Dear Dr. Date,I am...

Dear Dr. Date,

I am not one to believe in fate and true romance, but these days I can't help it. I recently visited some friends out East, and I met an amazing guy! We had an instant connection that we both felt. Trouble is, I was only there for a week, and now I'm back in Minnesota with no set plans to go back East in the next year or so.

When I got back, I e-mailed him with a cute message about how our timing sucks and that I had a great time getting to know him. He wrote back saying the same thing, that I had an effect on him, and that I could write back anytime. I can't stop thinking about him!

So, now I'm wondering if I should bother keeping in touch with him. E-mail could be a casual way of keeping in touch in case we ever meet again, by fate or by choice. Also, since we had such a great connection, keeping in touch could be a way to further it and to get to know a really great guy better. But on the other hand, I could be prolonging my agony of knowing that the perfect guy for me is over 1,500 miles away, and that I may not ever see him again. Is it worth it, or will I just hate myself for keeping in touch with him? I am a young, single woman whose future is totally up in the air at this point in my life. Should I take a step toward getting to know this person better by e-mailing him again, or forget about him and move on with my life?

--Hopeless Romantic, or Just Plain Hopeless

Do all of the following:

1. E-mail him cute, flirtatious messages that are simultaneously innocent and naughty.

2. Forget about him. More precisely, don't worry too much about how perfect he is for you and how this is just typical for you! Don't spend time cursing the Fates who keep you 1,500 miles apart.

3. Get on with your life. Take this instance as a sign that there are, indeed, men out there that you can click with. Determine what about the trip freed you from your dreary Minneapolis routine and allowed you to be vivacious and capricious enough to connect with someone else. Don't put out the no vacancy sign just yet. Sure, you had a great time over vacation, but you have no clue if this guy is perfect for you. He could be a real dud when presented with the tediousness of real life annoyances. I mean, you're just assuming he likes to cuddle on the couch while watching Woody Allen movies, aren't you?