When Nintendo Crushes the Male Ego

Saturday evening something rather humorous and yet a tad sad happened.  I was out of town, had just had the time of my life with some friends daring enough to zip-line earlier that day and we were now gearing up for a potluck held at one of their boyfriend’s places.  I had anticipated meeting some new people at this gathering but romance was not on the agenda.

At least, it wasn’t for me.

As I sat comfortably on the couch dialoguing with an early arrival, in walked a tall, very attractive man. Unfortunately for him the first words out of his mouth to me were an instant turn off.  He had the nerve to insult my city after knowing me for less than 5 seconds!  I returned my attention to the early arrival, who was a sweet young man, and whose company I preferred over the (in my opinion) cocky, sarcastic, guest who had just entered the door.  I ended up leaving with this young man to pick up some last minute food items for my friend who was playing hostess and he was so dear that he insisted on carrying all the bags out of the car into the house upon our return.  Well the cocky, sarcastic guy, whom I learned went by Tony, made a negative comment about my young friend carrying all the groceries.  I shot back at him “I guess he just understands chivalry and how to be a gentleman”.  That must have struck a nerve with Tony because for the remainder of the evening he set out on proving just how much of a gentleman he could be.  He offered me his chair when I didn’t have a seat, which I refused, opting to get my own.  I did however let him carve a piece of chicken for me.  Now maybe that was overkill but it’s not often a girl receives healthy, male attention in a safe environment, so I milked it for what it was worth.

Tony not only carved my chicken, he complimented me several times throughout the evening (I had changed out of my zip lining fits and freshened up a bit) and positioned himself so just he and I were able to speak.  In fact, Tony and I were separate from the rest of the group who had arrived during this time and for about 2 hours we were caught up in our own conversation.  I was a bit embarrassed by this as I did have a genuine desire to meet the other folks.  I also knew the women at the table, if not everyone, was taking notice of his interest.  Yet sheer flattery won out over embarrassment.

Tony was extremely attentive, very sharp and asked all the right questions.  I could tell he was intense, intelligent and very funny.  So maybe first impressions aren’t always the best…Tony had won me over.  He was quick to get me drinks, and anything my little heart desired.  We talked about every chick-flick under the sun and to my surprise he had an opinion on the better romantic partner for Catnis Everdeen…Pita or Gale? (Hunger Games).  We had a lot in common and it was exciting getting to discover just how much.  But was Tony a Christian?  While he did allude to God I wondered if it was because I had mentioned the Lord first.  Either way, I was in constant dialogue with Jesus throughout my dialogue with Tony.  I wanted to let my guard down, get to know a person, but did not want to become involved with a distracting relationship and so I was hoping for guidance in this predicament.  Well, little did I know God was going to use a friendly game of Nintendo to reveal to me Tony’s ways.  Now, anyone who knows me knows I’m competitive and there’s no way I’m going to tone that down for the male ego.  I mean, I won’t gloat but I will not go easy on you.  And I just love Nintendo!  Not Super Nintendo, or the Wii or Playstation, or whatever else these kids now a days are into.  I mean the original, old fashioned, blow into the cartridge 10 times, hit the game system in a certain area, hope and pray you can get the game to play, Nintendo!  The fact that my friend’s boyfriend has the original from 1980-something and it STILL works, is just a testament to how much longer things lasted back in the day!  So Tony and I sat out to play.  And in truth, if he would have beat me it would have been a miracle because he had never played the game we were playing and I was an old pro.  We played about 5 rounds until Tony met his limit, spit out a begrudging “Congratulations Nicole” and stalked away into the kitchen.  I did not hear from Tony the rest of the night, which I thought was rather sad as aside from his inappropriate sarcasm and poor sportsmanship, we could have had a great future together! LOL.  But not really, as I did find out later we were not spiritually compatible.

All in all, the evening ended fine for me however I am rather shocked at how fragile a man can be when it comes to such things.  Or maybe I am being too hard on the males species, and there really are some men out there who can take being beat by a girl?  Or maybe, Tony didn’t mind that I beat him at all.  Maybe he was just done talking to me and felt he should mingle with other guests…What are your thoughts on this?  Have you had any similar encounters with the male ego?  For my male readers, do you think you I’m being too hard on Tony?  Should I have let him win???