer, more secluded area. I was getting ready to go and she was planning to continue studying for another couple hours. We hugged more there and somehow it still didn’t even occur to me to kiss her. Somehow I was just so stuck in this mode of rapport building, like I still had to give her space in consideration of her recently separated state. I thought I was handling it perfectly.
After this I was very happy with myself. Through the weekend I did not even realize how badly I had f’d up. I was eager to see her. We texted back and forth a bit. She was busy with studying for interviews. We finally met up on Wednesday, Feb. 1st and she was quite happy to see me, still laughing easily at things I said, clearly still rather thrilled to be with me. We went up on the roof of the building, which is a nice place to hang out with a view. It was another opportunity where I could have kissed her. She was still in state and ready, happy with me. I missed it. When I saw her on Friday I could sense a tension. Her big interview was on Monday. She did not want to do anything over the weekend. Somehow I had in my mind that I wanted to first get her to join me for a hike or something, then I would kiss her, like I needed to do it in a particular setting. The next week I was waiting for an interview call and ended up working from home all week, so I didn't see her in person. Finally, two weeks after that very nice Friday evening, I realized exactly how badly I had missed my opportunity.
I have been beating myself up pretty relentlessly over the weekend, but I managed to avoid sending her the message begging her to forgive me and give me another chance. She has seemed to become a little less responsive, but she is still always very nice. My women friends have all assured me that things are probably fine. The guys have confirmed my thoughts that I have probably hosed myself.
I did send a message saying, ‘Hi <>, Did I mess things up between us? I feel like I did. If so, I hope you can forgive me.’ She replied with, ‘Hi <>, there is nothing to worry about. Wish you the best for your interview tomorrow. Good luck!!’ So I have shown a bit of lack of confidence there, but that was pretty much it. On Valentine’s Day I sent her an e-card. It was not overly romantic or flowery or anything. The note I put in it said, ‘Dear <>, Just wanted to let you know that you are special to me and I appreciate you! I hope you have a happy day today! Love <>’ She replied with a, ‘Thank you, <>!’ I have not sent her anything since that on Tuesday morning. I have not seen her in person for over a week.
Hmm, Now as I retell it I am not feeling so bad. The strong emotions I was feeling in my chest were making me feel like it was totally ruined. It is hard to think rationally about how to handle this. I think that she is still open to me, but I am feeling really vulnerable now, especially when these emotions around having f’d it up arise. I was starting to get some feeling that she may have turned to some more action oriented guy. Somehow her decline in responsiveness was making me suspect that she may have started something with someone else. But really I probably shouldn’t worry about anything like that anyway. She has not explicitly told me anything like that. The main question is how to approach her going forward. My thinking is to see her in person, hopefully tomorrow, check her state, hopefully get her comfortable and maybe to laugh, then suggest we do something again. I have asked her to come with me for a hike a number of times and she has declined, so that feels a little overused. A mutual friend has suggested going kayaking and I am thinking that might be a good one to suggest. If we get out in nature somewhere I can make a move, if she is open to going at all. My biggest concern is over how nervous I might feel next time I see her. I have never been nervous with her. How do I build her anticipation and delight with me back up again? What sort of timing should I use?
Incidentally, I also have another girl who is incredibly hot that I will probably see tomorrow too. That is not as far along though. But I do have some other outlet for my interest. I also have another who I have already been to bed with a few times, but she is traveling for business for a couple months.
So, yeah, I guess I work slowly. I was divorced about a year ago and am not quite up to speed with this stuff again.
Interested to hear opinions. Hopefully from some with more experience that I have.
Thanks!
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