Eight ex-girlfriends in thirteen years may seem like chump change to some; a vision of confused thoughts & indecision to others. For those eight, I must admit about twenty crushes which never seem to have any indication of progressing further.
Now the question is: Twenty-one or nine?
They usually begin with a smile from the girl, although it can be counted on one finger how many of those smiles were not genuine. Perhaps I need another finger. And no, it's not Raquel, who reminds me too much of my first girlfriend who needed a tele-prompter to talk. This is a cheerful, talkative, huggable sort who I've known two years, but have not thought of seriously until now. She's a redhead named Lisa who works for (horrors) a competing airline at work.
Now since my disastrous, abuse-laden relationship I had in 2001-02, I have been very careful about who I've been with. Many times since, that realization has resulted in the mental blocks which help create the date vacumn I've had. So I approach this with great trepidation. Unlike Raquel, who was brought to my attention by others at the snack bar who acted as coaches, Lisa was found on my own, with no middleman. She certainly doesn't shy from the attention and has been real nice to me. I've not even had time to pull out the lame one-liners & act like a jerk yet. The smile disarms, and that's a good start.
At the risk of a jinx, I will leave it at that. I have always hoped for something nice in the realtionship department, and I can say it has already started out better than most, in spite of it being all small-talk to this point.
You need a solid foundation to build a good relationship. When the so-called "good times" fade out and there's nothing underneath, it's a hollow feeling. I hope for some substance here.
