no sex and the city

dating. what a novel concept. i don't think i've ever really "dated" before. the way it's worked for me in the past is i usually like a boy, go out with him and then he's my boyfriend. or not. but i've never done this "testing the waters" with different guys sort of thing. and i'm still not totally sure how i feel about it. i'm not possitive how to handle the situation.

last night i went on an actual proper date. it's been about a year since i've done that. i met this nice young man (let me emphasize the word young) last week at a function. he was cute and very smart and we had a lot to talk about. we were both a little tipsy, the conversation flowed nicely and i gave him my number. like a good boy, he called me the next day to set up a date. huh. i like when things work that way.

so i met him at a lovely italian restaurant last night in williamsburg. i was sort of dreading the whole "official date" thing. i usually prefer a casual encounter because for some reason the dinner thing puts an added pressure on an evening. but it was fine. i think he was a little nervous as the coversation started out a little forced. but as the wine flowed, so did the chatting.

after dinner we headed to this awesome bar. super french (like this boy), great atmosphere and a fantastic african jazzy band. loved it. we drank mint tea and talked about dating histories (always a fun topic of conversation on a first date... allows one to gage what the other is thinking... like are they into just dating or a serious something). this boy seemed pretty into me, complimenting me, saying how he was having such a nice time, bla bla bla. these are usually good things, but i'm an asshole and made me doubt him. i don't know. i suck. he was a perfect gentleman. he's very intelligent, was funny and sweet, is ambitious with a great job, the whole bit. and i just don't know how i feel. he seemed to be missing that certain something that makes me giddy for a boy at first. like he's not a poor as fuck asshole who treats me shitty. goddammit. will i ever learn???

the question is, do i go out with him again? i had a very nice time with him. i'm sure he would treat me wonderfully and we'd continue to have fun times. BUT i don't know if he's someone that would grow on me or not. can you continue going on dates with someone without it leading to sex right away? perhaps an experiment is in order... can it be done?