#datingspree

Back to happier things… a few days after my second date with Nerdface, I flew to Vegas for my bday. 

I really can't write about my birthday weekend. What happened in Vegas really should stay there.

But it was one of the best weekends of my life. I had so much fun with my girlfriends and most of all it validated that I can thrive in this singles world. Though I was outwardly handling the breakup well, I was kind of dreading celebrating my birthday minus boyfriend. The past four years with the Ex involved lavish trips and surprise gifts. I planned the trip to Vegas to keep me from dwelling on the past – and it worked.

I went legitimately boy crazy for 48 hours. So.much.fun. 

I woke up on my 26th birthday feeling like the luckiest girl in the world. Slowly throughout the day, I got texts from almost every character in my dating saga, including an OKC guy I hadn't actually met yet – but nothing from the Enginerd.

The next day, he texted asking how my birthday weekend was, but never actually wished me hb.

WTF is up with that?

# of happy vday texts from dudes: 6

# of dudes I wanted to hear that from, but didn't: 2

# of date offers: 3

# of times I said I was having a Taylor Swift dance party with my girlfriends: 17

When I turned my phone back on after the screening, I happily discovered the Enginerd had texted me.

His plans got canceled last minute so he asked if I was free for dinner that night or the following. I had plans to meet one of my girlfriends for dinner downtown the next night, but I told him we could meet for a drink after.

It was a hot summer night so I was wearing a cherry blossom printed romper with wedges, hair pulled high in a topknot. Perfect look for catching up with my girlfriend over sushi. When she left, the Enginerd ended up meeting me for a drink there, then suggested a trendy hotel bar for another.

My car was parked in a lot that needed to be moved before midnight, so I offered to drop him off at his place before heading home.

I asked where I should stop as I approached his building, to which he shyly replied, "I was hoping you would come up to see my place."

Our mutual friend had told me how amazing his apartment is, so I naively accepted the invitation.

Apparently guys don't invite you up to their apartments to just continue the conversation. He kissed me about 30 seconds after I stepped inside.

The hottest moment: making out on his couch, trying to resist his advances to the bedroom, he confidently slips my romper and panties aside and goes down on me out of nowhere. Hottest.thing.ever.

It's Friday and I'm about to embark on my third and final date for the week.

This is also my third OKC date and I was the most excited about this one, because he looks the cutest in his picture.

I walk up and he is as cute as I thought – but short. I didn't re-look at his profile to check his height, but I thought he said he was 5'11. I’m wearing four inch wedges and I'm definitely taller than him. This is not good. Strike #1.

We sit down, order beers and start chatting.

I'm thrown a little by the height surprise, but he's really funny and our conversation flows smoothly. He's a screenwriter so he tells me about writing treatments for awful reality TV shows – my favorite genre!

I say something funny… he raises his eyebrows, and I instinctively raise mine too, thinking he's making fun of my enthusiasm for trashy TV… and then he starts blinking uncontrollably.

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!?!?!!?!!?

I have terrible control of my own facial expressions and I KNOW I couldn't hide my surprise.

I don't know if you call this a twitch, or if it's Tourette's syndrome, but that is a major, major strike #2. 

My second OKC date, and my second date of the week.

I responded to this guy because he read my profile carefully to the last line, Message me if: you have something witty to say. And he had many witty, smart, funny things to say. 

He suggested a bar on the fringes of downtown with a name that translates to The Hideout.

When I pulled into the parking lot (score #1: a bar with parking? Hell yes!) I knew immediately where the name came from. Ivy covered the front patio and climbed up the two story façade. It was so me.

An adorable nerd walked up to greet me in the parking lot. We sat at a table outside under the ivy and talked for three hours. I love how smart he is, how he unconsciously sways to the beat when his favorite soul song comes on and how concerned he is about how to direct me back to the freeway from this side of town.

He texted me the next day and said something about how he can't figure me out. "You're a pretty pretty girl, without the pretensions pretty girls usually have."

I tell him it's because I was a nerd too and it sparks a rapid fire "nerd wars" conversation. I had glasses and frizzy hair; he wore "rec-specs" to play basketball and had horrible acne. Now he has a cute smile, preppy hipster style and is on his way to becoming a brilliant cancer biologist. 

As a self-professed nerd, it's only appropriate that I call him Nerdface.

Status update: I've been single for almost exactly a month, dabbled in a few random dates, and now that my prospects are blooming, it's time for things to really take off.

I've been asked out on 3 dates this week, and I'm feeling good about the first one – with the tall guy I "met" at my friend's birthday. I started calling him the Enginerd after we talked on the phone (because of his job and also, I find nerds irresistible). 

He suggested a casual bar a few blocks from his apartment, so I picked him up on the way. He's a little shy so it took a few topics to really get the conversation going, but through and through it was a great date. We started by grabbing a happy hour bite to eat, moved on to pints at a speakeasy, then a whiskey nightcap at an irresistibly romantic (and insanely pretentious) rooftop bistro near his apartment.

There was a palpable sense of adventure – we didn't really have a plan so we just made it up as we went, exploring the "up and coming" area that is downtown LA.