Parties are fun

So it appears that Non Emailer and I run in similar circles of friends. Friday night, a friend of a friend's friend had a get together at a bar. As soon as I walked in the door, I saw him standing there, a brown bottle of beer in his hand, donned in a white button-up shirt and grey slacks. He seemed to be laughing at a joke that was very very funny. I closed my eyes and thanked god that I decided to blow-dry my hair that morning and wear a push-up bra.

As I made my way around the party, I chatted away with everyone, gals, guys, the host, the waiters. Eventually, I deigned to chat with Non Emailer. He was his usual friendly self. At one point, during our platonic prattle, a guy I had chatted with earlier--a cute consultant who also worked downtown--approached me.

"Hey there," he said, smiling at me.

"Hi," I said, smiling back, turning slightly from Non Emailer. I could see Non Emailer look to me and then to him. Consultant didn't notice Non Emailer.

"Look," Consultant said, "there's something I want to ask you."

"Okay," I said.

"I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner some time," he said.

I kind of stood there for a second, stunned, because I had never had a guy just ask me out like that so unabashedly, so openly.

"Um," I stammered, "Sure!"

"Cool, can I get your number?"

"Sure," I said. Consultant flipped open his phone for me and I entered my digits as a new cell phone entry. Out of the corner of my eye, I could discern Non Emailer drinking his beer.

"Cool," he said, "I'll call you."

"Great," I said, smiling, and turned back to Non Emailer.

Now the questions on everyone's mind are: Did Non Emailer fly into a fit of jealousy? Was he utterly offended that Consultant disrespected him like that? Did he confess his undying like for me, admit that he had that epidemic fear of intimacy and that he was scared, especially of me, because I was so different from all the other girls, and that was the true reason he never emailed me?

Or, did he blink blankly and drink his beer the same way he would observing a fly buzz around a piece of bread?

The answer, unfortunately, is obvious.

Now despite the fact that Non Emailer has absolutely no interest in me, I still couldn't help but feel a teeny bit satisfied that a guy hit on me in front of him. And Consultant was cool in his own right. He was certainly a notch above the recent batch of guys who have shown any interest me, which include various homeless people, construction workers, and the seventy-year-old janitor who works on my floor.

Anyhow, it ended up being a late night. Towards the end of the night, Non Emailer mentioned to me and my gal pal a party his friend was throwing. He invited us along, and anyone else who wanted to come. Ironically, the next day, for the first time ever, he emailed me at my personal email address--along with my friend--the party details. Well, better late than never.

So we're going. I suspect that Non Emailer will be surrounded by his entourage of "boyz" and lipsticked girls, while I stand on the periphery, trying to play it cool and pretend I'm interested in other guys.

It'll be fun. I'm sure.