Date Lab

Julie seemed perfect for Africa-loving PR guy Lawrence. But there was something she didn't share.

7:30 p.m. | Georgia Brown's | Downtown

Lawrence: When I'm not working, I normally wear earrings. [But before the date,] my roommates and I joked that if I got some huge Republican, that's the first thing she'd mention. So I decided against them.

Julie: I walked from my office to Georgia Brown's. It was busy; I had to push through people to the hostess. [Meeting Lawrence,] I noticed right away that he's a sharp dresser and smiles a lot. He was my height [and] slender, not beefy. My type is usually larger, but that's not a deal-breaker.

Lawrence: She was well put together, a cute girl, but I could tell right away I wasn't going to be head over heels. She was my height -- about 5-foot-10 -- if not taller. Larger than I'm used to, romantically. I said, "Let's order drinks," and she mentioned that she doesn't drink. I was a little taken aback. A lot of my social life is spent out; when I'm all GQ'd up, a good drink is a must.

Julie: I told him to drink on my behalf. He had a great sense of humor and seemed flirtatious. He said, "In the event that we don't fall wildly, madly in love, I'd just like to have an interesting night." That put me at ease.

Lawrence: The conversation went well. Our big connection was Africa; we'd both lived there. She had some cool experiences, like traveling through rural Nigeria in a Land Rover. That gave her a lot of substance.

Julie: We did have other things in common. His parents were sort of hippies, and [so was] my mom; we both like to go dancing. I wasn't bowled over, but I'm frequently bowled over by really nasty individuals, so that's probably good. Our poor waiter was like, Um, do you want to order now?

Lawrence: She's a very happy person, which I definitely like. At times she was laughing so hard it was almost like she was drunk. Not in a sloppy way, but uninhibited.

Julie: One of the things we did not have in common is that I'm Mormon. I didn't put that on my [Date Lab] questionnaire because I'm not the typical Mormon woman, and I don't always get along with the garden-variety Mormon guy. But Lawrence comes with a Jewish heritage, and Mormonism has some similarities to Orthodox Judaism. I'd try to draw these parallels, and he'd say, "Yeah, I don't know anything about that." It flopped.

Lawrence: There were signals she might be interested. A couple of times she said: "I like you. You're funny." But at the end of the day, someone whose religion is a big part of her life is not someone I can see myself getting involved with. I thought about taking her dancing but decided that would be leading her on.

Julie: We stayed at the restaurant until 11. [Then] he walked me to the Metro and [gave me a] kiss on the cheek. I'd rate the date a 4 out of 5. I think we're reasonably likely to have a [second]. We had a great time.

Lawrence: I'd consider seeing her again as a friend. I would [rate it] a 4.

Interviews by Christina Breda Antoniades

UPDATE: Neither contacted the other. "I was out of town for three weeks," Julie explains.

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