We met at a bar and grill in my old neighborhood in Northeast Ohio. I felt more comfortable meeting at a bar that I was familiar with rather than meeting a stranger I met on the Internet in a new environment. It was kind of hard to see what he fully looked like due to his profile page only having a couple of pics of him that were far away shots, so I when we met, I shockingly wasn't horribly disappointed with his looks. He looked like I had imagined, a plain OK looking guy, only a lot shorter than what he appeared in his pics. Probably why he opted for a far away shot.
We got a table and started talking and getting to know one another. The conversation wasn't terrible, although he asked me far too many questions in a rapid fire way where I barely had a moment to answer him before he moved on to the next question. And it was difficult to ask him anything so I felt as though I was talking an awful lot about myself. We did find out that we knew some of the same people from our pasts so that made it a bit easier to make conversation. So a couple hours and a few too many drinks later, things started to get odd. Or rather he started to get bit odd. Either he was now comfortable enough or he got more liquid courage or he was just obnoxious when he drinks, or something but he decided to flirt with me. And flirt with me in an annoying and unattractive way. He would mock everything I said in a "girly" voice and make a weird, ugly, face while doing it. And in that face, his eyes would bulge out of his face. Needless to say it was strange and quite unappealing. But, I just figured he was nervous or he drank too much or something so I decided to give him a second chance.
I was a bit late to the second date since I got a lost on the way to the restaurant (I did call him). By the time I finally got there, the place was hella busy with a line waiting out the door. Bug Eyes had gotten a table and had been sitting there a while when I sat down. The waiter was stalking the table and came right up to me to get my drink order. I barely looked at the wine list when I get Bug Eyes saying to me "What's wrong?" I told him nothing was wrong and that I felt a little rushed being late and all. So I continue to read the menu while he stares at me. The waiter came back so I just picked any wine off the list. After I ordered my drink, thinking the waiter will be right back for our dinner orders, I pick up the dinner menu to look at it. Bug Eyes stares at me and asks why I am not talking to him. I tell him that I am reading the menu and ask him if he knows what he is having. His response while his eyes bulge: "Yes, of course, the same thing I always get when I come here!" Um, OK. I told him I have never been to this place and I needed a minute to look at the menu. He just stares at me.
We order when the waiter gets back and now I settle in to try to talk to Bug Eyes. He starts the conversation with, "You don't want to be here do you?" I said no, I came and I just couldn't find the place and that I was sorry for being so late. He then says that I wasn't talking to him when I sat down so I didn't seem like I wanted to be there. I moved the conversation along. I asked him about what he likes to do in his spare time and such, he tells me he doesn't do much since all of his friends are married and he doesn't really have too many people to hang out with. Now, I can understand this so when he said this, it seemed normal to me. He then proceeded to mock me when I spoke while making his bug eye face. This was obviously his way of flirting and was his "move." It was beyond obnoxious and hideous to look at. After answering another round of his rapid fire question session, I finally was able to ask him some more about himself. So I asked if he had any summer plans. His response with his eyes popping out of his sockets and with an angry voice "Um, no, I don't have anyone to do anything with." I said, oh, you mean you don't have any summer vacations planned or anything like gardening going on? He barks back in response: "I JUST SAID I DIDN'T HAVE ANYONE TO DO ANYTHING WITH!!!" Yikes! His freak flagged waved right in my face. I wanted to go home.
I started to get a headache at this point and he noticed I looked uncomfortable so I just played it off as my headache. We ate and he asked me if I wanted to go bowling after this. Hell no, I was not going anywhere else with this psycho! I told him that I wasn't feeling very well and I think I just wanted to call it a night. He then said to me, "You never want to see me again do you?" What the hell was I suppose to say to his face? I wanted to say hell no I don't want to ever speak to or see him ever again, but I didn't want him to kidnap me in the parking lot, so I said, No, that's not why I want to go home, I just don't feel well at all. I then excused myself to the bathroom. When I came back a few minutes later, he looked surprised. I asked him "what?" and he said with a blank straight face, "I honestly thought you left." I just laughed uncomfortably. I asked him how much I owed for dinner and he insisted on paying.
As we walked out of the restaurant he asked if I wanted to come back to his place to watch a movie, or we could go to a movie. I said I really didn't feel like it, maybe some other time. Now, the parking lot was full so I had to park in the next parking lot which was not close, so I figured he parked close and I didn't have to worry about him walking me to my car. I was wrong. He insisted on walking me. While we walked awkwardly to my car, he said he really thought this night would turn out differently. I apologized and stuck to my story about just not feeling very well. We get to my car, I thank him for dinner and walking me to my car and I again apologize for cutting the evening short. He lunges at me and shoves his tongue down my throat! I did not reciprocate, and made a slight move to push him away. He got made a stormed off with a grunt. Like a child who didn't get his way. I promptly got in my car, locked the doors, and drove off looking in my rear view mirror.
That Monday afternoon, I got a text message from Bug Eyes. "You owe me $80"
Moral of the story here: I PAID a subscription to a dating Web site to meet this freak. I could have met a normal freak on craigslist. But instead I paid good, hard-earned money to meet this Bug Eyed, friendless, freak. They owe ME my money back!
