If possible, Friday's set of meetings was even worse than the other days. Long periods with absolutely nothing to do. Supposed one hour meetings where the host of the meeting ran out of things to say inside fifteen minutes. Was I ever glad when we were finally free to leave at 1.00.

Bored silly, in between meetings

I'd arranged to get together with Jason again on Friday afternoon. Jason was the sexy guy I'd met, on a date, a few days earlier. From what I'd seen of him last time, I felt that Jason was someone I'd have been interested in dating if I'd met him in San Francisco. And I felt that Jason had thought similarly. I was curious to see how our afternoon and evening would develop. Things change somewhat when you start to think along those lines. Not that I thought for one minute that Jason and I would ever get seriously involved, but as we drove around in the afternoon, I found myself looking at him and thinking about whether he had the qualities I'd value for closer involvement.

Driving past the Watergate apartments, with Jason at the wheel

Jason took me to some places I'd have probably not found by myself. Theodore Roosevelt Island, in the middle of the Potomac was the first such place. In the center of the island is the Memorial to Roosevelt. We were the only people there, and, with the overgrown trees around the Memorial it seemed like a scene from "Planet of the Apes" - an abandoned relic of 20th century civilization.

Watching planes take off from a park next to the airport

It was amazing to see the speed and power of the planes that close. A split second after a plane left the ground, it would immediately bank and climb - quite awesome to watch. My attention was diverted between that and surreptitiously looking at Jason's sexy body in his tight t-shirt.

Watching Jason watching the planes

As the afternoon wore on, it was becoming clear to me that Jason has many great qualities - he's very straightforward and easygoing - no artifice about him at all. He possesses a strong belief in himself, and in his family. I guess the strongest negative I'd identified was his lack of imagination. He seemed to spare no time in his life for thinking about art, politics, culture, fantasy - very much an engineer's brain ticking in there. Also, he's way too closeted - not the kind of guy you kiss goodbye to in the car.

Since I was hungry, as usual, we went to Pentagon City, a large mall near the Pentagon, for some coffee and a cookie, and then decided to just go straight to dinner, in time to catch a movie afterwards. We had a quick Thai meal in a restaurant in the Court House area of Arlington, and then watched "The Astronaut's Wife" in a nearby cinema. Not too bad a movie, but way over-produced, in my opinion.

Thai for dinner

Back at my hotel, we spent hours making out. Like me, Jason loves the affectionate side of sex. Unlike me, he can lose himself in sex. Me? Even when I'm in the middle of it, my mind is still going. I've had so little sex over the last year, that I haven't really had to think much about it, and analyze my own behavior with respect to sex. But last night really made me realize that I have more issues there than I'd thought. This is not the place to go into it, however.

Jason spent the night, and, surprisingly, I slept fairly well. His hard, strong, smooth body was lovely to wake up next to, and the morning was spent much like the previous evening. By twelve, though, we were finally out and about, and we went our separate ways. I decided to go to the gay neighborhood, near Dupont Circle, for brunch, while Jason went to go to the gym and run errands.

Brunch near Dupont Circle

When Jason and I had been driving around last night, we'd past the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, all brightly illuminated, and I'd decided to make a visit to them today. I started at the Lincoln Memorial. It's truly a titanic piece of masonry.

The Lincoln Memorial

From the Lincoln Memorial, across the Reflecting Pool to the Washington Monument

Caught in a small rainshower at the Monument. The position of the Washington Monument is entirely accidental :)

Aesthetically, I prefer the Jefferson Memorial. It's sleek curving dome and smooth, clean, graceful stone lines are almost futuristic. Despite the hulking power of its stonework, the overwhelming feeling you get is one of airiness and serenity.

At the Jefferson Memorial

The Jefferson Memorial again

As I drove homeward, the threatened rain finally arrived. It didn't take long before it became apparent that this was much more than a few light showers - it was the Western edge of tropical storm Dennis drifting across the capital.