Ok, a rundown of the "dates" I went on before I went to Ohio ...

THE EMT
I met this guy through the Internet.  We arranged to meet up outside his apartment complex one night and go to dinner.

Taking one car on a date is against my number one rule of dating.  I always like to have my car with me in the event that I need to escape.  This guy gave me yet another reason to adhere to my time-tested rule ... he drove like a maniac. 

I thought I was going to die.  I was grateful for every moment that we were blocked in by other vehicles and could not go flying down the road.  After my stomach had finally adjusted, I began to trust his driving and knew I would be ok as long as we did not get on the freeway where he would have real freedom ...

We had a nice time at dinner and decided to go to a movie.  Little did I know that we would have to get on the freeway to get to the theater. 

As we went flying down the freeway, I could not take the increasing speed but my breath was gone and I could not speak or scream, so I frantically grabbed at his arm until he slowed.

"Too fast?" he asked.  I cannot imagine the look of terror mixed with sickness I must have had on my face.  "Sorry, I must just be immune to it.

I made it back to my car in one piece.  He gave me a hug and a kiss on the side of the head and asked me to call him when I got home so that he would know I made it ok.  I liked him.  He was exciting and fun.  I wanted to see him again.

When I dialed his number once I arrived home, I got his voicemail, so I left him a message.  He called me back and left me a voicemail.  I wait a few days and don't hear anything from him.  The girls and I decide that he must think it's my turn to call.  I get his voicemail again so I leave a message telling him that I just wanted to see if he had plans for the weekend. 

I get a text message from him the next day.  "Hey, I'm sick.  I'll call you later."
I interpret "late r" as later that night, so when I don't get a call, I consult with Val and William to see if their interpretation is the same.
The three of us decide on a text message that says, "Hey, hope you're feeling better."
His response:  "I am thanks"

I close my phone and sit back as if I've been punched in the gut.
"You're not going to respond?" William asks, in shock.
"Uh no.  He might as well have flat out told me that he was not interested," I said.
"I disagree.  You should respond," Willi am says.
"No, she's right," Val said.

Val and I have become better interpreters of men than men are.

THE REPEAT
After going out with the fast-driving, cursing, occasional drug-using EMT, going out with Zach again was like going out with a church minister.  I was slightly bored and wondered, where is the happy-medium?  Val and William, however, continued their constant praise of him.

THE BEST FRIEND
When one of the guys from the frat invited me to a Thrashers hockey game, I was excited.  "Dirty" and I have been close friends from the start.  There have been a couple of drunk moments at parties where I sensed he wanted to kiss me, but I just leaned out of the way to prevent anything from happening and attributed it to the alcohol. 

I love him to death.  Definitely.  But the problem is that I am not physically attracted to him ... at all.  And it's super-frustrating because we are so natural together, never a forced conversation, that I want to be attracted to him, but it just doesn't happen.

As we were seated across from each other at dinner, I searched his face, his physique, his arms, everything, for something I could be attracted to ... but found nothing. 

So that disappointment was increased by a Thrashers loss ...

Next up, the events of my trip to Ohio ...