nakedpianoplayer said:

I do too.

I had Thursday afternoon off work. He tried to get some time off too but when he asked for a few hours' leave, there was no availability...

I did some clothes shopping downtown, then met my friend Fiona for dinner (the one who went to Peru and came back pregnant)... Well, my phone was in my bag and the bistro we were in has notoriously bad mobile reception. When I took my phone out, I'd had three missed calls from him; a barrage of texts and he was ringing it again...

He came to the bar and met me and Fiona, then said that his girlfriend would be joining us. He also rang another couple he knows and they turned up before his girlfriend did. The girl in the other couple was deathly boring. I think she was a trainee lawyer or something. She was only in her early-twenties but already had that powersuit and briefcase look going on. Whenever I spoke, she nodded at me with her head to one side as if I were "special" and she was humouring me...

After we ate, we went to a wine bar and his girlfriend joined us. I was a bit uneasy because he seemed to ignore her completely and sat with me and Fiona, getting slowly drunk...

Fiona left as she couldn't drink or smoke anyway due to her pregnancy and the rest of us went to this really trashy bar called 'Vogue'. It had blaring music pounding out of the speakers; neon signs everywhere. It looked like the bar in that Jodie Foster movie, 'The Accused'. We left before we finished our drinks.

We then went over to a gay bar. I believe that he said this was his girlfriend's idea, but thinking about it now, I don't think it was. I didn't even want to go there because a one-night stand works behind the bar. The one-night stand stalked me over a period of two months, about four years ago and grimaces at me whenever I'm in there, as if to suggest that I ruined his life.

From the gay bar we went to one of those "real ale" pubs: sawdust on the floor and a piano in the corner. It was full of men with beards and tweed jackets. He and the other bloke (the trainee lawyer's boyfriend), started pummelling the piano and singing 'Hey Jude'. I don't remember his girlfriend or the career-girl leaving but they left at this point. It would have been about 10.00pm and I would have been in one bar or another since 03.30pm that afternoon. I was sloshed.

From the crusty pub we went to a student bar. I was pretty messy by this time and don't remember much. The lawyer-type's boyfriend left us in here at about midnight. A group of students asked if we wanted to go back to their place for a party - so we did.

The flat was a proper dump. It looked like the house in 'The Young Ones'. There were about ten students there and the refreshments consisted of one bottle of vodka between all of us. A girl whom looked like Kelly Osborne shared the vodka between us in plastic beakers. The students were playing acoustic guitars and bongoes. There was one bloke in the corner and my work-colleague kept asking him if he was gay, because he thought that I needed setting-up with somebody and he looked suitable. It was odd. I think I fell asleep on the couch after about thirty minutes of being there.

We then went back to my work-colleague's house at 04.30am as he lived nearby. He gave me a glass of water with two Alka-Seltzers in it, to drink before I slept and directed me to his spare room.

I woke up at 08.00am, realising that I had to be at work at nine. I was woken by the sound of his girlfriend slamming the front door behind her on her way out. I tried to clean my teeth with some toothpaste on a Q-Tip (the "ear pick" he referred to in a later text) and sprayed myself liberally with deodorant. I was a skanky mess. I guess the Q-Tip must have been floating in the toilet bowl for him to have commented upon it later.

I ran downstairs and couldn't get out as all the doors were locked and I couldn't find any keys. I ran upstairs, knocked on his bedroom door and he came out looking all bleary-eyed and wearing the previous day's black boxer-briefs. I told him that I had to get a bus a.s.a.p. but instead, he told me to calm down and relax. He phoned me a taxi and made me coffee and toast before I left for work.

Friday at work was HELL. I haven't done anything as irresponsible as that since I was in my teens. Luckily my boss was in meetings all day and didn't come near enough to me to smell the alcohol seeping out of my pores.

I had a few more texts from him during the morning about going to the Mardi Gras in Manchester at the weekend but by mid-afternoon it had all gone quiet again.

I think I'm having a mid-life crisis. I'm acting like a teenager with a crush again and I don't really care.

Edit. I do care a bit, or I wouldn't be asking for others' opinions.

.
[Edited 8/30/06 13:52pm]

susannah said:

I was actually flattered!

