Date Lab

They have so much in common: tailgating, 'Old School,' Penn State football. But if she's sporty and he wants girlie, how far can common interests carry them?

7:30 p.m. | Clyde's | Georgetown

Laurie: I was waiting at the hostess stand for about five minutes when Eric walked in and asked about the reservation. I thought he was attractive. He has a nice smile, nice eyes.

Eric: She looked nervous -- which was funny, but cool. I wasn't, like, "Oh, wow." I'm typically into the real feminine look: My dream woman is Laetitia Casta. Laurie is more athletic-looking. But she's cute. I liked her short blond hair a lot.

Laurie: We talked about where we're both from. I grew up near State College, and he went to Penn State, so that led into small-world stories. One of the last times we were there, I think we ended up at the same place at the same time -- this bar called the Phyrst. This band was playing, and the president of the university got up on stage with them.

Eric: It was fun having a lot of that stuff in common. We had so much to talk about. I probably gabbed more. I'm not a huge talker, so maybe that was me being nervous without knowing it. [Or] the Manhattans. We had two or three drinks at dinner.

Laurie: He's an engineer, and he travels a lot for work. That's not something I've done nearly enough, so it was cool to hear about. He's gotten to go to a lot of places.

Eric: She works in Bethesda at an adoption clinic. That's a rewarding job. I was jealous. She gets to be in contact with these families for a long time and see the results.

Laurie: We left Clyde's around 9:30.

Eric: My friend is moving to Ireland, and I only had a couple of nights to hang out with him. Laurie and I were heading in the same direction, so I asked her if she wanted to come along.

Laurie: If I was more nervous through the date, I wouldn't have gone. But I was having a good time; I felt comfortable. We took the Metro and met [two of] his friends at the Cheesecake Factory in Friendship Heights. They seemed nice. Everyone was really funny.

Eric: We had a drink, but they close early. So we went to this Greek place called the Parthenon. We were there for another hour. She came along and was a trouper. It was three guys she didn't know that well, but she wasn't shy or quiet. Everyone got along.

Laurie: At about 1, his friend called a cab for me.

Eric: I was thinking, "Do I hug her or kiss her?" I opened the door and went for the hug. She kissed me on the cheek. I was surprised. Normally, it's the guy that does that. But it was cool. Then I walked back to my friend's and crashed.

Laurie: It went well. I'd give the date a 5.

Eric: I'd say a 4. Initially, she didn't stick out as someone I would normally hit on if I saw her at a bar. I wasn't blown away. But as the night went on, I found her more attractive because she was so cool to talk to. She was cute and really fun. If I'd been more into it physically, it would have been a 5.

-- Interview by Kelly DiNardo

UPDATE: Eric and Laurie have e-mailed each other, but so far no second date.