Staring into the Matrix

It starts happening one day.

You realize that you have looked away mid-conversation with an attractive woman without choosing to do so.

You choose to end the conversation on your terms rather than let it peter out in the death knell of LJBF symptoms.

You wait to call.

You maintain terse dialogue.

You offer specific plans or lassez-faire opened ones. There is no middle ground.

You remain consciously/deliberately ambiguous in answering her specific inquiries.

You touch her at apropos times in the conversation initially. You graduate each successive touch over time to a more intimate spot based on her reaction.

You note how she interprets your answer(s) to suit her attraction.

The matrix appears. The music pulses. The band plays on. Other girls notice you b/c you are talking to an attractive woman. The body language of the platonic male friend bleeds envy. You see the ending if this continues. You see the trainwreck. You see the warning bells and the red flags.

You realize that you are staring into the matrix. The numbers fly by and scroll in pattern.

There is a step after this one. You realize that there is not just the script. You realize when to break convention. Like a great writer, you know that understanding the rules proves integral to breaking them.

The amateur breaks the rules due to ignorance or a fundamental lack of understanding. The master breaks them with purpose. The master breaks them for emotional velocity and effect, often misconstrued for attraction/comfort.

This is the final stage. This is the final barrier. Not only predicting the behavior of potential conquests....but pre-emptively preventing blow outs when possible....and breaking convention with decisive intention.
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Most of the surprises subside. This was the goal: framing and controlling the interaction. All but gone is the thrill of the unknown....what made the heart beat, what made the heart pulse and palpitate.

Knowing is half the battle...and not knowing is virtually all of the thrill of the chase.