Justin1972UK said:

sorry, its annoying to a straight girl when girls do it! that was my angle....

brownsugar said:

Cloudbuster said:

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Cloudbuster said:

Wow...what a great story and what a great situation to be in. And yes it does seem like High School or something but damn the whole scenario is hot. I say, have fun with him but remember that he's "straight" and has a girlfriend and all that. Take it as far as you can and have fun...but DO NOT fall for him...I wasted my four college years "in love" with my straight roommate. He picked up on it and even went as far as to flirt we me and leave me love letters and weird shit like that. It all ended when I introduced him to a girlfriend from my literature courses. She came over to work on a paper with me and, well, let's just say that things progressed.

Ten years later they're still together and they have an eight year old son.

Justin1972UK said:

Justin1972UK said:

Justin, man. Just hand him your cock and be done with it.

TheResistor said:

But that's not all of it.

TheResistor said:

Same thing happened to me! I had a demented meeting with my teenage crush the other week - but that's another story.

Justin1972UK said:

Well, what's the whole story?

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Oh.

My life has gone totally Zelaira* just recently. It's been crazy for a few years now but it just keeps getting progressively more hectic.

*No offence if you're lurking, Muffin.

Justin1972UK said:

I was excited for the possibilities is all

Justin1972UK said:

I'm not Zelaira.

Justin1972UK said:

Justin1972UK said:

[Edited 8/30/06 14:18pm]

TheResistor said:

Well, he constantly emails me and phones my extension at work - the colleague, not the teenage crush.

My ex, (whom I shall refer to as Neil-the-ex from now on) has only recently started speaking to me again after a period of avoiding each other for 14 months. The silences were a bit awkward at times because we work in the same open-plan office. Like I've said before, it was like playing Pac-Man to get to the coffee machine at times.

Well, one day last week, Neil-the-ex was standing over me, chatting about booking Kylie tickets whilst I was sat down at my desk. My email pinged to say that I had new mail but I didn't open it as I knew whom it would be from...

After Neil-the-ex walked away, I opened the mail and it was from the work-colleague. I can't recall it word for word, but it went like this...

What's he doing, draping himself all over your desk like a big smelly cat on heat? Throw a shoe at him. The big, big smelly cat. Ha! Ha!

I emailed back...

He was asking me if I'd booked any tickets to see Kylie in Manchester next January. He also asked who had made the origami giraffe on my desk, so I told him you made it for me. He said, "Oh. So he likes origami then? Is there anything else he likes". Ha! Ha!

Then the colleague replied...

He's a smelly, smelly, smelly cat on heat. The next time I see him in the toilets, I'm going to wee on him and pretend it's an accident. Woof!

I don't know why he added "Woof!" at the end of his email or what he would gain by pissing on Neil-the-ex - but it's odd, isn't it?

Incidentally, I slept with Neil-the-ex about a month ago. It was completely unplanned.

Justin1972UK said:

"Woof" + Pee = fetish. This guy is trying to jump your bones but not sure about the GF thing. If you do get in a situation where you can hook up, maybe you should just tell him to dump the GF and get real about his life

Justin1972UK said:

Im so sorry to laugh at your real-life woes Jus, buy you just couldnt make this stuff up! Do tell us more!

Justin1972UK said:

Wow! I guess that's an easy way to beat the boredom at the office.

But, seriously, he's now showing jealous behavior-I don't know any straight boy worth his salt, that would give a damn or that it would even occur to him that a co-worker/buddy's ex is by his desk chatting him up. I mean, when my secretarie's ex comes by the only thing I'm thinking of is-please take it outside.

Now, I'm thinking this is going to get messy. My college crush was straight and just used me as his lapdog. But it seems that this dude is clearly falling for you...boy it's gonna get weird

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I've already had "the serious chat" with him. This has been going on for a few months now...

The day we went buying clothes together, we were sat outside at a cafe with the shopping bags. He was joking about his girlfriend thinking that he was having an affair with me and that my picking out clothes for him would add fuel to the fire. I told him not to joke around about stuff like that because it wasn't funny to me.

I then told him flat-out that I like him. His response isn't what I expected at all. He said, "I appreciate your honesty". He was very blase. It was almost as if he anticipated for me to say something and he'd used the joking-around to trigger a reaction from me.

