Misreading Misinterpretations

This is probably one we can all attest to. Misreading signals of a fella, and then building it up that it plays a more significant role in your life than it ought to.

Yup.

I did that in the span of a week. I met a guy at a friends birthday dinner. We hit it off, so I thought, and then went our merry ways. {Misinterpretation #1}. Come Sunday, I see him again and realize that it sounds like he's pining for my number. We talked a little on Sunday about where to eat (a group) and the restaurant we ended up at is one that he ended up going to even though he already had dinner. {Misreading #1} I get to the restaurant and he later walks in saying he had to honor his word because he said he would stop by.{Misreading #2} I email him my number to invite him to group activities that aren't last minute. He texts me back with a funny joke we picked up on Friday. Some things just aren't meant to be read into. It was a simple task, email number for purposes of calling/ texting one another, not assuming other party has a thing for you. {Misinterpretation #2} When he texted back to a question I had the following day, I assumed he was more than accomodating in helping me out with things. Wednesday is when I misread, and misinterpreted his actions towards me. I just got a job the week before on a college campus and didn't know my way around, so I asked him where were some places I could go to grab something to eat. I wasn't insinuating anything between him and I, I wanted it for my own knowledge since I wouldn't be eating cafeteria food all day, every day. {Misreading #3} He then texts me saying that I'm not at work, in which I asked if he had gone up to my office. The answer was yes, and I wasn't there because my shift wasn't until 2pm later in the day. In which he said he'd be on campus later that evening and might stop by. {Misinterpretation #3} He texted me back later asking me if I wanted to grab dinner. This was after I asked him if he had a late class that night. I didn't think we'd be grabbing dinner, let alone walking around campus on a tour. It was nice of him I thought. He paid for my/our meal. He offered to give me a tour around campus so I'd know my way around. If there was nothing there on his part, I was definitely becoming more interested in him as the night went on. Realizing and understanding I didn't know him from Adam, since I just met him, but feeling as if he was taking a lot of initiative just to make me feel adjusted around campus. All during the night I didn't assume it was anything, not a date, nothing. Until Thursday approached, I still thought we were just haning out. I explained it to a few people in which they told me it was a date. Still leary of that word since it wasn't pronounced on his end, I began to let myself believe it was a date. The embarassing part was telling my closests friends that I think I just had my first date. Now looking at it his intentions were nice, but they definitely were misread on my part. I think by Thursday I had sent him a couple of texts and he responded and then left it at that. I didn't talk to him the rest of the weekend because I didn't want to seem pushy or weird. On Sunday, that's exactly what I was. Weird. So I get home, shoot him an email stating I needed my end cleared up about whether or not I misread anything. I did in fact misread the whole thing, but am thankful that my heart wasn't more wrapped up in it because it had only been a week. Like the gentleman he is, he asked what he could do so that he's not misleading in the future and can guard hearts. It would be so much easier to dislike him if he was a jerk altogether, but that he is not.

He would like to continue a friendship, and while I don't mind that, I know that a guy like him comes around every once in a blue moon. I might have to take a slight step back. There is potential destruction in my heart if we become close friends and I still end up feeling the same way in regards to us hitting it off.

So, moral of the story is, don't tell anyone you are interested in a guy, and don't tell them the whole deal of a hang out session. It may seem like it was a nice evening of a date, but in truth, dates are never dates unless the person comes right out and asks you out. Gives you sort of a heads up of what it is. To me a date doesn't have to be this blissful night at a restaurant with candle lights and table cloths, but it does need to be understood on both parts of what it is. And guys...... please stop paying for girls' meals if you only see them as a friend. Especially if you've only established a friendship 4 days prior.