He’s 27, I’m 49…age is just a number, right?

A few days ago my girlfriend and I met up at the local Denny’s for dinner.  We visited this place once before…back in October of 2011, and that’s when I met a waiter named “John”.  That first meeting  was quite innocent, flirtatious, and didn’t have much of an impact on me.  My friend V couldn’t understand how I didn’t notice how “into” me John was.  I just didn’t see it.  I mean, I just wasn’t interested in a kid who works at Denny’s.  I also thought he was just playing around…not very serious.

Eight months go by, and here we are, back at the same Denny’s.  As I entered the restaurant, the first person I see is John.  There he stood, smiling at me.  Being that I am a nice person, I smiled back.  We were seated at another server’s table, but that didn’t stop John from coming over, asking us (me) if we needed any more coffee, or ANYTHING else.  Our regular server almost had to give him an elbow to get out of his way!

At one point, John approached me and said, “You know, you are not going to leave this restaurant without giving me your phone number.  He handed me a piece of paper, I giggled, and wrote down my number.  V told him, “You better give her yours”.  He said, “I’m going to text her, she’ll have it in a minute.”  I leaned over to V and said, “What am I doing????”  She said, “You’re just being friendly… have fun.”

The next day, I’m busy at work, my phone buzzes with a text message.  It’s a photo of him, shirtless.  OH MY GOSH…ok….now I know what this is all about.  It’s what I was afraid of.  I’m assuming that all he’s thinking about is sex.  I was blushing at my desk. I was flattered that this charming, handsome, and sexy young thing was all up in my business.  I mean…he made it perfectly clear that he was totally into me.

I ran through the gamete of emotions.  WHY can’t a guy like me for WHO I am …not just someone to sleep with?  I WANT TO BE DATED.  I have so much to offer, and sex will come into play when the time is right.

I responded to his text that I thought we were going to have drinks.  He said that “we could do both”.  I texted him back saying, “Well, then call me sometime.”  A few hours later he called, and was sweet and charming on the phone.  He wanted to come over to “hang out.”  I asked him what his definition of that was.  John said that he wanted to relax, and get to know each other.  I told him that I wanted to go to a public place so that we can get to know each other there, since I didn’t know him well enough to have him in my home.

After haggling for about 20 minutes, I decided to let him come over…with the stipulation that there is no expectation of sex.  He agreed, and he said that I could “kick him out” whenever I wanted.  This was truly going to be a “get to know each other” hang.

John gets here, and he’s cute as ever.  We both are a little giggly, knowing that there’s a definite attraction.  We talked about various things for a while, and I have to admit that the question that kept popping in my head was, “why is a guy SO young interested in a older woman?” I never asked him that because I didn’t want to offend him.  Suddenly he said that he wanted to kiss me.  I let him.  And it was sweet and nice.  I haven’t been kissed in a long time…and I wanted those 27 year old lips against mine.

Inbetween the kisses, we would talk.  But it came to a screeching halt when he started to push it a little too far.  I knew he was hot and bothered, but I had to tell him it was time to go.  I told him that sex isn’t what I wanted at this point in our friendship.  We are just getting to know each other, and if I don’t have respect for myself, then he won’t either.  It took every piece of will power I had to tell him that (because deep down, I wanted to have sex with this HOT young man).  But, I’ve worked really hard to achieve that respect for myself, and I wasn’t going to blow it.

John told me that he was going back east in the next few days to be in his best friend’s wedding.  We stood in my doorway, saying goodbye when he gave me a sweet kiss goodnight.  He said he would be in touch.

I have found myself thinking about this guy, wondering why he was brought into my life.  I’m confused…I don’t know what to think of this.  I am definitely in a holding pattern, waiting to see how this will play out. As I write this, I have not heard from him.  I hope I do….because if anything…we can be friends.  It has to start there anyway.