However, he was Delta enough to send me this last exchange and concede that my read on the situation had, in fact, been correct.
So...8pm tomorrow. Small cooler of wine/beer, nibbles. Inhaler. Towels. Swimsuits optional. You in?Fortunately, he had the good sense to recognize this as a rejection, and a demotion to the Friend Zone, and declined her suggestion. He also did a better job of keeping his communications shorter than hers, although I would not recommend mentioning either "nibbles" or "inhaler" in the future. The former is too cutesy and the latter is too indicative of being genetically defective.
That sounds great but I just realised evenings are not going to work out for me. The best time for me would be during the day so could we do lunch instead? Thursday would be good and I'm happy to go anywhere.
His other mistake, although irrelevant at this point, was to explain WHY he was declining. NEVER explain your actions to a woman who has turned you down. Setting their hamsters to spinning in order to make sense of your words is half the battle, as it gets them thinking and thinking and thinking about you and wondering if perhaps they made the wrong call. I've had women who turned me down show up at my door after midnight in tears demanding to know why I only said "all right" and hung up. Women are insatiably curious creatures. Strangely enough, shutting the door yourself can sometimes inspire them to open it themselves.
There are few better displays of high value than the easy, taciturn, and genuinely nonchalant acceptance of rejection by a woman. Don't say something cute. Don't try to show her that you aren't disappointed or that you don't care. Don't try to slip in that little verbal stinger. Women can sniff out wounded male pride as well as sharks scent blood in the water. Just say "all right," and leave it at that. And if she tries to get back into the picture when you subsequently cut contact and focus your attention elsewhere, remember that she is doing so on your terms.
Remember, the difference between the Alpha and the Omega is that the Alpha only fails two-thirds of the time. This was an excellent learning opportunity for the Gamma, and I expect that if he is ruthlessly honest with himself, and applies the lessons he learned here next time, he'll continue to make positive progress towards Delta.