Backstory
here. Whatev.
Leaving a date with someone else, I ran into the redhead while stopping in a bar on the way back home. There was a speed-dating thing going on and I walked in on the very end of it. She knew the (gay) guy who'd organized it, and he'd asked her to come down as a ringer to help fill out the crowd. Just so happened he also knew an alpha type I met there Saturday night, and thought they'd work out well together, and he got the alpha there by telling him about this redhead who was coming. Just so happened the two of them were each other's last dates of the night, and I walked in right as they were finishing up.
She greeted me warmly and I told her I was only stopping in for a minute, and she asked me to stay for a bit and we chatted while the alpha wandered off for a while. I dropped some negs right off the bat because I know her style, asked how their speed date had gone and she said she was probably going to sleep with him. I joked with her about that and flirted heavily, alternated with a few more negs. Some weirdo drunk guy came up and hit on her, and she said he'd done it before and tried to grab her boob. I told her if he came anywhere near again, I'd kick his ass, and threatened to do it right then. She definitely appreciated the gesture, but told me not to and thanked me. Conversation went very well. When he came back, the three of us chatted, and almost immediately he asked me if I was gay, which was a takedown tactic that pissed me off a lot because he saw me all over every chick in the place last weekend, but I didn't get rattled at all and informed him that I am not, and Red rose to my defense, asserting that I just put a lot of care into how I look. After that, of course, he said, "Like me," and began discussing how similar the he and I apparently are. Amazingly enough, then he wandered off again, and Red and I talked for a long time. Alpha eventually came back, and we all talked again, then I went over to the bar and ran into an acquaintance while they talked, and was gone for quite a while before I went back. The three of us talked again, then he disappeared another time.
She and I talked more, then the band began playing a song we both love. We ran up to the front and danced. I'm a great dancer, and she had a very good time, and I told her she should come dancing with me sometime. She was interested. Alpha was gone a long time, and she spotted him outside on the patio and asked me, "Do you wanna go out there?" and suggested we go join him, then paused midsentence, changed her mind, and said, "Never mind, let's stay here." I found that odd, considering she had expressed concrete interest in him. I was going to leave, but after that I decided to hang around a bit longer. Red and I sat at the bar and built a LOT of rapport talking about her family (I know them), some mutual passions, and some mutual friends we had who recently passed away. Between all that, I got a lot of different emotions out of her.
The guy returned just as I was getting ready to leave, and she said she was about to leave too, so I waited another half minute or two and didn't act remotely interested or jealous as they said goodbye and exchanged numbers and cheek kisses. She and I walked out together, and she said she was glad to be walking out with someone she trusted. I asked her in the parking lot if we were gonna go out sometime, and she said we could do the "dancing friend thing" and my phone rang and I had to silence it because it was really loud. I returned my attention to her and said, "So you were saying?" and she repeated the "dancing friend thing" turned toward me but walking away, and yet never gave me her number (we're Myspace friends, but still, that seems weird to me).
I'm REALLY baffled because I don't *think* I ever displayed too much interest but I have NO doubt that this girl is interested in me. We have a lot in common, we vibe together, I get a big reaction whenever I'm around her, and I have never in my life seen ANYONE's pupils more dilated when talking to me. Whenever we're one-on-one with each other, 85-90% of her irises are consumed by her extra-huge pupils. She's totally into me and fighting it, and I can't figure out what tripped my game tonight. Is it *simply* that she met another guy tonight she apparently considered higher value? If she and the guy aren't already in contact, they will be tomorrow. I'm already at a disadvantage because I don't have her number and he does, and I had to continue buddying up with him even though we both knew we were competing. I think I need to Myspace her tomorrow, most likely with something salvaging the situation, possibly suggesting I got the impression she thought I was interested and she needs to not get the wrong idea because I'm seeing a few other people or something.
I need advice by tomorrow afternoon, if not before.
Anyone?