I had another very nice date with Elaine last night. We went to dinner and then to see "Breach." Dinner was very good too. We were going to go to Salute at first but when we got to Desert Ridge mall, we discovered that it had closed. That was too bad because they had really good food at really good prices.

We decided to go to CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) instead. It was a good choice they had a chicken piccatta that was very good. I decided to have a beer with dinner. This can sometimes get me in trouble because one beer can turn into two, then three and more, but this time I had only one and I didn't even think about ordering another one. Part of this is that I'm on my best dating behavior of course, but also, I really like Elaine and I don't want to do anything to fuck this up so early. (I'll wait till later to do that! (Just kidding!))

The movie was just OK. It was interesting as a character study. It was based on the story of FBI agent Robert Hanssen and his arrest for espionage in 2001. The main protagonist was a very devout Catholic and yet he was trading sex tapes of himself and his wife with other couples. I wonder if that was a true part of the actual case or some dramatic license. Not to mention that his treason was directly responsible for the deaths of at least 2 Russian agents. Cognitive dissonance strikes again! (I'm gaining some experience with it myself.)

We went straight home after the movie. I walked her to her door and I was wondering if we would kiss this time. She quickly made it clear why she hasn't let me kiss her yet, she is still getting over her cold. She was coughing a lot during the movie even after taking her prescription cough medicine. She gave me a very firm hug and told me that she didn't want to give me her "germies." Cute.

I immediately thought about giving a witty retort like "don't worry, I've opened a tab for you," but I decided to hold my tongue. I didn't want her to think that I'm expecting a kiss, or anything yet. I mean we've only gone out twice and I'd hate to repeat my stupid, fucking pattern of getting to emotionally involved to soon.

So, to break the pattern I didn't immediately ask her out again. I did mention that I was probably going to be on the Grayhawk hike this coming Saturday and that I hoped I'd see her there. Hm, maybe I'm kidding myself here, that sounds like a date request now that I put it out there. The jokes on me though, I just discovered that there's no hike scheduled for this Saturday. Ha!

She did mention that it was her birthday this Saturday, though. So, of course, I offered to take her out to celebrate. What else could I do? But, she deferred and said that her kids would probably have something planned. She wasn't completely sure which day it might be so I left my offer open. She also said that we wouldn't need to go anywhere expensive to celebrate. She had also offered to pay for the movie earlier too. I found it very reassuring that she wasn't interested in me for my money. (I did emphasize, however, that for a special occasion, like her birthday, a nice restaurant was a requirement!) We didn't make any firm plans at all, though.

I got her email address on the way home and I told her I would forward the hiking schedule I had gotten. She said she never got it herself. This is how I found out there's no hike this Saturday. I'll probably wait until tomorrow before I send her a message. I don't want look too eager or worse, desperate!