Charming, but single

On Saturday night, after my social plans fell through and I’d watched my fill of football and grumbled about different BCS scenarios, I had considerable time to myself to think about my current dating status. (I was a pensive mood, not in a “woe is single me for being home alone on a Saturday night” mood, because, truthfully, a belly full of gumbo and beer makes cuddling under blankets on a cold and windy Saturday night that much nicer.) Things with On Paper, well, are disappointing. And I think this is because I we have varying expectations. This is completely my fault – he wanted to date me back in June and I freaked out about his pending divorce and broke things off after a bad experience with him. And then I remembered how much he liked me when I saw him out one night and text messaged him late one evening after being rebuffed by The Nurse. (And while we’re talking about The Nurse, I got an instant message from him the other day that said, “Want to find your match? Visit this site” and gave some URL. Before I could think twice, I’d responded with an “Excuse me?” because the fact that he'd send me THAT message or all messages made my blood boil. It took me about a minute to realize it was IM spam and that he must’ve had a virus. This whole experience confirmed my suspicions that when he decided he didn’t want to see me anymore, he blocked me on his friends list so I couldn’t see when he was online, which makes him the least mature person I’ve ever dated as an adult.) But back to On Paper. Since that fateful night where we met for a late night drink and then went back to his place under the guise of watching a movie, I have hung out with him twice. Once we met up for a drink and nightcap and then two weeks ago we went on an actual date – a movie, James Bond – and I had a really good time. And so when he called to apologize for not calling and we discussed hanging out this weekend, I’d assumed he wanted to move back to the dating track. And despite some concerns of my own, I was ready to do this as well. Which brings me back to being alone on Saturday night when he rebuffed my suggestion that we get a drink because he had to clean his house for company the next day. And it was like someone let the air out of my tires – a man opted for chores over Charming? Not good for my self-esteem. Of course I understand why he would think I was only interested in seeing him casually. Until recently I couldn’t see him as much more than a late-night phone call. But something made me want to give it a go, perhaps because he’s so polite and can be the perfect date. He even won me a teddy bear from one of those claw vending machines. Seriously. A teddy bear. That is so cute I that I think I might vomit.