Since that day, his interaction with me grew to the point where we'd spend every coffee break and lunch together at work. After last Thursday, he cooled a little. I guess his girlfriend was mad at him for staying out till nearly 05.00am and then bringing me home. However, as of today he's gone back to how he was.

He phoned me as soon as I sat down at my desk this morning. He started his conversation with, "I had a dream last night that I was milking a goat and then I woke up and..." I interrupted him, pointing out that if management were monitoring our calls, he could get us both sacked. He also phoned me after lunch asking when we were going out again. I'm skint!!! I can't afford to go out all the time. I live on my own and only bring one wage in, so I'm not exactly wealthy.

susannah said:

There's a bit of a catch-up thread here, briefly detailing the last few months: http://www.prince.org/msg/100/199973

It's very, very brief.

Justin1972UK said:

I realised after I wrote that, that what I found so funny was your delivery, not your woes!

I dont really have anything to add, I agree with the majority

Justin1972UK said:

The plot thickens. So, he knows how you feel about him huh? That's interesting. This whole story takes on a brand new spin. Are you falling for him? I mean, is the crush turning into something else? If it is I don't think it's worht the heartache. But if you're sure it's just a silly crush then just have fun. Maybe he's now waiting for you to make the first move. Going out all night with him was probably a start, unfortunately you got too wasted and passed out. Go out again, only this time monitor your drinking, but let him think you're drunk. So if he rejects you or anything you can blame it on the drink.

Anyway... The colleague wasn't in work on Friday - but I was. I was also in work on Saturday.

I was exhausted on Saturday but only had to work four hours. During those four hours, Neil-the-ex plonked himself down next to my desk and logged on. During the course of the four hours, Neil-the-ex repeatedly questioned me about the work-colleague. I didn't really tell him anything of great importance.

I did mention to Neil-the-ex that the work-colleague might meet up with me on the Sunday at the Mardi Gras. Neil-the-ex then asked if he could come around to mine after work just to hang out and watch TV. "Dynasty: The Reunion" was on the telly that afternoon and I'd set my DVD Recorder to tape it. I've been on a major Dynasty-kick recently... I left the office at 02.30pm and Neil-the-ex was leaving at 04.00pm, so I had an hour to get some food in for dinner and tidy around.

Neil-the-ex then texed me at four o'clock saying that he wouldn't be coming around as he was tired.

Now, between Thursday and Saturday, I'd only had two texts from the work-colleague instead of the usual twenty a day. So I knew that either he or his girlfriend were mad at me for Thursday night - for whatever reason.

On Sunday I texed him asking if he was coming to the Mardi Gras and that's when he texed back "Have fun with Neil" or whatever it was. I wasn't going to go if he wasn't going but a few other friends phoned me on Sunday morning, so I made the effort and went.

I got really drunk again. I was fed-up, so I got drunk. I'm turning into an alcoholic or something.

TheResistor said:

Yeah, I hardly ever start a story at the beginning. It was just the whole "Love you" thing as I left work this evening. It's been on my mind all night - moreso than all the rest of it.

Justin1972UK said:

don't rule out mind games, be careful

brownsugar said:

Oh, I know. At the end of the day he knows how I feel but I have no idea what he's feeling - so he has the upper hand.

I can't recall how we got to the point where we went shopping together or even just went out to a bar together. I honestly can't remember how it all started. I'm pretty sure it was he whom asked me to go for a beer after work one night, a few months ago.

I agree with Brownsugar and do be careful with the mind games.

He may be falling for you and struggling to get his message across, but he will not come out until he's good and ready. I should know. I was "straight" until I was dragged out of the closet, kicking and screaming. The thing is this, even if he does come out, are you willing to be the "try-on for size" boyfriend. I had tons of hang-ups once I came out. I thought it would be a breeze to come out and finally be free but my conditioning was more powerful than the newly acquired freedom. I clung to the first boy that showed interest and I managed to make our lives miserable for the next six months. The thing was that I just had no experience or point of reference when it came to being with a man. So, I managed to fuck it all up. And for that I will always be regretful. He was a great guy too...

Now that I have a better picture of the entire situation I just want to say, please be careful with the ol' heart. It seemed like some fun, harmless, office romance but if you like him and he's "blase" about being honest, then this is a completely different scenario...

becareful buddy...