Yeah, sure you did.

As I sat at lunch today, I couldn't help but overhear a conversation happening a couple of booths behind me.  It was between a guy and a girl.  Their voices and the context of the conversation led me to believe that they were probably college-aged, likely students at the nearby university.  I glanced back once and they looked about the right age for college.  He had a rugged outdoorsy look with a scrappy beard, a big fur cap and a coat that looked heavy enough to keep him warm on the coldest of any Minnesota winter night.  She had a classic co-ed look, with a coat designed more for fashion than cold-weather comfort.

For the most part, the guy drove the conversation.  And where he took it was through the many fascinating exploits of his life.  All the while, the girl oohed and ahhed appropriately.  He told of his time sleeping under the stars when he was a boundary waters guide.  When that tidbit elicited particular enthusiasm, he upped the ante by going international and revealing that he had also been a guide in Peru.  She was rightly impressed.  Story after story fell from his lips, each a little more exotic than the last.  Finally, there was a pause and it sounded like they were getting ready to leave.  Then the following conversation ensued:

He: "I feel like doing something outside today, maybe skydiving."
She: "You skydive? I don't think I could do that."
He: "Yeah, I've been jumping for about six years.  You should really try it."
She: "Oh, I've done it a few times.  But the last time, I got so scared.  I don't think I could do it again."
He: "So you skydive?"

After that, she took the wheel.  She began asking questions, trying to find that shared experience that they would both understand.  He answers were vague and un-confirmable, the kind I would give if I had just lied about being a skydiver.  I think after the first few questions, she knew he had stretched the truth a bit about the whole skydiving thing.  I think she asked the next few just to let him know that she knew.  Then, mercifully, she changed topics.  Shortly thereafter, the two left arm in arm, their relationship seemingly undamaged by his attempted deception.  The romantic in me imagines the two of them ten years in the future.  They're married, sitting around with friends, reminiscing about that first date and all the tall tales he told in an attempt to win her affections.

It got me wondering.  If someone lies to you, but their motivation is to impress you, should you be offended or flattered?  Maybe both?