Hey, guy!
Name's Harry Wilmington, a frequent poster on these boards who also has a podcast with over 260+ episodes you can listen to at the link in my signature!
Now that I've gotten THAT out of the way, let's go bit-by-bit through your message, shall we?
Chardee MacDennis said:
Got out of a 6-yr relationship...
I'd be curious to know how it ended. Did you end it or did she end it? In looking back, what things did you see yourself doing that may have contributed to the break up? These things are important to know so you won't make the same mistakes again. Especially at the ages we're at (I'm 33), you could have developed bad relationship habits that you aren't aware of because you've been doing them for so long.
Chardee MacDennis said:
...and am in the game for the first time in a long time. I used to only have serious relationships, but now I'm dating several girls at once.
One, you should find that most of the way you get girls these days hasn't changed too much from 6 years ago, aside from everyone having cell phones. But, I mention this because I'm a big "anti-text" guy, in the sense that I don't advise guys to use texting because most guys over-do it (as is your case) and/or don't know what to say when they do it.
Two, kudos for dating more than one girl! Ideally, this should remove the pressure off you to HAVE to make any of these work, which should have them working for YOUR attention as a result.
Chardee MacDennis said:
So, I met one on Match. She's 30; I'm 34. First date went well. At the end we went to a pier. Started making out. She got crazy physical (in public!).
I'm putting a small flag on the play here. First date should have only been in one spot - you want to leave her wanting more at the end of the date. But the flag is actually for her getting physical in public. Personal choice maybe, but I prefer women with more modesty in public - the ones that aren't also tend to be the ones that will get flirty with other dudes in front of you, or wear skimpy clothes when you're out. Again, could just be a personal choice, but...
Chardee MacDennis said:
She left town for a week, texted me frequently.
No bueno. The fact that you were available to answer her on a consistent basis (instead of saying "nice to hear from you! I'm busy right now but I can't wait til you get back!") tells her subconsciously that you have nothing else going on.
Chardee MacDennis said:
Then had a second date when she got back. It was during the week. Didn't last long, but after dinner we got even more physical in a park (in public again).
See above. How was this not moved to either of your places instead?
Chardee MacDennis said:
After that is when she stopped texting me. Texted me when when she got home like I asked, but didn't reply to goodnight.
Another flag on the play - for YOU. You shouldn't even be contacting her between dates, let alone telling her to text you when she gets home. Yes, I get that you're trying to be a gentleman, but really, you need to remove this request from the end of your dates. Plus - and here's why it's a REALLY good reason - you need to see if she will do this exercise on her own. You can better determine her level of interest if she gets home and then text you that she made it back safe... WITHOUT YOU PROMPTING HER. Otherwise, you end up in a mess like this where your brain is going "why didn't she text me?!? Does she not like me now?? Is it a test??"
Chardee MacDennis said:
I texted her a couple times that week, and she replied but never started herself..
Because the exercise is pointless, that's why! Unless you're texting her to ask her out on a date, there's literally NO other reason to text her. And I get why guys do it: you want her to know you like her; you don't want her to forget about you; and you've heard time and time again how women need to talk to a guy a lot in order to build up interest. But that's only partially true - they need to talk to a guy a lot when they're on a DATE with him. When they're not? They need time to sit there and reminisce about you, and think about how great you made her feel on the date, and how much she desires to be in contact with you again... She can't feel those things if you're constantly setting off her phone with messages! Next time you feel yourself reaching for the phone to text her something like "hey, great day today, isn't it?" STOP, drop the phone, and back away from it...
Had a third date a few nights later (the weekend before this last one). We went to my place. All over me again, said she wanted to have sex with me but couldn't. Went down on me (like a porn star). Texted when she got home, like I asked. Didn't reply when I said goodnight.
Chardee MacDennis said:
Texted her the next day. Brief responses. Waited until the following night (last Monday) and texted. Brief response again.
Why the brief responses? Because she doesn't want to talk to you in those moments!
Does that mean she doesn't like you? Not at all. But it DOES mean that you're impeding on time she's trying to spend doing other things. You think she wants to answer you if she's about to take a shower? Or watching a movie? Or hanging out with her girlfriends? Of course not! When she's not in your presence she's still living her life, not waiting to talk to you. Know when she wants to talk to you? On DATE nights, that's when! So again - if you're not hitting her up for a date, you're wasting your time.
Chardee MacDennis said:
So I got frustrated. She was having a friend over last week, so I waited all week for her to say anything to me. Nothing.
Probably because (a) she's happy for the break, and (b) she's concentrating on the friend. I don't know about other people on these boards, but when I'm hosting people or going out of town, I tell everyone - including any girl I'm dating - that they probably won't hear from me. Nothing personal, but I'm not trying to split my attention.
Of course, there's always the chance the whole "friend over for a week" thing was an excuse so that she could get some breathing room from hearing from you. Either way, the message is the same - STOP SENDING SO MANY MESSAGES.
Chardee MacDennis said:
So I gave it until a week later (tonight, Monday) and just texted her something casual. Half hour and no response so far.
Casual texts... are useless. Again, if you're going to text (which I strongly advise against), you should be doing it to ask for a date. But really, you should do that via a phone call instead.
Chardee MacDennis said:
So...... what do you guys make of this? I'm sure this is a **** test, but what the crap does it mean and how should I handle it? Thoughts? Thanks!
It's not a sh!t test. She liked you, but you're messaging her too much and it's getting annoying. What should you do? Wait til Thursday and CALL her to ask her out for Sunday or Monday, and see (a) if she picks up, and (b) what her answer is. And no more of this "casual texting" crap - it KILLS relationships.
Hope this helps! Again, if you need more guidance, click the link in my signature!