Dating is a strange concept...

I haven't really dated since I was in my twenties, before marriage and becoming a mother. Before D/s.
Subject X and I do not date.
We play. We scene. We have sex.
We are friends. We discuss topics unrelated to our sexual relationship but we don't go out on dates.
Occasionally the ex and I will have a meal together, work on a project together, take our son to an event, or even have sex but we don't date.
I have male friends who invite me, and I invite them, to concerts, out to a dinner, to have a drink, to watch a movie, or to go to parties but that is in the context of socializing as friends, not dating.
The men I have met from online "dating" sites are purposeful. We meet to interview one another for a designated purpose, usually one that has been defined through e-mails, texts, and the occasional phone call. Usually that purpose is to interview one another for engaging in D/s activities.
The process of dating for the purpose of dating is foreign to me.
I realized just how foreign it is to me when I admitted to myself there is a man I want to...well, date.
I worked with him at a previous job and found myself attracted to him. Of course, the attraction was physical at first but then we had conversations, I learned a bit more about him, and I became interested in him beyond the physical attraction.
When I no longer worked with him, I still thought about him, until I decided to contact him through Facebook as I had no other means to interact with him.
We've been communicating on Facebook e-mail, much to my surprise, for a couple months now and as I have learned more about him I have become fascinated with him.
I want to know more about HIM. About his life. His likes and dislikes. His views on politics, religion, and his philosophy on life. I want to spend time with him getting to know him.
But I was at a loss as how to progress from e-mailing on Facebook to actually spending time with him in "real life"...how to ask him out on a date. It seems I am a product of the electronic age and my interpersonal skills have become limited to developing relationships via the computer or texting on my cell.
It seems a bit ridiculous that at my age I was perplexed as to how to ask a man out especially since I am by no means a virgin or a spinster.
I debated with myself. The man has to know I am interested in him, doesn't he? If he was interested wouldn't he ask me out?
Oh yeah, that's when it struck me - I'm seriously waiting for a man to ask me out? WTF?
Yup, it comes down to being afraid of rejection. Turns out I am human, who knew?
I don't worry much about rejection in the normal ongoings of my life because I simply don't have to worry about it.
The men in my life have been screened through electronic interaction - they responded to my profile, they answered a personal posting, or they are friends that I haven't any interest in beyond friendship.
SAFE.
This one is different because I honestly don't know if he is interested in me beyond conversation on Facebook.
Hell, I don't know for sure if he is single. I know he isn't married and he hasn't mentioned a girlfriend but that doesn't mean there isn't one.
So, I found my big girl panties, put them on, and in responding to his latest e-mail casually suggested we meet for sushi one night after work. I thought it was too presumptuous to give him my phone number. Or maybe I just didn't want the stress of waiting for a call.
Now I am just waiting for his e-mail. Not sure there is much of a difference but I figure he will e-mail me back letting me know if he is interested or not, and for that I can handle waiting. The phone call never coming just seemed a harsher reality to reconcile.
Meanwhile, I accepted an invitation to go on a date, just to try it out.
We went to dinner and a movie.
I enjoyed myself.
It was...nice.
I think I'll do it again.
Although, do admit I hope to do it again after getting an e-mail...