I bought a bag of freeze-dried beef-liver treats before my date because her poodle, Katie, was coming along. The plan was simple: save them for the end of our walk and let Katie have her little moment. I was, after all, hoping to make a good impression on both members of the party.
Katie needed a bathroom break within the first 200 meters. I offered to clean up, then ran back to the trailhead to throw away the bag so my date wouldn’t have to carry it. She called me chivalrous. Not the grandest setting for that compliment, but I was happy to take it.
We walked for about an hour. We joked, had a good conversation and seemed to share plenty of interests. I was strongly attracted to her, which made the ordinary business of walking and talking feel pleasantly charged. We even joked about the risks of meeting someone in the woods for a first date. So far, everyone was behaving beautifully.
At the end of the walk, I brought out Katie’s treats. My date had me feed them to Katie, and the poodle accepted her payment with the professional focus of someone who understands a good arrangement.
I asked whether we should exchange phone numbers, and she said yes. That was where I started second-guessing myself: I thought she seemed a little uncertain. I told her that if it felt too soon, we could keep talking online. She said no, let’s exchange numbers. So we did. The hesitation was my impression; she had given me an answer.
I asked if I could give her a hug. She accepted and complimented the hug, so after we talked a little more, I asked for another. She accepted that one too. On the way home, though, my mind started holding its own post-date review: Had I been too forward? Was she interested, or had I simply mistaken a pleasant afternoon for a promising one?
While I was writing my update, she texted that she’d enjoyed the date. She joked about the fact that nobody had been murdered and invited me to a concert on Friday. I accepted. My mental review was briefly dismissed, though apparently not permanently: a day later, I admitted I was nervous about the upcoming date. I planned to be myself and try not to overthink it. The concert was still ahead of us, and so, evidently, was my brain’s next round of paperwork.
