I love opening my inbox and seeing the preview of an e-mail that starts with "I've just met a hot Italian man". That's how all great stories begin, I'd say that it only comes second to any version of "So we were doing tequila body shots in Bangkok one night...". I'm going to go ahead and assume that by intimate, you intend physical, as in you haven't seen any Italian sausage yet. I'm sorry, I had to. You don't mention any timelines in this little story, I would personally be flattered to hear this declaration after a substantial amount of time (read: months) getting to know someone exclusively through conversation but I'm guessing that this isn't the case here if you're having questions. The short answer is YES. Italian men are often much more forward with feelings in the beginning of a relationship and I would say tend to fall faster. They love LOVE and they love to be in love. The issue is that it's hard to tell how well they are able to differentiate between the feelings in their loins from their hearts at the start, but I think that could be said about the male gender in general. As such, I can't comment on the authenticity of what he's saying but that's besides the point. If his declarations of amore eterno are freaking you out, like when Carrie's Russian named his piano piece "The Girl With Eyes That Sparkle", and you're not feeling the same, tell your Italian to turn it down a notch. If you're loving it, go with it and see where it takes you. Yes, men say these things to get into your pants but always remember that you have the cookie and you control what to do with it. Should you be concerned that this is all a scheme to get you to give it up, it might be, but keep in mind that there's no Harvard-backed research saying that if you give a man a cookie too early in the relationship, he'll eat it and run. There are plenty of couples that had a midnight milk and cookie party (this analogy is getting a bit out of hand now) on date one and are still happily together. The worst-case scenario is you have sex with a hot Italian man and end up not having to starch and iron his shirts for the rest of your life. Sounds like the best worst-case scenario to me.
Quick Note: this is a new Category I'm testing out as a means to answer some of the e-mails or comments that I receive. They are modified or edited slightly for grammar and clarity purposes and the names made anonymous and any other identifying names or features have been changed. If you have a question, please write to Dear Jasmine at questadolcevitablog(at)gmail.com. I hope my answers can be helpful and if they're not helpful, at least humorous.
If you enjoyed this guest post, you may also like to "dare un'occhiata" at these ones:
Dear Jasmine: Something to Hide
Dear Jasmine: Navigating International Waters
Dear Jasmine: Fast and Furious