About a year ago, a former coworker of mine said he was coming in town for a weekend and thought we should see a movie together. I agreed, and was looking forward to catching up with an old friend.
When the weekend neared, he asked me if I wanted to grab dinner before the flick. I said sure; as I’m always up for a good meal. Over dinner, we talked about work, how things had changed (or hadn’t) and he asked me about my dating life. I joked and said I didn’t have one, and we were off to the movie.
During the movie, he asked to hold my hand.
Things were turning in a direction I hadn’t intended and I didn’t know how to get out of it. He had driven us to the theatre—I was stuck.
After the movie, we drove to a bar to meet another coworker. I was looking for an out. The coworker, however, didn’t help my situation as he suggested the visitor stay at my apartment instead of his. I went to the restroom and just hoped the night would end.
As my former friend drove me home, he asked if he could crash at my apartment. I hesitated, and told him I was very tired, but he was welcome to my couch.
Once we got to my apartment, he refused the couch saying, “You’re not allowed to go to bed unless I go with you.” We had reached scary status and I didn’t like it one bit.
Since then, the coworker has continued to contact me, despite my efforts to ignore him. His calls, emails, instant messages, and texts all go unanswered. I’ve gotten the cold shoulder before, and I know it’s not the best way to push someone away, however I don’t think this guy deserves any type of respectful explanation.
I just hope my silence starts speaking so he’ll leave me alone.
The Bitter Lemon 