Is it wrong to have an older guy friend take you on a shopping spree? At first, I didnt think so, but now after some thought, I'm thinking maybe it was wrong. I'm asking this because, well, it happened to me this past weekend.
What went down:
I have this friend named Raul who I met at a graduation party in May, right after I quit my job at InfoNXX (yet another, weird job quitting story, which I'll tell y'all about later...). He asked where I worked, and I told him I quit my previous job because my boss turned out to be this crazy psychotic woman (remember the movie The Hand That Rocks The Cradle? She was the technical advisor!)
Well, anyways, it turned out that crazy, psychotic boss-lady Linda was his aunt. Yeah. In this small world of ours, why do I keep burning these bridges? You'd think I'd know better by now, but, no, apparently not. Whatever. But it was cool though, cuz turns out, Raul hates his aunt Linda too. Apparently, when he graduated several years back, Linda had told him she couldnt go to his graduation because it was in the morning and she was tired. Plus, since she had the night shift that day, she wanted to rest up for it. I know! What a bitch.
So, we bonded over that and have kinda been hanging out ever since then.
Then this past weekend, he invited me to Phoenix. He wanted to do something special for my up coming birthday (by the way, it's October 6th, and I am registered at Macy's and Dillards, just so y'all know), and figured a lunch at my favorite restaurant, The Rainforest Cafe, would be a good idea. Free lunch in a city other than my own? You aint gots to tell me twice.
The lunch was so good, but then again, anything eaten on someone else's credit card, is always good! After lunch, we kinda walked around the Arizona Mills Mall, and before I knew it, I was carrying more than $600 worth of mall goods. If I'd have known he was gonna buy me everything I pointed to, well...I'd have pointed more in the Gucci store! Kidding.
But no for reals. I didnt think anything of it. I guess I got caught up in the moment of having unlimited credit in my hands. I blame the hanging flouresent lights and the scent of lemon pine-sol floors. It wasn't until we got back to his car when I realized how much I had spent. Or actually, how much he spent.
ME: You know, maybe I should take some of this back. I mean, it's a lot.
RAUL: Forget about it. It's cool.
ME: Yeah, but I mean...
RAUL: It's cool. Dont worry. Besides, if you could take some of that stuff back, what would you return?
ME: Well, I dont know, but something.
RAUL: See? You dont know. So just keep it.
ME: Yeah, but...I dont know, it seems a little too much.
RAUL: Who cares? It's my treat to you. I like being generous with my friends.
ME: Well, ok, I guess.
RAUL: There you go! Besides, I want you to know that I think of you more than a friend.
ME: Oh? Kay...
RAUL: I really, really like you.
There it was. In black and white. He said, "I really, really like you." That was twice too many times to use the word, "really" in a sentence between guy friends, dont you think? Especially when one of them is straight. I guess I should have mentioned that Raul was gay. But see, to me that didnt bother me. Sexual orientation isnt really a top quality I look for in a friend, you know?
The ride was totally dead quiet along the way back to Tucson. I was thinking about what had happened, and I'm sure Raul was kicking himself for saying what he said. Very weird. The thing is, I dont know what to do now. The more I think about it, the more I think of how this whole situation looks like a sugar daddy weekend. I cant even bring myself to look at the shopping bags and the heavenly goodness they hold. Well, not true. I've been breaking in my new Oliver Peoples sunglasses and they are so great! But what I do about Raul? Do I pretend the whole thing never happened? Or is it wrong to ignore it? And what do I do about my new clothes? UGH...
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