The Inquisition It was Friday evening and she was going out with her co-workers for dinner and drinks. We met a few times before that night, had even talked about dating, but had yet to make that specific commitment. I suppose we both had our own reservations, as insignificant as they were at the time, but in the end – the very end – neither of us got what we wanted.

We had been talking regularly that week with rapidly increasing interest, and towards the end of the week she extended the invitation to me. She joked that her friends wanted to interview me. I suppose I took it more lightly than I should have because when I arrived, I found a table full of questions and alcohol. I’m still not sure if it was for any purpose other than entertainment, but I obliged and survived the inquisition with impressive success thanks to my quick wit and casual charm.

I’m sure that most men would have been unnerved by the situation, but not me. I was on my game. I enjoyed the challenge. In fact, this might have been one of the reasons why we dated as long as we did; the challenge. We had conflicting opinions on nearly everything and both of us were too stubborn to ever back down. We thrived on the constant confrontation like two emotional masochists lingering in the abuse, showing off who could withstand more pain.  ¶ 11:18 AM