Ricardo, 29

Are you from Baltimore?
You should know that I fuck a lot. I fuck a lot, but I love a lot.

That seems like a good motto. Where are you from originally?
I am from Puerto Rico. But I've lived here since I was eight.

How's the Baltimore dating scene?
It sucks. The women in Baltimore are very easy and very nice. But they're not good quality. I like to date women who aren't from Baltimore. You get a lot of great women here in Baltimore, but they're usually pregnant or have kids or have had a bunch of kids a while back.

Huh, I've definitely met some single ladies tonight that would not fit into those categories. Do you have any crazy exes?
Not really. All my exes have been great. But they haven't been originally from Maryland. Usually the women I date are from elsewhere and they're amazing. I go out long-distance with different women, because I travel a lot with my job working for the airlines. I have different women who I see in different cities. But I wish I could go out with women here in Baltimore. It would be a lot easier, because I live here.

So, explain your previous motto: I fuck a lot, but I love a lot. I'm intrigued. 
Well, I'm high volume — I go out with a lot of different women, and if any of them could strike my heart and make me feel like they're the only woman in the world, there would be no other woman to match that.

Have you had any crazy sexual experiences on the job?
I've had a few one-night stands, but I feel weird saying them out loud. There are the people I meet randomly, since I travel a lot, who I just spend one night with. I met some random girl at a bar in Denver, and I got her name but completely forgot it during the night. But we went back to the hotel room, had sex there, then in the hot tub, then in the pool, then again in the room. She left in the middle of the night, and it was okay! But, most of the people I hook up with, I want to see them again. I'm not the type of person that wants to have a one-night stand. Even though I go out with a lot of people, I want to love. I love women. There's nothing more special than when a woman looks at you like there's nobody else in the world.

Do you believe in love at first sight?
Yes, and let me tell you why. I fell in love with my ex-girlfriend immediately and I told her after a week that I could understand how people want to get married after such a short period of time. When you meet somebody who truly connects with you, that's it. It really is. It might not be one-hundred percent right — in that case, it wasn't. But if you don't believe in love, what the fuck are you going to believe in? I loved her more than I've ever loved anything in my life, but it just didn't work out. 

What's the most romantic thing you've done to impress someone?
I've flown her halfway across the country. And I had a candlelight dinner just for her and me.

It sounds like you're a very romantic person. 
I'm Puerto Rican!

Alex, 33

Are you from Baltimore?
I'm from Florida actually.

But you live here?
Somewhat. I'm a flight attendant.

Does that ever get you laid?
[laughs] Sometimes, yes. Sometimes.

Are you a member of the mile-high club?
No comment.

Could that get you fired? Well, do you have any stories about how you've met people through the flight industry? 
You meet people at hotels, hotel bars. Nice conversations. Sometimes it winds up you meeting them again or going out with them that night or hooking up with them that night. It's a fun industry. You meet a lot of girls. 

Any risqué experiences?
I'm really passionate, so I cater — I'm a giver, not a receiver. I like to give. I like to see the woman pleased and I'm happy, whether or I get it or not. As long as she's happy, I'm good.

Do you have any crazy exes?
Hah. Did I laugh? Sorry. Yeah. Psycho. They have people spying on me, chasing me around.

Spying on you? This is getting serious. 
One girl tried to put a tracker in my vehicle just to figure out where I was going. We were done — broken up. I kept wondering why she was following me around, so I went to a garage and asked if there was a way she could know where I was going. And they found a tracker underneath my car. That's psycho. She was always showing up where I was, and I wondered how she knew that. Now I know.

That's really terrifying. What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you in the bedroom?
I couldn't get it up one time because I was drinking. I was too inebriated so I couldn't really perform. I was tired. And it was cold too. 

It happens. Any other escapades you care to share?
Sex while driving. Yeah, that's hot. That's where she's sitting on you and you have to move her to the side to see while driving.

How fast were you going?
Are you talking about my driving? Or the sex? I try to go the speed limit. It depends on how intense it is, if there's a little thrust and your foot is on the pedal. 

It sounds dangerous. But I commend you. Any other strange places you've had sexual encounters?
The rooftop of a hotel. We snuck up there, and I ended up having to call someone to get us out because we were locked up there for about an hour and a half after we realized the door wouldn't open. It was hot. Scandalous.

Cate, 27

What do you do?
I just finished law school and am working part-time with kids while I wait to hear back about the bar in Maryland real soon. Stressful!

Do you believe in love at first sight?
I want to. I'm a cynical hopeless romantic. I come from a family of no divorces — where my parents and grandparents on both sides all met when they were teenagers and stayed together — and yet in my professional life, working in family law, I've seen so much betrayal and lack of faith and trust and loyalty. So, I do think it's possible, I just don't know if I believe in "forever" at first sight. And I sure as hell believe in lust at first sight.

Have any examples of "lust at first sight" that you care to share?
I'm not really a one-night-stand person, so it's not going to be "come home with me right now." But in college it was common to find someone, make out in a corner, and fulfill that desire, and have nothing more come of it. To me, lust is where your physical attraction is overwhelming and reason goes out the window.

What does it take to get into your pants?
A bottle of wine. Actually, I'm kidding. I'm a vodka girl. But really, trust. You are putting yourself into such a vulnerable and exposed position that if you can't trust that they're not going to abuse that, there's no way you're going to open myself up to that idea.

So are you friends with most of your exes? 
I'm a big believer that friendship is crucial in a relationship, so sometimes I've started the relationship in a friendship and ended in a friendship. Since I look for the same things in a relationship that I do in a friendship, plus the physical attraction, once the physical side fades, I'm still left with a friend.

I'm amazed by that. I'm not friends with any of my exes.
I've never had a hostile break-up, in a friendship or relationship. I'm not going to rip up your pictures or burn your shit. I'm not the "boiling bunnies" type. I'm not a crazy bitch and I'm not attracted to crazy bitches.

Is there anything you wish you could change about the opposite sex?
I don't think I would change just the opposite sex. I think I would prefer to change the dating scene. One of my roommates really liked this guy a few months ago. They hung out one night and had a really good time. The next day we had endless conversations about when she should contact him. Should she contact him? Should he contact her? Should she text? Should she call? Facebook? I told her she should contact him, if she was really interested, to which she said no, because that was his responsibility. As the days of the week went on she hadn't heard from him, so she caved and texted him. He promptly responded that that they should hang out over the weekend. While she was happy to have that response, she was frustrated that she had to text him, instead of the other way around. I don't think that's fair. I don't think it should be a guy's responsibility to be the "relationship manager." The idea that the man should always have to be the one to call first, or pick the date, etc., bothers me. I mean, if they want to be that person in the relationship, that's cool, but I don't think there should be such definite roles and expectations. 

Is there a certain type you go for?
I'm attracted to guys who know what they want and how to get it. I think drive and determination is sexy. I'm generally not attracted to people who don't have self-motivation. I like when someone wants to excel at what they do. It can be anything, really: strive to be the best athlete, to be the next CEO, to make partner. I just need to know that the person is trying to better themselves. I don't want someone to be complacent with their own life. While tall, dark, and handsome is always appreciated, it's definitely the person's character that ultimately attracts me to them.

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