Men - are they really worth all this???

So, to sum up my Friday night - the party left me confused.

To give a bit of backstory for those who weren’t privy previously, I met a guy (Greg) on New Year’s Eve. We’d traveled in the same circle for the past 20 years, but never actually met each other until a party that night. We hit it off immediately – right down to the initial meeting when he stared at me across the room, made his way through the crowd over to me, and said "I don’t think we’ve met – and I think we should". There was the surprise at midnight, where he twirled me around from behind, dipped me, and kissed me…followed by light flirting and random kisses throughout the rest of the night. It could have been the start of a romance, until my ex-friend-with-benefits, in his drunken stupor, decided he didn’t like what he’d witnessed and proceeded to hang all over me while Greg and I were saying goodnight. It was an ugly end to an evening that either belonged in a romance novel or a Meg Ryan movie.

For the last 5 months, I’ve not heard from Greg. The week after New Year’s, I’d e-mailed him the party photos, but received no response. So, I figured it was just one of those party interactions where nothing would come from it. Color me surprised as he called this week inviting me to this last-minute party on Friday night.

I didn’t read too much into the invite – after all, it has been almost 6 months since we last spoke. My friend, Jackie, and I met up with her husband and his friend, Mike (a handsome 6’7" guy who I’ve known for years), on the way into the party. So, while I didn’t bring a "date" with me, I suppose it could have been construed that way for those who didn’t know Mike.

In the first 10 minutes, I ran across a handful of guys who I haven’t seen since the day we graduated high school…and who I didn’t really care for back then. However, their reaction to seeing me was to rush over and embrace me. Clearly, I don’t wear my heart on my sleeve. I got to hear all about their failed marriages, kids, dogs, evil exes, "careers", etc. Not one of them asked me one question about myself – which makes me think it will be an interesting 20-year reunion over Labor Day…lots of listening, very little talking.

15 minutes into the party, Greg appeared from a back room and came over to say hello. The greeting was accompanied by a lingering hug, yet I quickly determined he was feeling uneasy about talking with me. That set up the rest of the night where we’d make random eye contact and smile at each other from across the room. He popped over to our group about 4 times throughout the night...each time hugging me and rubbing my back as we chatted.

At some point in the 2nd hour, his erratic behavior became clear. Someone in a group next to us pointed out to her friend that the woman standing next to Greg is his "girlfriend of 6 months". Ahhhh, which made sense and explained his wacky behavior…except that could also mean that he’d been seeing her before we met (depending on how accurate that 6 month tagline was).

Upon hearing this, my gang and I tried to slip out of the party, but Greg saw us leaving and rushed over – again, standing next to me with his arm around my waist while we made small talk. Girlfriend (Sharon) came screaming across the room, staring me down the whole way, and not-so-casually aligned herself right between Greg and me. After a very uncomfortable pause at her arrival, Greg introduced her to all of us as "This is Sharon". Just Sharon, no title, not "my friend, Sharon", not "my girlfriend, Sharon", just Sharon. It was one of those situations where you hope the floor opens up so you can melt down into it. Thankfully, Mike picked up on the awkwardness, looked at me and said "Are you ready to go?" as he reached for my hand. Sweet, lovely, Mike – I owe him a home-cooked dinner for that good deed.

So, where do I go from here? Why would Greg invite me to the party if his girlfriend was going to be there? Even better…why did he invite me at all if he HAS a girlfriend? I won’t put my life on hold waiting for him to call, but I’m ashamed to admit I’d be interested if he did. The ball is in his court now, right? There are a few social events coming up – but should I reconsider since I know he’d be there? My gut feeling is to attend, partly to allow an opportunity for future interaction…but mainly because I don’t think that I should be the one wearing the scarlet letter and avoiding public gatherings. Advice, please !!!!