The fact that
@Been There had his friends check out his date and tell him complimentary things about her shows that he is careful in his relationships, and it is possible he may have been hurt in the past and probably the reason he is still single. He is careful. By questioning this woman's words, I believe he is trying to get to know her better, which is not a bad thing, but at the same time, he is focusing too much on the "head talk" and not the "heart talk." Or maybe his intuition is kicking in and taking over. Her actions (inviting him in) shows she is interested, right? But she also gives a conflicting message that puts a wrench into everything. Although it seems sort of complimentary (that she tells him he is not like the other military men), it fails to deliver the message that she likes him, or is complimenting him. What she is saying underneath the words is that she is COMPARING him to other military men. She is categorizing. She doesn't see him as a man, but a "military man." She may have dated military men in the past. Warning - she might have issues with such relationships.
If someone spoke to me like that (a male), and compared me to other women in my career, it would feel as if he was egging me on, or maybe teasing me. I do know that men and women relate differently (from reading an article). Men tend to speak competitively while women tend to relate. She was not relating to
@Been There (she could have said, "I really enjoyed myself tonight. I don't think I've every felt this way in a long time....."). Instead, she compared him to other "military" men.
One question that popped up in my mind:
@Been There, did you wear a gun on your date? I think you had mentioned it sometime ago that you carry one (or maybe it was someone else). Just wondering.
