Looping the Hen

Of Mice and Meg

Ok, now we get to why I need all the help I can get. I've determined I am a poor translator of the Female Language (shocker!). Either that, or I have a huge sign on my forehead that says 'Hey, I'm pathetic, if you are a girl please speak in 1 syllable words because I'm sans clue.'

So Boo #5 is my newest attraction; we'll call her Gemma. She is younger, attractive in the Jennifer Garner kind of way; outgoing, little makeup, nice tan, big smile, athletic, likes being the center of attention. Googling revealed what sounds like a fairly fun college career; big sorority, student government, political science major.

I dropped her a friendly email about a week back; the reply was the same, friendly, but with no hooks that I could discern to let me continue the conversation or move forward. So I let it drop, no biggee, figuring I didn't need to expend a lot of social capital on fighting a losing battle, and she is what some consider a bit too young for me (though I feel younger now than I did in my twenties!).

So here is the quandry I found myself in today (and to be honest, find myself in too often without a life-vest). We were in a minor social setting with about a dozen folks. I expected a polite hello, maybe a little smile (as I am guessing she had to know I was fishing in the prior week's email). Instead, she comes over to my side of the circle, laughs at a few of my jokes, and I then received the blow-by-blow of her date this weekend. She never used the term 'date', but she indicated she had a bruise on her due to whacking the guy's shoulder or some such, so I am guessing they were within sphere-of-contact. She said he was the first rednecky guy she had gone out with and mentioned a friend they visited with posessions that indicated that at least the friend of the guy was pretty well off. Plus some other minor details indicating a fairly eventful weekend.

Examining my mental Rosetta Stone, my possible interpretations for the previous are boiled down to these:
1) She was just being friendly, not realizing I am attracted to her and that I would rather have my fingernails removed with vice-grips than hear about her weekend water sports.
2) She does realize I am attracted to her, and is giving me the 'not in your wildest dreams buster, don't embarrass us both, I prefer Billy Ray over here.'
3) It is Girl-Code for 'Your move, can you top my last weekend?'

Knowing me, it is none of the above and there are seven layers of Pavlovian meaning in five minutes of conversation that I am blissfully unaware of.

Now, I have this silly habit of refusing to leave unsurity on the table, thus my current plan is to send her another email this week and avoid my horrible subtlety by point blank asking her to lunch or dinner or some such. Good idea? Bad idea? Any better ideas anyone out there has?

Help!