Back story: Currently in the midst of a career upgrade and will be traveling quite a bit for work. When I get back to town I will be in a new tax bracket which means new toys, and new women. Basically, I've been letting my plates spin down and crash, but decided to spin one more up for the summer. The fact that I recently spent some time visiting my Aunt for the 4th and she shamed my strategy of pursuing younger women may or may not have something to do with that. To be fair my Aunt is fairly RP and feminine, but a bad divorce combined with having two daughters means the feminine imperative will always rear its ugly head.

Aunt: How are things? You seeing anyone? Blahblahblah (My Aunt is best friends with my ex-girlfriend's Aunt so she knows some of my dating history, and our families have been friends for decades. There's no incest, we think.)

SH: Good good, just been dating a little here and there.

Aunt: Any of them going to make the cut? You ever going to start a family?

SH: No Aunt Name, I will not be having any children, or getting married. The social climate has changed drastically and I cannot have what Grandpa had.

Aunt: That's too bad honey, you have to so much to offer as a father.

SH: I know, but it is just not a risk I am willing to take. Women and children are legal liabilities these days.

Aunt: What are you going to do?

SH: Casually date 18-23 year olds for the rest of my life.

Aunt: That's disgusting.

SH: Why?

Aunt: Because I have daughters.

SH: I'm not dating your daughters.

Aunt: But you're dating somebody's daughter.

SH: I'm always dating somebody's daughter. <sly grin>

Aunt: Don't you want someone closer to your age? That way you have more to talk about.

SH: Not really. You know I've tried dating women my age and it just isn't worth it. They've been through it all and the baggage shows with every year closer to 30. I don't really need to have deep conversations about geopolitics with her. My priorities are how attractive she is and how pleasant she is to be around, everything else is irrelevant.

Aunt: I guess, but that's still gross. You better not bring her around here! <laughs> She won't be much older than your little cousins!

SH: I'm not real concerned with the family's approval. These women aren't going to be around long enough regardless.

Aunt: <Shakes head and smiles> Alright honey.

Fast forward to last night and I head out to watch the fights (R.I.P. Silva) at one of my local watering holes and a very bubbly, feminine, and attractive blonde takes care of me.

Plate: Hi how are ya? Can I get you started with a drink?

SH: Iced tea and keep'em coming, and I think I am going to eat.

Plate: Need a menu?

SH: Nope, Shepherd's pie.

Plate: Alright I'll put that right in.

Smiles and steady eye contact right from the get go. I know I am going to be here for several hours as it is around 7PM and the main event isn't going to be until midnight so I take it real slow. For the rest of the night my Iced Tea rarely even hits halfway and we banter back and forth about the other patrons. One of her tables has a bunch of HOO-RAH Marines who are randomly barking and just being obnoxious. One of them ends up puking so she stops by and we bullshit some about that. She sits down at one point and we talk about the fights as I had mentioned that's the main reason I was here, and had her change the channel to the preliminaries on the TV closest to me.

SH: Big fight tonight. I'm pumped for Silva.

Plate: My ex-boyfriend did that whole cage fighting thing, so I actually know who Silva is!!

SH: Well, you should cheer for him because I am.

Plate: Definitely!!

A few hours go by of more back and forth and she sits down to chat yet again. This is where it gets interesting. A very nice fella sits down next to her, introduces himself, offers a handshake and does the "I have your hand so now you have to talk to me" routine. She immediately goes into full rejection mode.

Beta: I'd love to take you out some time, yadda yadda, dinner, movie, etc.

Plate: I have a boyfriend.

Beta: Damage control, etc.

Plate: I have been cheated on by all of my boyfriends so I'm not ok with going out with other guys.

Beta: Ok

He leaves, she sits there and gives me the "OMG" look and I start laughing.

SH: Well, he gets an E for effort.

Plate: Yeah, E for effort is right.

SH: Well, at least he tried right?

