A true 'dating' story from Peter.

[Peter]

Hi everybody.
This is my first real post on the site. This is the only section i know how to use until I spend more time getting to know it so I'll put something here for you to read. I welcome any comments you have about my story.
This story is 100% true and happened to me in Boston around 1998. I hope you like it and find it as funny as I did.
Peter.


The wrong date


I met her in the animation section of the video dept in Tower records. She was from Taiwan, beautiful and very cultured in her manner. Her name was Wai and she studied composition at the performing arts academy near by. We chatted for five minutes until a friend called her away. I quickly asked for her number, she wrote it down for me and was gone.
The next day I called her but we couldn’t agree a time to meet, as she was busy. The following day she called me back to invite me to the quarterly student’s performance night a few days later. We agreed to meet at 7pm in the same video department of Tower records.
I was ten minutes early so passed the time browsing. When it came to seven she had not arrived so I waited. At ten past seven I began to worry as the performance was due to start at seven fifteen and though the school was only a few hundred yards away I worried that they may seal the place once they had started.
At seven thirteen I decided to take a walk down to the school and see if she had misunderstood and was waiting for me by the entrance. When I got there there were many people waiting to meet friends but she was not one of them. I decided that there was nothing to do but go back to Tower Records and see if she had arrived after all, probably wondering where I was.
On the short walk back I suddenly came across her as she headed toward me. By her side was another man. He wore a long caramel Mac and under it a suit. I was instantly embarrassed as I wondered if I had missed some detail. She suddenly stopped as our eyes connected and looked as lost as I for a moment. Trying to make some connection she murmured “so you’re Peter?”
For some reason I suddenly felt more embarrassed, for her and myself as my mind raced to come up with an explanation. Ok, so she had met more than one guy recently and Peter is not exactly an uncommon name. Then she had maybe made a second call to confirm‎ the date and place but called a 'different' (the other) Peter from her address book by mistake and as a result made the same date with two Peters (well, that was the only theory I could come up with). How excruciatingly embarrassing.
There was a tense moment as the three of us stood in an uncomfortable silence. The other Peter seemed slightly more at ease though than Wai and I. We seemed to be trying to come up with the correct solution as dictated by dating etticut. The unspoken conclusion seemed to be that the first one she had invited should be the one to go along but none of us were prepared to give voice to such a clumsy suggestion.
After an uncomfortable moment the other Peter spoke, in a French accent (damn) and with French logic.
“Well, I’ve never been inside the Berkley academy and would love to see it so why don’t we just all go along.”
His accent was very slight and his nature amiable. I felt no power to decide things as Wai was the person we both had in common so I looked to her to see if this suggestion was acceptable. She still looked a little dreamy as she indicated her acceptance.
So, we set off.
As the three of us walked, myself on Wai’s right and the other Peter (or should I call him Pierre) on her left, we were silent and at least two of us were uncomfortable with the situation. I remember thinking that it was a strange predicament to be in but one that would make a good story some day(for this site as it happens). I couldn’t feel the gloss of drama at the time though and just wanted the prickly encounter to come to a end. Slightly shaking my head I murmured “this is weird”. I said it with a laugh that had no humour to it. No one took up the subject so I left it.
Soon we arrived at the academy’s entrance and most of the people congregating had disappeared. We marched straight in and after we had entered Wai asked us to wait while she went to the toilet. Now things got really uncomfortable. The two of us just stood there exchanging polite smiles. I was far too embarrassed to be jealous or worry about rivalry. He was about my age, maybe a couple of years older. Looks wise we were similar so I had no thoughts on whom Wai would prefer to be with this evening. I made a little small talk. He told me he worked for an export company near by. Most of the few minutes that lasted ages were passed in silence though.
Then suddenly out of the blue he offered a solution to our predicament.
“Look, I am already in, why don’t I just find a seat by myself and you two can sit together?”
I nodded acceptance and we shook hands. Not waiting to say goodbye to Wai he just turned and left, heading for the stalls.
I felt a little guilty that I had let him go so easily and when Wai came out from the toilet I simply told her that he had gone in to find a seat by himself. I half expected her to be upset with me for being inconsiderate and letting him go. She simply gave a slight shrug of her shoulders though and said, ‘ok’. She then led me in and the two of us sat together and enjoyed the student's performances.
The performances were varied in type. It was like a scene from ‘Fame’. Most though were quite professional and even entertaining.
Afterwards Wai and I mixed with the audience, who were mostly fellow students of the academy, and performers as she greeted and congratulated those she knew. We did not catch sight of the other Peter.
When we left we found a coffee shop and got straight down to it.
It was then that I got the full story.
Wai had been late to meet me and had arrived at Tower records in a fluster at about seven fifteen; about one minute after I had left to go look for her at the academy entrance. As she raced into Tower the other ‘Peter’ was coming out. In a panic she looked up at him and said,
“Peter?”.
To this seemingly open invitation of a question from the very pretty Wai the opportunistic French man had answered (lied probably) ‘yes’.
She had then said,
“Shall we go then to the performance”
Without missing a beat he had apparently agreed and set off with her. On the way he had suggested that they stop at the coffee shop we were now in for a quick cup of coffee. Wai had answered that they were way too late to have time for that. I got the impression that it was at this point that Wai began to feel a little uneasy about him as the 'real' Peter should know this.
A moment later they had run into me and Wai at this point entered the twighlight zone. I had read the situation wrong and was bound by my notion of politeness not to challenge the unusual situation. The other ‘Peter’ was just bare faced bluffing his way to the end.
I asked later why she hadn’t blown his cover when she had realised that I was the right Peter. I think she was feeling too bashful to put into words that someone had deceived her when the deceiver was standing right before her.
I never really could decide if he really did have the same name as myself and took it from there or whether he bluffed his way from the very start. He seemed like a normal amiable chap to me apart from his dubious pick up method. Well, if anything good came from it at least he gave you guys a good story to read five years later. ;)
Me and wai, well we saw each other only a few more times but, y’know. . . . . that's life.

[Engli]

Funny story... I hope this thing will not happen in here, Korea.

[hyunook]

I've never had to date anyone in my life-as yet. But I'll soon get to "date" my wife.(Does one date one's wife?) Anyway, great story and WONDERFUL style of narrative. You do make me hungry for more; so shall I "ask for more?"

[유진승]

Life goes on!

[peaneuf]

Beauty can trigger any kind of weird behaviours, can't it? The pseudo-Peter was as much attracted to her, can't blame him for the same reason can't blame you. hahaha...