Dear Confused & Ill,

Should you drop him, uh...yes? What's the problem? Everybody has reasons for being attracted to others. Whether you like older men, younger men, big men, little men, whatever, those are your interests. There are many reasons not to date someone who is older than you. The reasons may include goals in life, attitude sharing, shared experiences, differences in physical abilities, etc.

Although we do make adjustments in how attracted we are to others based on how much we like them as people, still there is no reason to date someone you think of as a "father figure". It's much better to have someone like that as "just a friend". Also, you met this guy on the net where you had no access to the usual clues of how old he was, like his appearance. Why on earth would you feel obligated to continue seeing this person if you're not interested in dating him or knowing him as a friend?

-- Lefty