dates in the dark

WillSmith kept me company at Million Dollar Baby last night. No, not the Will Smith. For those in the know, this is the same guy who tried so valiantly to get me to accompany him to coffee a couple of months back, the one who looks like the Fresh Prince, complete with hat to the side. Let me back up here.

Last week, I was hosting Superman Returns. The auditorium where I'm screening these movies is really really dark, so I had no idea next to whom I was sitting until after the movie was over. I couldn't help but let out a little *snork* when Lex Luthor threw his crystal-encased-in-kryptonite into the ocean and out popped an island. The guy sitting beside me leans over and says "I'm sorry, I think you may be doubting the scientific validity in Lex Luthor's method." I reply, "no, I'm doubting his real estate acumen." I guess you had to be there. Anyway - the movie blew the first time around but at least I was being entertained this time by snarky commentary. When I turned on the lights, lo and behold what do I see? WillSmith staring back at me. We exchanged the usual "hey, don't I know you?" lines before I went to pack up the equipment. This took me forever, because we had gotten a new set-up last week and I wasn't used to packing up the new gear. When I exited the theatre, the lobby was empty, except for the Portuguese cleaning lady; however, she kindly infomed me that my "friend" was "waiting" for a "while" but he left already. Teehee!

Fast forward to yesterday and we watched MDB together. A definite lack of snarkage, as this was actually a decent film - though he did make a few Dirty Harry jokes, which went over my head. Afterward, he hung out in the front row while I packed up the equipment again. When he saw me put everything away in under two minutes he says (almost) seriously, "Wow, you must have been avoiding me if you're such a pro with this stuff." My "new gear"explanation sounded lame to even my ears, despite its veracity.
"Listen," he says, "make it up to me with cake."
"Cake?"
"You do like cake, don't you?"
"Who doesn't like cake?"
"Marie Antoinette fans?"
I had no witty comeback for a French history joke, albeit a faulty one.

I think we're having cake. I think this would be a date. I'm a little freaked out - I haven't dated in an aeon. And this time, there will be no 15 foot Clint Eastwoods or Kevin Spaceys to distract me. I'm hoping cake is neutral territory, so if it's going horribly, I can just bail with my "early work" excuse, which is brilliant because it's true. Did I mention he wears his hat to the side? And I think he may be younger than me? Oh, why couldn't we just continue having our dates in the dark?