Photograph by Chris Leaman.

Sally Colson Cline, 26.

Lives in: DC.

Makes a living: Doing intellectual property work for the federal government.

Background: I’m a Southern belle from North Carolina. I’m the eldest of three girls. I got recruited out of college and moved to DC. I’m into fashion, running, and reality television.

Dating history: I went to an all-girls boarding school for high school. I met my first girlfriend there at 16. I came out to my parents at 18. My parents figured me out before I told them—they asked me if this one girl was more than a friend. I told them yes. They just want me to be happy. I’ve been fully out since then. I was in a four-year monogamous relationship until June. I tend to be in a serial monogamist with not a lot of dating in between. If I’m going to be single, I want to be single. I definitely enjoy the time I spend out of a relationship. I’m not going to settle down this time.

Your type: I like brunettes. I like more masculine women. Smart, educated women. They have to be funny. That’s more important than anything else.

Famous-person crush: Tyra Banks (call me!), Meryl Streep (marry me!), Johnny Depp (let’s get pirate-drunk and find some loose women!).

Things that sweep you off your feet: Small gestures: handwritten notes, back rubs, good manners, treating strangers well—like tipping generously and offering your Metro seat to someone standing.

How you meet people: At bars and through friends of friends. It’s been tough. I didn’t have a lot of gay friends before I moved here. I spend a lot of time with my straight girlfriends. We do a lot of regular bars, not gay bars. My ex got custody of the rugby team, and I used to meet a lot of people through rugby.

Dating challenges: Not knowing if we’re going out as friends or if there’s something else. I don’t want to be presumptuous and treat it like a romantic date. Once I get into the friend zone with someone, they tend to stay in the friend zone.

Last dating disaster: My first date after a breakup was a double blind date. It was painfully apparent that we were not going to have much in common. Fortunately, the other half of the double date included a good friend of mine, so when my date left the table to talk on the phone, I chatted up my friend and her blind date. After about 30 minutes of talking on the phone somewhere else in the bar, my date came back to the table, snatched up her purse, said, “Gotta go!,” and left. That was it. Honestly, I was kind of relieved to see her go.

Finish these sentences:
My high school prom was. . . .
. . . fun to dress-shop for.

“Happily ever after” is. . . .
. . . what comes right before The End.

Romeo and Juliet is . . .
. . . required reading. Sorry, kids!

A deal breaker is . . .
. . . a nondrinker.

Sarah Palin is . . .
. . . a woman I’d like to see in a cage-fighting match.

Hillary Clinton is . . .
. . . the only person with whom I want to shoot whiskey.

FAVORITES

Tunes: Rock, mostly rock. I like ’90s alternative rock. I like Metallica.

TV: Law & Order, Arrested Development, America’s Next Top Model, The Office.

Movies: The Devil Wears Prada and Airplane.

Books: I like crime thrillers, biographies, and nonfiction.

Favorite drink: Dirty martini.

Sport to play: Rugby and running.

Sport to watch: Do cheerleading competitions count?

Previous Daters:

Kate Searby
Mark Drapeau
Michael Amesquita 

Check back at washingtonian.com/datingdiaries to meet more of our daters.