Forty-one

I was about to leave my friend's party when a hoard of people came in, and since I love meeting new people I decided to stay a while longer.  Forty-one and I had a slightly awkward introduction when I made a Clark Griswold reference which he didn't get right away and just thought I had mistaken his name as Clark.  Once we got past that we made small talk while I became smitten with his easy charm. However, a few times he stopped to send a text message but apologized and said he was planning his family holiday trip.  Family?  As in parents and siblings?  He wasn't specific but I got the feeling that it was more like wife and kid.  I wandered away and mingled with other people and simultaneously got confirmation from a mutual friend that Forty-one was single.

Before I left I asked him if we could do something soon, to which he responded, "I have a family, remember?  But if you hang out with Rob then I'm sure I'll see you around." Confused and embarrassed to seem like a home wrecker I replied, "Yeah, I mean as friends, of course.  I'll see you."  Then I promptly left.  I asked Rob later about the situation, "Huh, well maybe he does have a family.  I don't think I've ever heard him mention them, though."

Either Forty-one was trying to be kind and decided the best way to turn me down was to create an imaginary family, or he really does have a family which makes me a hussy.  I think I'll just avoid him and play it safe.

Forty

I met Forty a couple of months ago when I was out with one of my co-workers at a comedy show.  We were talking at the end of the event, and I instantly thought he was adorable and charming; after a few minutes a guy walked up and started playing with Forty's ear, so I backed off because obviously he wasn't into girls.  A few weeks later, though, Forty shows up at the salon and says hi, "Hey, you're from Mortified, right?  Didn't I meet you there?" It took me a few seconds to figure out who he was and how he knew me, but I managed to fake knowing him until my brain caught up with his.  We had given him one of our salon cards when we met, and he just came into say hi because he lived nearby.  At the end of that visit, I was no longer sure if he liked boys more than girls.

Then a few weeks after that he showed up again because he had booked a haircut.  While he was there I decided he definitely wasn't gay and that I needed to make something happen.  After his appointment we made small talk about work holiday parties and dancing.  Obviously after talking about dancing I made my move, so I went the direct route and told him that I wanted to go dancing with him.  Right then the phone rang, and new customers came in so I told him to come back sometime soon so we could make a plan for dancing.   

Conclusion: my boss is going to have to put a new section in the employee handbook about asking clients out on dates.