A Night I'll Never Forget

I met her at a casual dating event for older adults last month. We hit it off immediately over drinks and small talk. She seemed interested in me, too, not just chatting up everyone like some did. We exchanged numbers that night, but neither of us initiated anything right away. I was waiting for the perfect moment, wanting to make sure this wasn't a fling or something casual. Then one evening about two weeks later, she called and suggested we meet at my place. It was sudden, but exciting. We hadn't planned anything specific, just that we both wanted to spend time together. She arrived with a bottle of wine in hand. We opened it right away, laughing easily as the night progressed into something more intimate than I expected. She wasn't hesitant, and neither was I. We ended up spending the rest of the night talking intimately and getting closer physically. There was a connection there that felt real to me, but we didn't go all in romantically. I just wanted us both to be comfortable. The next day, though, things changed. She called and sounded distant, like she regretted what happened. It hurt, because for the first time in ages, I had let someone get close quickly without playing it safe. But now I'm second-guessing myself.