kendall, I took it as "in your experience" women take rejection harder, because I know that you are not a general generalizer, but you're right, you ought to have hedged. My personal experience is that AMERICAN men take rejection harder than anyone, other men, other women, etc. My experience is also that AMERICAN men, alone in the world, have trouble with ACCEPTANCE, too - ever hear of the Coolidge effect? Always seemed extreme to me... but I've never ruined a friendship by consummating it when no Americans were involved. This is why I am so nervous about this one...

Also, I've checked around, and although there seems to be consensus on this forum about not telling them you're going to call if you're not, I am hearing the opposite, that I'll Call is EXACTLY what you say when you aren't going to... but I vote for honesty there. However: What is the exit line when you are at the tail end of a first date that you do NOT wish to have progress to a second one? That was nice, let's not do it again? Is there a polite exit from a failed date?