Maybe I should be in piecing part 5?

[Hope4us]

First, Happy New Year everyone. Here's to 2009 being a lot better than 2008 for us all.

Ok, need some help figuring out this interesting day yesterday.

It kind of started Tuesday night. Picked W up from work and she was pretty quiet. I thought, F it, and did my own thing around the house. Spent some time with S16 playing Xbox, watched what I wanted to watch on T.V. without asking what W wanted to watch. Went to bed kind of early.

Yesterday I didn't plan any of this, but it couldn't have been more perfect.

Got up and was sitting here on DB. One of the guys who works for me IM'd me and said this one store had their wine on clearance if I was interested. So with the new Baker's rack having some slots for wine bottles, I decided I'd check the store out and get some.

W gets up and I told her about the clearance sale and invited her to go if she'd like. She gave me one of those non-commital answers so again I thought F it.

Shortly before I went upstairs to get my shower, my work phone rings. W hands it to me and I look at the caller ID. It was my hair cut place calling to remind me of my cut on Saturday. So I didn't answer it, said to W "it's just the hair cut place" and set the phone down. They left a message which I listened to and then went and took my shower. Put on my newly purchased Aqua Gio that all the women seem to like on here, grabbed my keys and wallet and told W I'd be back in a little bit, without giving her another opportunity to go if she wanted.

I was driving to the store and decided I'd stop at Starbucks for a Latte. Sat down and read a couple of newspapers while I had my coffee. Then to the store for the wine.

I'd been gone for about 2.5 hours and my phone rings. It's S16. "You still buying wine"? "Yes, I'll be home soon". "Ok, I just got up and wondered where you were". "I'll be home in a bit".

Hmmmmmm...Sounds like W wondered where I was and used S16 to find out.

So I took the really long way home and drove slow. I got home having been gone about 3.5 hours. I came in, put the wine in the new rack, asked S16 where his copy of "Saving Private Ryan" was and went downstairs to watch the movie, all without really saying much more than a couple words to W.

3/4 of the way through the movie I hear W taking a shower. Mind you, it's 5 in the evening by now. Why take a shower that late in the day? Don't know, don't care. Her shower lasts longer than normal which means she's shaving her legs. After the shower ends, she spends longer than normal primping. Not sure what the occasion is as we're just going to stay in and have Subway for dinner. WooHoo...some New Years Eve party huh?

Anyway, W comes downstairs just as the movie is ending and WOW, does she look HOT. She knows I like her hair when she puts a little wave in it to give it that wind blown look and for the last year or so she's been drying it straight. But her hair had the wave and it was obvious she'd spent some time on it. She also had put on perfume. Again, all this when we're just staying in? I compliment her on her hair and the sexy little sweater she had put on and head to the kitchen for my first New Year's drink. I ask the W if she wants one too and she takes me up on it.

We spend a really nice evening watching some football and the New Year's eve shows on T.V. Head to bed about 12:30 telling W "Happy New Year" to which she doesn't say anything for a few minutes and then replies "Happy New Year".


Ok, So here's where I need the help. It seemed to me that W was a little concerned where I was and what I was doing for those 3.5 hours I was gone. With the phone call I didn't answer and me being gone a whole lot longer than it should have taken to just pick up some wine, is/was she concerned that I might have been up to no good? Then she goes out of her way to take the extra long shower, do her hair the way I like, put on perfume and spend the evening really talking and seeming interested in me.

So...when you are in this friendship stage like we are, but still haven't progressed to the courting stage and W does something like yesterday were it seemed obvious to me she was interested in me, should I have initiated something? Like some hug, a kiss or the like? Or is it best to handle it like I did and let her want it more (if in fact she did)?

More GAL activities coming up. Of course, Football today. Best day of the year for that. Then Friday, S20 is coming home and I'm going to do something with him. Saturday, taking S20 back to school and going to see a basketball game with him. Sunday I'm going on a Nature/Bird watching hike most of the day either by myself or possibly with S16.

Thanks in advance for the opinions.