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(yeah... still not safe, bigbro)

So Sweet, Smart Scientist doesn't want to sleep with me anymore. Well, he does, but he thinks he shouldn't, because he's not ready for that level of intimacy and he wants to take a step back and get to know me without that complication. Which -- yeah, maybe he should have thought of that before the actual, uh, sleeping together? Just a thought.

When I told Joiner about last night's conversation, she had this to say: "That's not a straight man talking. That's his shrink telling him what he should do."

Hee! And then this gem of an exchange with Mr. Rocks:

Mr. Rocks: It sounds like he doesn't want to use you for sex. If he's a nice guy.

hk: Actually, I think it might be more that he's afraid that I'm using him for sex.

Mr. Rocks: Are you?

hk: Well ... maybe.

Mr. Rocks: So you're just upset because you're not gonna get laid anymore.

hk: Well, yeah!

Mr. Rocks: Look, just don't date rape him, okay?

hk: Look, I like him too! I think he's a great guy! I just don't think that it realistically has a shot of working out. How do you create a foundation of intimacy in four months strong enough to build a long distance relationship on? So, what would you do?

Mr. Rocks: Well, maybe you can go along with it, and just have ... lapses. And then be all, yeah, I'm sorry about that.

Double hee!

After a day of pondering the possible interpretations and wondering what I wanted, which ran the gamut from breaking it off completely to completely acquiescing and being part of the therapy process, I called Sweet, Smart Scientist a few hours ago. After a few pleasantries, I said, "Hey, I didn't feel so good about how I left things last night, so I just wanted to say that I respect the fact that you're trying to work on stuff and make things better for yourself and for others. And ... I'm glad that you want to get to know me better."

"I do want to get to know you better," he said, "because I like you. And I'm glad you called."

And so the dance continues, no doubt until next Tuesday, when we check in again. What new therapy trick will he pull out of the bag then? And what the hell am I doing, being part of this guy's emotional exploration process?