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“Are you going to use this in your book?”
Not even a little bit. I had gone out with him because I didn’t have a good excuse not to, and it’s always good to broaden ones knowledge of other humans and the way they think. I have used little pieces of real life- with a fictional spin on it- in my book, but that’s only because you have to write what you know. Imagination is good, but it has to hold some parts of reality to really connect. But, this situation I found myself in, was not going to make it into the book. He had fired a multitude of questions at me in the beginning, and I answered. But, I was uncomfortable, because I prefer to be listening, and not talking, especially when I don’t know a person. So, I asked him to tell me about him, who he was and the things he liked.  He sat there stumped for a few long seconds. “What do you mean?”
I knew right then we weren’t playing on the same field. “Well,” I relented, “what do you do with your free time?”
As he told me stories from his life, I listened to the words, and to the posturing. Everyone tells you what they think you want to hear. I found myself looking at him like I would a client. Judging the veracity of his words, listening to the unhappiness, and yet skilled manipulator that he appeared to be.
I think at some point he realized that he was doing all the talking, and letting out more than advisable, so he asked me about my horoscope sign. I told him what it was, so he went to look up characteristics of a libra. The very last trait listed was “good conversationist”, which he immediately scoffed at.  I smiled pleasantly at him. “You have to get to that point with me.”

I am not one to share my life with people I don’t know. Especially if I don’t trust you or care to have you in my life. And so yes, by this point I had realized that I didn’t want him to know any more of me than he already did- so I was not trying to engage with any more reality than I would with someone who sat at my bar.  Maybe that is one of my toxic traits.