playing the decoy?

Since most of my non-work time is spent doing relatively solitary things (like swimming, biking, running... or sitting on my butt writing blog entries from my couch), I figure I should occasionally put myself in situations where I might meet new people.  Preferably single and my age.

This is why, on the eve of a half marathon, I accepted a last-minute invitation to head out to the 'burbs for a Brazilian feast courtesy of the man-formerly-known-as-Twervert and his incredible girlfriend that I adore. 

The invitation said 5, so of course I arrived at a leisurely 5:20.  And was the first one there.  

Eventually, other guests arrive - among them a nice man who was probably in his late 40's or so.  While I'm chatting with him, another women enters the turf and makes her move.  Whatever this man has to say, she provides the perfect flirt response - it's studied, it's practiced, it's surprisingly effective.  I quickly decide that I'm not in the mood for competition (I'm saving it for the race course in the morning), when Twervert pulls me aside.  He wants to tell me something about this man.

Twervert needs me to get said eligible bachelor away from the crazy lady...  distract the gentleman... because Twervert is fixing this man up with someone else at the party.  

That someone else is, of course, not me.   The true beneficiary of the fix-up was helping in the kitchen and not yet ready for the intro.  And while this beneficiary/hostess was really interesting and nice, I thought... "What am I, chopped liver??"

I have to say - this is a first.  I've been fixed up.  I've been invited to parties with lots of single men at which I did (or didn't) have a chance.  But I've never been asked to play the decoy so that one of those single men could be introduced to someone else. 

The evening ended early for me - I left by 7:30, long before people had even sipped enough of that social lubricant we call alcohol to start making new friends in glibly swapping phone numbers.  But who knows, maybe the Twervert will sniff some smelling salts and think about me next time.  It could happen.