Peicing hurts like hell and is harder than...

[LoginName]

Wow, what an interesting night and morning. Last night, I was invited to happy hour with a female friend. This friend is 10 years younger than me, single, and has expressed an interest in me in the past, but, I thought we were working on being friends. I don't have any female friends, and was intrigued by the idea. What might I learn from a female friend? I need more friends. I need to GAL and get out some. Sounds like excuses now, and I must admit, it is nice having someone interested in you.

The happy hour was kind of a party near where I live. She had actually expected me to go by myself, even though I knew no one there, but she decided to come too.

She dressed for me. Very cute dress, hair done, great perfume. I was impressed. We couldn't find the group we were meeting at first, so we sat and talked with each other. We talked about how, if things don't work out in my M, we would like to give it a try - even though we both really get on each others nerves at times. It was very nice, intimate.

Later we found the group. I sat with them and had a really nice chat with a beautiful woman my own age. She said whe really hoped to see me again, and hoped I would go on the skiing trip they were planning. (I guess I should mention that I've removed my ring. Psychologically, it was driving me crazy. I didn't even think of it until this point, and then I felt guilty. As much for giving this woman a false impression as for not wearing it.)

I also talked to another attractive female, and an interesting gentleman from Ireland. I was the social butterfly and had a really nice time.

Then I drove my friend home, and received a really nice, loving, kiss (OK, 3) from her. I haven't been kissed in over a year by a woman. wow. But I think we are save. I don't expect to spend much if any time with her, and I think we can be friends, especially now that we got the kiss out of the way.

Now this morning, my W called. We had a nice talk, about the kids, our jobs, beauty of fall, etc... I think I've mentioned that my W had said ILY on the phone awhile ago. Today I felt it was time to return it. When the conversation ended, I said ILY, and she said ILY too. Wow. I hope she is sticking to her promise to only say what she means. She sounded a little strained when she said it. I won't push or even mention the incident for a while. But it was nice to hear anyway. There does seem to be hope.

I'm not getting my hopes up though. Slow and easy. And not expecting anything. I'm still ready to move on with out her, if needed.

The hard work is still to come.

the tricky part is balancing on moving closer to my W, while still being prepared to move on. It's frustrating, because if she was ready, I could move very close to her, and really love her. Patience, eh?