Youngins

last night i went on a second date with a nice, adorable guy. 

who is 5 years younger than me. 

seriously, he's like a baby compared to me.

admittedly, when i went on my first date with him, i was more enticed by the restaurant he had picked vs. him. i had been reading a restaurant review for Psari and happened to get a text from the Youngin asking me to go to dinner at the same restaurant. and that's how i found myself on our first date. 

side note: Psari is off the hook good. if you like seafood, then absolutely run there. it's affordable and the food is very well cooked. the service is also affable and homey. we had the most adorable woman as our waitress. she was like my cool aunt giving us winks and nudges since we were obviously on a date. 

Seafood Combo ($30)

Grilled Octopus ($15): this was so good.

the date went well: he was easy to talk to and kind of adorable. 

which brought us to our second date. this time he came to my neighborhood (i won the coin toss) and we went to Brooklyn Buschenschank for some pizza (yes, it's a German bar. but it has a wood-fired oven and makes incredible pizza).

The Villager ($13)

Pretzel with Bier Cheese ($8): epic bier cheese, a little spicy, but the pretzel can get a little salty.

i forgot how perfect this bar is for a date. during the daytime/afternoon it's not bad either, but is suitable for both friend outings and dates. at night time, the place is dimly lit with only the candles on the tables providing the ambient light. très romantic. 

it was a pleasant date with nothing to really complain about. and i haven't really thought too much about where this whole thing is headed, since part of me considers him too young to be thinking about anything seriously. hence, we haven't had the "expectations" conversation yet.

what i did find interesting was the obvious "boldness of youth" that he had. most dates i go on, who happen to be closer to my age or older, tend to be reserved in the initial few dates, and that's fair, because so am i. 

so i was little surprised when, after we exited the bar, Youngin reached out to hold my hand for the walk back.it's a bold move for a second date. but also kind of sweet. people don't go for the simple hand-hold anymore during the casual dating phase of getting to know each other. it's usually one extreme or the other e.g. no physical contact at all or too much too soon.

but then again, Youngin is young enough that he still sees everything with rose-colored glasses. he hasn't experienced too much rejection and can still shake off bad experiences because they're few and far between. and that allows him to be bold and act without fear. it's adorable but also a stark reminder of just how far apart we are in age and our experiences.

but for now, i'm just gonna enjoy the ride and let myself get swept up a little in the capriciousness and straightforwardness of youth.