Am I Paranoid?

For years, there has been this guy so far on the fringes of my group I don’t think he counts as someone I know. I say hello when our paths cross because I was raised with manners. I’ve never been interested in taking a conversation beyond the ‘hey, how ya doing’ level because there’s something about him that gives me the creeps. Always has.

It’s not what he says. It’s how he says it. I know, difficult to twist “How was your day?” into something sinister but trust me, this guy does it. He doesn’t stand too close and he even manages to look in the general vicinity of my head, though not necessarily in my eyes, when we speak. Still, it’s all I can do not to take a step back. I don’t know why. Other than calling me dear, honey and sweetie even though he does know my name he has never said anything at all inappropriate. Why must men do that, by the way? Women all have names. If you’re not on intimate terms with us, use our name! We use yours.

Sorry, got sidetracked. Lately, this guy has been showing up more and more and it may or may not be coincidence. It’s no secret that I write. I use my own name so finding my website doesn’t take a rocket scientist. There is naturally an email address listed there because I welcome comments from readers. Good, bad, or indifferent – got that readers? What I received was an email from this guy saying cool website sweetie. You’re the best. Keep up the good work. Hmm, okay, encouraging, friendly, just stumbled across it. Nothing too weird but it made me feel creepy.

Then I got a friend request on MySpace. There’s a link on my website so not surprising. It’s a public thing. Readers are welcome to join me there too. The blog I post there is the same as this one only without the pictures because MySpace won’t accept them. I approved him. No real reason not to. I didn’t go check his profile. Honestly not that interested. Also I really don’t want to know if he joined just because he followed me there and I’m his only friend or not.

I do know that I’ve had to start alternating where I do my grocery shopping and what day I go because he was showing up almost every time I went to the store. Not really a big deal. I hate going to the store to begin with and could care less where I shop. It’s just now I have to think about it. The one that really got me though, was the day he mentioned the inspection was due soon on my car. Um, I don’t even know when my inspection is due other than in the fall sometime without checking. I asked three of my closest friends and they looked at me like I’d lost my mind. Nope, they don’t know their own, let alone mine.

So now you tell me, am I paranoid or is something off here?