By Howie Dorough (Teen Girl Power Magazine)
Generally, my dating experiences have been pretty good, but like everyone else, I've had some dates that went terribly wrong.
Sometimes, it's just that some girls, who seem really fun at first, turn out to be boring. Maybe they just get shy or nervous around me because I'm a pop star. Any way, I generally give someone like that a second chance. After all, the first few dates are always nerve-wracking. You want to do everything just right, and of course, something inevitably goes wrong.
One of my worst dating experiences was with a girl that I met in Europe. She was Italian and didn't speak English very well. We had a hard time communicating. I didn't think the waiter understood her, either. I was afraid that she would wind up having to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner! Things worked out alright that evening, but the language barrier ruled out dating her on a regular basis.
Most bad dates go wrong because of little embarrassing incidents like when I fell on my butt as I was tossing coins into a fountain, or the time I got some food caught between my front teeth. The girl didn't even tell me--I guess she felt too uncomfortable!
Once, I left my wallet at home, which looks really cheesy. The girl was probably thinking that I was trying to get her to pay! Anyway, I had to go and get my wallet.The girl wasn't around when I returned. Another time, I ran into an ex-girlfriend when I was out with another girl. The girl that I was with was pretty peeved, which turned me off a little. She should have acted a little more nonchalant. It wasn't like I said, 'Bye, I wanna take off with my ex!'
Still, another time, I was walking through the park with this girl and a bunch of fans came up to me and started screaming. I love our fans, but it made me feel a little uncomfortable. I wanted to come across as a 'regular guy' not a 'pop star,' and you can't get away with that if fans are coming after you.
But my very worst dating experience was when I was kissing a girl and a piece of a molar fell out. I had to stop and say, 'Excuse me, there's something in my mouth that feels weird.' The girl was probably thinking that I didn't want to kiss her any more or that I thought that she had bad breath or something like that. Later, my dentist told me that quite a few patients have come in with the same problem. Go figure! I thought I was unique.
