We're dance partners, if you know what I mean...

Every blind date has some initial awkwardness. You make small talk about how you both know the person who introduced you to each other. You talk about the good food selection at the restaurant at which you've found yourselves. And after the mandatory get-to-know-you's, you hopefully start to feel a camaraderie and conversation flows without the stilted feel of an interview. 

I lived this experience a few days ago when my good friend had to work a 24 hour shift and asked me if I could entertain her longtime friend who was visiting from out of town. We had a nice evening of dinner, swing dancing, and later watched a movie. Now, you might think this sounds like a very romantic first date, but in fact it was not romantic at all. One very important factor was missing: the fact that this new friend is not a man. We are two women who very much like men. (And I know some of you are wondering about The Boss right now. Don't worry, he's still in the picture, but we'll talk more about him another time.)

There seemed to be a little confusion about our preferences, however, when we went dancing. Mary, my new friend/blind date for the evening, loves to swing dance and had already looked up a place we could go that night. She told me on the way there that she might practice the man's dancing part during the lesson to build her skill for when she teaches other people to dance. 

When the lesson began, Mary lined up with the men as there were fewer male dancers than women anyway (typical of most dance lessons). A new male offered to take her spot in the men's line as I was walking to the ladies' line to be across from her. She responded to the man "no thanks, my partner is here." I knew she was referring to me as her dancing partner, but it didn't sound like it in that statement. I should also mention that our choices in attire added to the confusion because I wore a skirt that night and Mary wore shorts and a button down shirt. At that point, it must have seemed to him that I was the girly one and Mary was the butch one. The man looked both Mary and me up and down and said in a voice of understanding, "oh, ok."

After the lesson ended and open dancing began, I got asked to dance several more times than Mary. I guess the men weren't sure if they would get to lead if they asked her. That could be awkward if they don't know the ladies' part. 

After a short while dancing, we decided to go watch a sad movie and cry our eyes out instead. Then I drove Mary back to our friend's house as we acknowledged the similarities of our night to a blind date. 

Moral Of Today's Story: Sometimes people put in a lot of effort towards dating, but they don't make the effort with new friends. Don't save your best socializing just for romantic interests. I started the evening with a stranger, but I ended it with a new friend.

Oh, and if you want to be clear that you're not into women, perhaps you let the men lead the dancing.