The Dating Game: Tell mystery man she's got his number

By FRED GONZALEZ
In today's dating world, we can find our dates online and keep track of mutual interests on our iPhones or Blackberrys, but it's ironic how a simple pen and paper can have more of an impact.

Sharon, a good friend who has had her share of ups-and-downs while searching for Miami's Mr. Right, was headed to a birthday dinner in Broward County. Riding in the passenger seat of her friend's car, she noticed an attractive man sitting in the sedan that pulled up next to them at the red light, just a block from her destination.

Sharon looked over at him several times and got caught looking twice. The mystery man smiled back, nodded, and when the light turned green, he headed right as they went up the street and turned left into the restaurant lot.

When dinner was over, and she returned to her car, she noticed a note under the windshield wipers.

"I saw you looking over at me, and if you want to learn more, give me a call," was the message on the note. "He wrote his number," Sharon said. "Seven digits."

That's right. He forgot to leave his area code.

When was the last time you heard of a guy leaving a note for a woman he saw all for all of 30 seconds? In middle school? All he knew is what he saw; barely enough to provide a police description, not enough to fill out an online dating profile.

I tried this once, leaving a note on the car of a woman who lived in my apartment complex after she smiled at me nicely one day in the elevator. But in retrospect, I should have talked to her. Instead I came across like a stalker, which may be the reason my car was towed, despite parking in my assigned spot.

As for Sharon's mystery man, obviously he noticed where they parked, turned his car around and delivered the note while they were dining inside. Sharon became intrigued. There was attraction, curiosity, a sign. But with no area code, she and her roommate had a mystery to solve. So they called the number trying different South Florida area codes.

A 305 resulted in a pizza joint. A 786 version was not in service. A 561 call interrupted a bridge game. But 954 reached his office voicemail at a consulting firm, but Sharon didn't leave a message. Why would he leave his work number? she asked. And why did he fail to include the area code? She wondered if he were married or dating and in search of some extracurricular activities.

I suggested to Sharon that while those scenarios were not outside the realm of possibility, perhaps he had cell problems, or his cell is an out-of-state number. As for the lack of an area code, it may have been an honest mistake (he may have assumed she'd know it was 954) or he may have wanted to see if she would begin the search.

Regardless, what did she have to lose by leaving him a message and perhaps meeting for coffee or a drink? These days, some singles will exhaust all options to meet someone. Better to try than to think "what if . . ."

So Sharon decided to call and told me she'd leave this message: "Hi, this is Sharon. You saw me the other day at the red light and I got your note. If you want to meet me, give me a call." And she would just leave seven digits.

Stay tuned.