Date Lab: They’re teetering on the edge, so he makes a big move.

About the daters ...

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(Courtesy of the daters/ ) -

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Brag a little ...

Eddie: I’m independent, in shape, healthy, goal-oriented, funny, creative. [I] own a successful business, a motorcycle, and am well traveled. This winter, I am going to Ghana with my brother, which will be the 12th country I visited in the last year.

Kulsum: I’m really smart, honest, will laugh at all your jokes. I love trying new things and care about making a difference in the world.

Your idea of funny ...

Eddie:  It’s funny when someone gets that you don’t have to be funny ALL the time.

Kulsum: I want someone who will make me laugh, but I’ll pretty much laugh at anything.

Best date ever ...

Eddie: It wasn’t a first date, but I surprised an Argentinean girl by taking her to a Matisyahu concert. According to her, she fell in love with me that day, and we dated for several months.

Kulsum: One year for my birthday, my boyfriend at the time surprised me with boots and camping gear, and we went on a three-day backpacking trip through Pine Creek Gorge, the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.

Interests to share ...

Eddie: Being outdoors, photography, travel, hiking, cooking, preferably non-religious spirituality. Someone happy, mature and has time for a relationship.

Kulsum: Piano, board games, cooking, running, traveling, reading, gardening

About the date ...

7:30 p.m., Matchbox, Capitol Hill

Eddie: I honestly had low expectations about how this would work. I am a very unique person with very unique preferences. I rode over there on my motorcycle, which always gets me focused, and listened to some good music. Once I sat down, the waitress immediately came up and starting telling me all the drinks specials. I wanted to wait until my date arrived, but she ended up bringing over two wine samples because I had mentioned I might want to order red wine later. She really wanted me to drink.

Kulsum: I got home around 5, went for a run, showered and biked over to the restaurant. The hostess led me to the table. [Eddie] got up and gave me a hug. My first impression was, Oh, he’s cute. He has pretty eyes, and I thought it was nice that he got up and hugged me and he’d already asked the waitress for a wine recommendation.

Eddie: She was just really gorgeous. Very well-dressed. She had a nose stud, which is [a] weak spot of mine.

Kulsum: We started comparing interests, and we kept hitting on similarities. We both like travel, yoga, hiking, nature. It seemed like we had a lot in common. The more we talked about, the more we seemed to say, “Oh that’s funny; me, too.”

Eddie: We just let the conversation have its own mind, go where it wanted to go. I remember that I was telling her about a city in India; I got so caught up in the story, I kind of forgot I was on a first date. I was talking about being on the river and being horrified at the sight of human body parts floating in it. As soon as I said “human body parts,”
I stopped and said, “Wait, this is inappropriate conversation for a first date.” But she was cool with it.

Kulsum: We split a bunch of appetizers: prosciutto pizza, sliders. I had a couple of beers, he had a glass of wine. We were really into a good conversation rhythm, but it felt like I was talking to a friend — not a lot of spark. I wasn’t sure what I should be expecting. But I do think it’s important to have that excited feeling and to get those butterflies.