Til Death Do Us Party?

2-Party Couple

I like to go out, have dinner, have a cocktail (or two or three), and dance my ass off. The boyfriend? Eh, not so much. He doesn't drink alcohol and he eats only when he's hungry; trendy new restaurants are lost on him. And there have been quite a few occasions where we've been out to the club and he's passed out sleeping in some corner. Yeah, I know. MY boyfriend. Almost couldn't show my face in this town after that.

But somehow we manage to make it work. I started just leaving him at home, which he seemed to be perfectly fine with. Yet I've been careful not to push the boundaries too much...til recently when I attempted the true test of our relationship: going to a hardcore reggae party without him.

I love my people, but Jamaican men in a party can be very grabby. And the fact that I have locks means that every bongo dread in a 50-mile radius thinks that I'm "down" and wants to lock onto me all night. (I never get the cool, funky looking dreads even though I'm a cool, funky dread myself. *pops collar* It's always the old ones, usually missing a couple teeth and heavy weed smokers that love me.)

This reggae party was no different. There I was minding my own business when the first of the bongos asked for a dance. I politely declined and he left. The second bongo dread didn't bother asking. He just grabbed me. I weasled away.

Dude #3 (not a bongo) just came right up behind me and started wining on my ass. I inched away. He inched up. I inched away again. He inched up again. I finally turned around and addressed him: "Look, I'll dance with you but I don't want to dance close."

Him: "No thanks, dat's alright." And walked away. Can you believe the nerve?!

So that's how I spent my big night out at the dance: avoiding half-erect penises and fully high bongo dreads. I kept thinking that if the boyfriend were there I would've at least been able to enjoy the music. And it made me mad that he's charming enough to strike up a conversation with a perfect stranger on the train, but doesn't feel at home out at a party. So I let him have it the next day in the middle of discussing a totally random and unrelated subject. LOL.

Am I overreacting?