I waited for Gordon just outside my salon; I ended up running into Michael's roommate, Aaron, so I chatted with him for a few minutes, my eyes scanning the street for G's red mercedes all the while. Eventually Aaron and I parted ways, and I began to walk toward the end of the street to see if I could spy the man I'd been anticipating, when I heard him call my name. I turned around to see him coming toward me, smiling.

He touched my hair and told me how soft it was, he said that it looked beautiful... twice.

The place we were going was just on the next block, and as we walked there, he told me how much he's been wanting to try it since I first mentioned it to him a month or so ago. We sat on the third level in the corner. It took us forever to even look at our menus, we were chatting so animatedly. I ordered a "Sex & The City" (cointreau, raspberry schnapps, pineapple, and vodka)... I forget the name of his drink, which was Japanese.

A waiter came over to us with a candle for the table to "make it more romantic," he said. Gordon thanked him. Later, we toasted to being 30 and having more adult priorities, like buying furniture instead of cds and wanting to own homes, not just rent apartments.

I was touched when he told me he should give me permissions to his Web site (in the context of asking me if I'd seen his recent updates); and even more touched when he asked my opinion of an art endeavor that had been suggested to him.

When our sushi arrived, the individual rolls we'd ordered came out on the same plate, creating a wonderful feeling of intimacy--substantiating the existing feeling of intimacy between us. Near the end of our meal, he said "I assume you want a ride back to your apartment." I nodded, and he said "well I'd love to come in for a cup of coffee..."

Our fingers touched and parted in quaint hand kisses spontaneously when we exchanged things on the table, or he touched my hand for emphasis when reaching the climax of an anecdote... and I remembered my uncannily intuitive sister telling me on Wednesday night that she had a vision of our hands touching when I told her about our plans for tonight.

On the way to his car, we stopped off at his bank so he could deposit the check I'd written him for the painting, and when we left the atm vestibule, he noted that our banks are across the street from each other... "it's like we're neighbors..." I smiled at him, and indicated that yes, it was just like that.

As we walked the two blocks to his car, he sang "Endless Love" (both parts) for me in an exaggerated falsetto, and I appreciated even more, his fearless sillyness... his goofball antics.

I made him coffee while he lay on my couch reading my new issue of Entertainment Weekly, and he looked so comfortable, I wanted to ask him to stay... I knew he was dreading his long drive back up to the country where his parents live (he's pet sitting for them)... I almost asked him, but knew he couldn't (and that he wouldn't).

He gave me the leftovers from our plate; I left my umbrella in his car.