Plate: Yeah... I guess.

We both laugh and she heads out again. I could just imagine that "nice guy" being me a decade earlier and if I was a nice person I may have actually felt something watching him crash and burn. Based on our conversation earlier I am fairly positive she does not, in fact, have a boyfriend. Not that it would really matter anyway, but that is one less shit test to crush. Fights end, I'm pissed, so even though I do not normally drink I order one anyway to mourn the end of Silva's dynasty. Plate sits down again to chat.

SH: So I'm betting you don't actually have a boyfriend.

Plate: Nope.

SH: <Laughs> That felt like "I don't really have a boyfriend, but you're not going to be my boyfriend, so I am going to tell you I have a boyfriend."

Plate: Exactly. My ex cheated on me and we broke up a while back and just recently stopped talking so I am really just interested in focusing on me, some self-improvement is in order.

SH: I get it. I am kind of in a similar place because my ex was quite high maintenance and couldn't deal with a man who actually has spine.

Shared sob stories and just a tiny bit of beta to establish rapport. Woe is us, our exes are evil. We banter a little bit more and she heads off to eat a salad. Good girl. Half hour or so goes by and I am ready to head out, so I decide to close it.

<Hands Plate my phone>

SH: Put your number in here. I know you said earlier you were in a weird space but I'm not really the kind of guy to buy you flowers and take you out to dinner, but you seem cool and I like cool people.

By displaying that I have more options than the "nice guy" who hit on her just 30 minutes earlier I have instantly piqued her interest, the hamster does the rest.

Plate: <Enters number in phone> You do seem cool and you're really easy to talk to.

I pay my tab, wish her well, and head on home.

About an hour or so later I send her a text.

SH: Plate, SH here. Figured I would shoot you a text so when you get a phone call this week it isn't just some random number.

This is what is known as a "confirmation text" and it is very important to avoid the reset. If you're not familiar with a reset it boils down to this. Women, especially attractive women get so much attention your head would explode. After a decade+ of dating them I've seen it all. From the dozens of messages they get daily on social media, texting, and in real life from orbiters and men hitting on them constantly. My theory is that the reset is a coping mechanism. These broads are getting sensory overload with all this attention, so their attention spans are very short and they tend to "reset" on what seems like a daily basis. Anything that happened in the past is nearly forgotten and they tend to only live in the moment. By sending the confirmation text I carve out a little bit of territory in her brain, set the expectation for my next escalation, and avoid the reset. Now, I'm in my early 30's and have some "old school" strategies that work for me. I despise using strictly text to communicate with women because my sense of humor is extremely deadpan, sarcastic, and uses a lot of subtlety which doesn't always translate well via text. I prefer phone calls, but do whatever works for you. Basically, that will be the last text I send her until absolutely necessary for logistics.

Just got a reply a few hours ago.

Plate: Mkay. Lol your added SH! (:

A "Lol", the incorrect usage of you're, and a smilie. I <3 twenty year olds. Although, I really wish she didn't have a bunch of visible tattoos. When are these dames going to learn you don't put bumper stickers on a Ferrari? Ahh well, what are ya gonna do?

Conclusion: It doesn't matter if she has a boyfriend, tells some other guy she has a boyfriend, or is actually married. If she is attracted enough to you she will do whatever you want. Raise your SMV, learn to hold your space well and pace conversations. Escalate properly and never listen to what a woman says, watch how she says it. She even caught me starting at her tits a few times and I would just make eye contact and smile. None of it matters, none of it. Your attraction level dictates the vast majority of how any encounter plays out and it is your job to steer it in the desired direction. Non-verbal cues are huge and I could tell based on her randomly checking me out, constantly sitting down to chat, and general friendly attitude that she was interested.

Where will SH meet up with his newest plate to begin the escalation process? What will SH's Aunt say when she finds out he conquered a woman over a decade his junior in her honor? Find out next time on "As The Harem Turns."