Date 9: Cheesecake, wine and another great time

I had my second date with Mark (well, second date this time around) last night and it went really well - again. We met at his house at 7 (I think he was excited to show me the home renovations he's done since the last time I was there) and he drove us over to a great Thai noodle restaurant. Dinner was great - we had awesome conversation the whole time.

After dinner, he drove us to another part of town where we had several glasses of wine and shared a piece of cheesecake for dessert. We sat at this place, just talking, for over three hours. We were seated on a glassed in sun porch, enjoying our wine and talking, and there were a few awkward silences. He filled the first one by kissing me, and so there were several instances where we were "those people" smooching in public. Luckily, the sun porch there were only two other couples on the sun porch, and they weren't seated close by.

There were several really good conversations that happened over wine, including a talk about how we are going to have to take things slowly. I told him point blank that slow was the way it was going to be, and his response was that we had plenty of time and that there was no need to rush. He also expressed his gratitude, again, for getting a second chance with me.

After wine and dessert, we drove back to Mark's house and he showed me amazing photos from his travels, including an unbelievable trip to Antarctica. We kissed for awhile, and around 145 he walked me to my car and I drove home.

After dinner, on the way to the second restaurant, he asked if he can take me out next Friday night - we're going to a popular cocktail and entertainment event at a local museum. Toward the end of the evening, he also asked if he could see me again today, maybe something casual, like Starbucks. I told him I'd need to see about that. I'm not overly keen on seeing him today - it seems too much too soon.

Overall, I'm feeling good about things, but I can't quite silence the paranoid voice in the back of my head and the feeling in my gut. My parents expressed some hesitation about this whole "second round" with Mark, and while I know I need to make my own decisions, I can't help but wonder if I'm being naive to the entire thing and whether I'm setting myself up for another huge disappointment.

I'm trying to stay in the moment and just focus on having fun. I'll know all the answers with time. As long as it's fun and I feel comfortable with him, I'll just continue to explore the possibilities.