Smother, Brother!

I emailed the OkCupid guy and canceled our first date, which had been tentatively scheduled for Saturday.

I'd already gotten antsy about how often he'd been contacting me -- I really don't need to talk to you EVERY day when we haven't met yet. I feel like a dick because he'd told me repeatedly how much he was enjoying talking to me. But my brain did its "Jesus Christ, PLEASE stop talking" thing that happens when I feel overwhelmed and smothered. Whether that's valid or just inferred, it's really hard for me to come back from.

I know I get weird, but this one was honestly, legitimately, not on me. I maintain that if one of the other red flags is something I'm not comfortable sharing here, THAT is a big, fuckoff red flag. I told y'all about that time I blew a guy in a Zipcar -- it's not as if I have a ton of boundaries.

"That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works."

I've been talking to other "open relationship" guys on OkCupid, because apparently I'm open-minded now (?), and motherFUCK me -- leave it to me to find a Clinger in an open relationship.

How are you texting me every day, morning and night? Go text your main Bunny, Hef. The point of me exploring this option was that I wouldn't meet clingy people. How have you pushed a potential sidepiece to my "Please stop talking" threshold in less than 4 days? Do you have to have the open relationship because you talk too much for one woman to handle?

I get the sense his lady has had more success with this setup than he has.

He asked if I was OK because my most recent texts haven't been as enthusiastic or flirtatious, so I mentioned I was at work, and still debating if I can handle the open relationship.

He's still talking, "joking" that it's OK if I just want to be friends, but that I'll change my mind when I meet him.

OK, Karma, you've made your point: I behaved like a desperate, slutty Clinger with That Guy. I realized that on my own, and have tried to adjust accordingly, even with friends (minus the "slutty" bit). Are we done here?

And good work, dude -- congrats on being the reason I go back to giving people a Google Voice number instead of my real one.

Thankfully there's still another open-married guy. Hee. We like him -- he's dreamy and wants to go down on me. I'll have to name him. Probably, like..."Matt Trimony." Heh. I'm clever.

The Smug Hunter's Field Guide

See, the deal with my particular self-hatred is, I have BEEN clingy (more on this later), and I talk too much, and these are things I've hated about myself. So as my potential suitor, YOU can't be clingy and talk too much, because I will hate it even more in you.

I am attracted to guys who are...not unavailable, per se (though I've clearly been there). But definitely less emotive than I am.

I'm like a skittish baby deer, and if I feel like you're coming on too strong, I'm taking my fluffy ass back into the wild. None of my meat for you.

...OK, wait, I lost control of the deer metaphor.

Don't be clingy, is my point. Once you've pushed me to thinking "OMG, PLEASE STOP TALKING," we're probably done.