The M Word

Being back from the city of Sin feels like I have never left Cincinnati in the first place. The week in Vegas felt like a whirlwind. Despite working a 60 hour week, I made it a point to try to go out for a little while every night I was there - after all, I was in Vegas; it was almost criminal to go to bed before midnight.

Flashing lights, flashy cars, cheesy wedding chapels, fake-boobed chicks and sleazy dudes were all present and well in the good ol' city of Sin, but I enjoyed it all. Every time I head out to a big city, I am reminded that I am not meant to live in a small town. I will simply wither and die without constant stimulation of my senses with sights and lights and sounds of big cities. I think, Cincinnati is the smallest city I have ever lived in, and though it's not bad, I know that I would be just a tad happier somewhere with a few more skyscrapers around.

As I was still in Vegas on Valentine's Day, I was totally emotionally prepared for a completely unromantic, guy-free day when I received an unexpected text message from the guy who tried to kiss me at a club in front of his friends a few weeks ago.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" the message beeped at me.

All right. So it was kind of sweet that he was thinking about me. Though in the back of my mind, the cynic in me wondered just how many girls he sent out that message to.

I replied back with a "thank you" and we texted each other for a few minutes before he finally asked me out on a date on Friday - the day I got back from Vegas. Twenty four hours later, we were sitting at a small table at a slightly cramped, but cozy jazz club somewhere in Covington, Kentucky.

My PDA guy was looking much better than the last time I saw him, perhaps, due to the fact that this time he wasn't wearing the hideous jacket he wore on our first date. Somewhere in between our conversations about politics, progressive rock and Talib Kweli, I found myself wanting to kiss him.

We left the bar shortly after midnight and walked down the street towards his car, all the while holding hands. as soon as we got into the car, he leaned towards me for a kiss, and this time I didn't resist or say no. I simply kissed him back.

And then PDA Guy said something.

"So if we ever get married..." he started, but I cut him off as soon as he uttered the M word.

"What?!" I said, without making a slightest effort to cover up my confusion and disbelief.

"Oh you know," he tried to laugh it off as if he just finished telling a joke, "Hypothetically speaking, of course. I was just gonna say that if we were ever to get married, we'd be really financially well off, what with you being an architect and me working in a financial field... I didn't mean to freak you out."

He looked mildly concerned and I didn't want him to get even more embarrassed about the awkward situation than he already was, so I simply suggested that we switch topics of conversation, with which he gladly complied.

So now I am wondering what to make of this. Was PDA Guy really just kidding? I mean, I think he was but if he wanted to be funny, he could have just dropped a Chuck Norris joke on me.

"Chuck Norris doesn't read, he just stares at a book until he gets the information he needs." Much funnier than bringing up marriage on a third date, no?