This one is a bit long but if I don't explain fully it won't make sense.
20 years ago I was 42 yrs old and using online dating.I went on a few dates with two men. One of them was a handsome, sexy and passionate, 38-yr-old Italian chef called Marco, with whom I'd snogged but not had sex. He invited me on a weekend away, his treat, and when I accepted he browsed the net and found Warners Adult Only Holiday Village in Hayling Island. When he phoned them to book three nights they talked him into a further four nights by offering a substantial discount. (He knew I was not working and likely to be available, which I was.)
He collected me in his car and drove us to Hampshire for our week-long, all inclusive, fully-paid for seven night break. When we arrived in our lovely chalet at about 2pm he put down his suitcase, pretty much threw me onto the bed and started kissing me passionately and trying to rip my clothes off. He was hard as a rock. I fended him off, saying no, it's too soon, I didn't want our first sex to be rushed into. I envisaged a whole day of activities (archery, rifle shooting, boating on the lake) during which we could indulge in lots of flirting, discreet kissing and maybe a bit of clandestine groping in the heated pool, culminating in necking in a dark corner during the evening cabaret. My idea was that spending a day building up the tension and arousal would make the sex that evening amazing.
As I read out loud from the brochure, trying to get him interested in the various fun activities were on offer that afternoon, he gazed out of the chalet windows and started remarking, then complaining, that all the other guests arriving or walking about the grounds were at least 60 and some even 70 or 80. He went on about this for a minutes, continuing to look out of the window, perhaps in the hope of spotting anyone our age.
Then he turned to me and stated that he "did not fit in" at this geriatric holiday camp and that he could not stay in such a place surrounded by all these "old wrinklies" in the pool and at meals for a week.
My jaw dropped when he re-packed his half-unpacked suitcase, picked up his car keys and announced that he was leaving.
I was astonished because full board at Warners for two people for a week is quite expensive, and we'd only been there for half an hour!
I explained that he would not get a refund as he'd paid up front. He said he didn't care about the money and was leaving, and I could either stay there alone for a week or he would drive me home. I made a snap decision to stay, and he pulled out a £20 note for me to get a taxi to the nearest station when I left. He then kissed me, walked out, and drove off.
For those who want to know what happened next...
I was able to "pay forward" my "WTF???" moment.
After sitting on the bed shell-shocked for about an hour, wondering whether I could spend a week alone in a holiday camp where everyone else was in couples, I had a brilliant idea.
I phoned the other guy I had dated (working but low-paid and so always skint) and asked him if he fancied an all-inclusive free holiday and he jumped at the chance. He phoned in sick, packed a case and drove down that same afternoon, and spent the rest of the week pretending to be "Marco". We had a great time and stayed together for some years.