Her flirty crush might not be such a good catch

Dear Amy: I’ve developed a little crush on a guy I see from time to time. He’s from the South, and I’ve misread the often charming, flirtatious nature of Southern boys.

On New Year’s Eve, he kissed me at midnight. At a cocktail party at the end of February, he greeted me warmly and watched me dance.

Then, just a week ago, we ran into each other at a karaoke bar. He kissed my hand twice in a very charming way.

I sent him an e-mail saying that I was happy to have run into him and hoped that I wasn’t too loud and goofy.

He responded with a message saying that he slept off the booze in his car.

My inclination is to write his behavior off as drunken, Southern-boy behavior.

I realize also that he might not have seen my message as expressing interest – guys can be clueless.

My inclination is to play it cool but show interest the next time I see him. Any ideas?

Jacki

Dear Jacki: I have two questions for you.

Do you really want to be with someone who has to sleep off his good time in his car?

Do you want to be with someone whom you believe might be clueless?

If this guy expresses interest in you when he – and you – are both sober, then you’re onto something.

He has your e-mail address. Now you should be cool.

Dear Amy: My daughter is 20 and a college sophomore.

The mother of her old high school friend is regularly checking texts, instant messages and MySpace communications between her daughter and friends. I am randomly presented with “evidence” of their behavior.

Given that my daughter has never given me a reason not to trust her, what should I do when confronted by another parent who seems to be unable to let the young adults live their lives. I also wonder where to draw the line. Should I worry?

MH in Dallas

Dear MH: Draw the line at those communications that are publicly available for all the world to see.

If your daughter’s MySpace page is populated with bikini poses and drunken boasts, you should educate her about the risks of behaving badly online.

Otherwise, leave the rest alone. Tell this other mother that the communication between these young people bores you to sobs and you’d rather not see it.

Send questions to Amy Dickinson by e-mail to askamy@tribune.com or by mail to Ask Amy, Chicago Tribune, TT500, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.