Bitch Sessions: My Boyfriend is not an Excuse

The other day I was out and about at a RALPH's no less, when some guy decides to try and chat me up while I power through my grocery shopping. I did NOT have the time, NOR was I in the mood to be hit on at the moment, so when the guy opens with the oh-so-smooth line of, "Hi what's your name?", I responded with a polite smile and said "Not today." The guy wasn't deterred in the LEAST. He proceeded to follow me all around the store as I shopped, asking unrelenting small talk questions, and trying to bullshit me into giving him my number. The "Oh don't be like that" and "You're so beautiful, I'm just trying to compliment you" types of phrases were RAMPANT in his attempted interaction. I continued to tell him I wasn't interested, I didn't have time for this, and then just IGNORED him and he STILL wouldn't go away. When he followed me to the self checkout, I relented and finally practically shouted at him, "I HAVE A BOYFRIEND". The guy steps back, pauses, and then shrugs and says "Oh, well why didn't you just say that?" and subsequently walks away.

I was left thinking to myself, YOU'RE KIDDING ME. What? So apparently, the only POSSIBLE reason I wouldn't be interested in him is because some other guy had already laid claim to me? WELL THEN. It should have been more than enough for me to just NOT BE INTERESTED. I felt horrible and more than a little helpless, that I had to use the defense tactic of another man to get this guy to go away. That shouldn't be the reality. Girls can be single and STILL not want the guy that won't leave them alone at their grocery store.Everyone knows this excuse. Sometimes people use it automatically because they know what's coming and it's easier just to use it, whether or not it's true. For me, however, it makes me sick to my stomach. I don't care if I'm in a relationship, I only use this phrase as a last resort because it SHOULDN'T MATTER. Having a boyfriend has NO BEARING whatsoever on whether I'd be interested in someone else and I shouldn't have to prove that I already havethe boyfriend slot filled in my life in order for a guy to take the FREAKING hint and go away.