stop me if you've heard this one before (part deux)

On a whim, and after deciding I had nothing to lose, I finally contacted Irene, who'd I'd met thru a couple of mutual friends last summer. We hit it off and went on what turned out to be a great date a week later. One in which she repeatedly mentioned the following:

a) how glad she was that I contacted her (t'was originally via Facebook)
b) how glad she was that I asked her out
c) how much she enjoyed the date

I walked her home afterwards and along the way Irene informs me she's just getting out of a relationship and wants to take things slow, but tells me to call her and ask her out again. An hour later on FB she thanks me again for "a great night".

A couple of days after the date I send her an e-mail, letting her know that I'll be asking her out again and reminding her of my upcoming birthday party.

Nothing.

B-day party.
Nothing.

Give her a call the following day.
Nothing.

Then, on my actual b-day....
Nothing.

I was a bit unsettled by the radio silence from someone who had profusely mentioned how much they'd enjoyed my approaching them, our subsequent date, and wanting to see me again. I started to believe in the possibility of our female mutual friend--a clingy, possessive nutjob, with whom I had an incredibly brief hookup, some 5 years ago and not since--having said something to scare Irene off. This was the bullshit I was dreading.

When I finally hear from Irene, two days after my unanswered phone call, she emails her belated birthday wishes, apologies for missing the party and brings up a work-related situation that allegedly screwed up her schedule. She then mentions preparing to leave town for a family reunion but asks if we can see each other when she returns.

One the one hand I'm relieved no one has poisoned the well--which makes me feel slightly guilty about thinking our mutual friend might've been conspiring against me--but I'm a bit turned off by Irene's nonchalance.

I suspect she's playing hard to get. This is NYC, but NO ONE is so busy that they can't call, email or message someone who's courting them, considering the circumstances. Especially not Irene, in her "pretty stress-free" job. We all know that when women want to, they're all over you. So, the way I see it, she knows I'm interested. And since her radio silence has now earned her a bit of my own, this will happen between us if I hear from her. Otherwise, good luck out there. Not chasin' after her; ain't no lapdog. Let her make the next move and then we'll see.

In the meantime, I'll put romantic endeavors on hold and lean towards just getting some ass, especially in light of recent developments. As we all know this will likely lead towards the occasional weird situation, including making the wrong phone call and sleeping with a girl who's clearly not the best candidate, but I don't have to believe, trust, and/or have faith in them. So, there's that.

Despite being a bit tired of just hooking up and doing the dance that goes with making it happen, a relationship is not much of an option when you lack much faith in finding the woman that would make that situation worthwhile, due to all the clunkers I've encountered out there. And I guess that's the reason why I choose to remain single.

(I did have a drunken little tryst with a girl named Annie who I met at the tail-end of my party. But that, once again, is literally another story.)