We originally planned to meet at 2pm at the Ritz Carlton bar/lounge at the Galleria - Tysons Corner but after some voicemails and frantic texting, we agreed to meet at 3pm instead. I was relieved because I had just finished working out and was running late - as usual.
The night before, my friend Miss. A, had asked me if I was nervous. The surprising answer was no. I was more annoyed than nervous. I am an introvert and all this socializing was already taxing me. Talking to people, texting and responding to emails - it was exhausting! Saturday was also a cold and rainy day. The last thing that I wanted to do was talk to someone that I did not know.
But I had vowed to make an effort for my Mom and sister and getting on Match was also a jumpstart on my New Year's resolutions to do something about finding a husband.
Thankfully, because of the change to meeting at 3pm, I was actually on time. But PI was already at the lounge looking quite comfortable. He stood up to shake my hand and I was more than pleasantly surprised. PI looks like a young Michael Douglas. His profile said he was 47 and that he looked young. True to his pictures and profile, PI appeared to be 37. He was 5'11, also true to his stats, very physically fit, and incredibly attractive. PI wore a black turtleneck and black wool jacket with very nice jeans and black loafers. He had a twinkle to his eye, a very warm smile, and seemed quite down to earth.
After shaking his hand and exchanging pleasantries, I sat down. PI ordered coffee for me and we got into a 3 hour discussion. The conversation flowed very naturally and we talked about everything. PI shared that he was the youngest of three children and that they were all 18 months apart. His brother is the middle child and is married with two children. PI's brother is an executive at a small financial services software company that he may have created himself. PI disclosed that he and his brother were completely different and that although they cared for each other, they were not close as adults or as children. PI is closest to his sister who is the oldest in the family. Without going into too much detail, PI shared that his sister had a really tough life but that she is a wonderful mom to her children.
PI grew up outside of Detroit, joined the Marine Corps to leave the area and served for 6 years, earned his college degree in law enforcement, became a police office for 6 years, then started his own private investigation firm and has been running it for 13 years. PI explained fully why he was so guarded on the phone. PI works with attorneys and gets his business primarily from divorce cases. PI has a staff of six and generally works to retrieve pictures/evidence of infidelity. Additionally, PI uses bug detection technology at universities and various companies that suspect their competitive information may be at risk.
Remember when I said PI sounded effeminate and I called him Girlman as a result? I noticed during our discussion that PI was actually quite soft spoken. In person, his voice was less feminine but his style of speaking and listening was more female than male. PI shared his love of salsa dancing and described how he developed his dance style over the years as he took lessons, became really good, found a dance partner and ultimately gave lessons while on the competitive circuit. Because of an injury to the ligaments in his feet, PI gave up salsa instruction a few years ago and no longer dances competitively but enjoyed those years tremendously.
I raised interior decorating because PI mentioned it as a hobby on his profile. I tried to guess at his design style and thought it would be a hybrid of traditional and modern. I was wrong. It was straight contemporary design with chrome and clean lines. PI revealed that he painted his entire home himself. (This is where I told him that my entire house was painted by moi in a pale yellow.) The palette was a warm chocolate brown and he described fuzzy carpets against modern furniture. Two and a half hours into the discussion, we decided to end our date by walking around the mall. We stopped at the modern furniture stores in the Galleria and talked about the design of modern furniture, the low seating, lighting and the use of sculptures. PI also revealed a past relationship with a wealthy woman from Florida who allowed him to decorate one of her penthouses with a rather large budget. PI painted the walls in varying shades of orange to mimic a sunset - at her request - and modern furniture and Italian marble were used throughout the penthouse.
PI also adopted a Husky a few years ago. Her name is Heidi and PI described how Heidi was reallly scared when he first brought her home. It took PI months to get Heidi to trust him because it was obvious that she had been mistreated in her previous home. Full disclosure here gals - I love men who have dogs. It shows me that they are not selfish and are capable of caring for another living creature aside from themselves. PI demonstrated to me a trick that he taught Heidi. PI said that when he thumps his chest, Heidi stands on her hind legs and places her paws on his chest!! PI's imitation of Heidi's expression was so adorable! It was clear that PI loves Heidi and is a wonderful dog parent.
This was my first Match date and I was shocked at the caliber of the person that I found. PI had never been married, did not have children, is emotionally and financially stable (did I mention that he owns his own home, drives a porsche and a SUV, runs his own company), is a dog parent, and has passionate interests in and outside of his job!
This begged the question - how long has PI been on Match and when was his last relationship?
PI recently returned to Match after having been involved with someone for over two years. PI had met the person on Match and the relationship ended this past February. I did not ask why the relationship ended.
I would describe PI as the perfect metrosexual. So would I date him seriously? PI is perfect but he is not for me.
PI knew that he was the first person that I had met with from Match and did not have unreasonable expectations. He was the perfect gentlemen, walked me to my car, asked me to keep him apprised of my search, and sent me off with a hug and smile.
PI followed up with an email after our coffee date with some great brotherly advice about the online dating world and gave me his personal email address so that we could keep in touch.
Here's to my Match online dating adventures PI! Thanks for starting me off with French pressed coffee from the Ritz and fabulous conversation! :)
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