After our second date, Rayna called again a couple nights later. She'd called so many times that I was amazed at the difference between being involved with her and all of the other women I've met over the past 21 months. We talked for about 15 minutes, but without setting up another date - I hadn't yet prepared for that.
That Thursday, I sent a text asking if she'd be free on Sunday. At first she responded that she didn't think she would be busy, but then called again on Saturday. She now said that she was scheduled to work, but would make some calls and try to get a coworker to switch shifts with her.
Rayna ended up leaving me a voicemail, sounding a bit down, saying that she wasn't able to find someone to switch times with. It was perfectly fine with me, and I was happy to see the lengths she was willing to go just to spend time with me. Seeing that level of interest from a woman was definitely something special.
After a few more texts and phone calls - much more communication than I'd had with anyone else I dated - we planned to get together on Saturday.
__________________
This time, I finally insisted on picking her up at her home. I joked that this way she might actually be on time, since she'd been quite late for our first two dates. Still, she wasn't ready when I arrived, and said I had to give her another five minutes. Again, I was happy to see the effort that she was putting in to be her best with me.
When she got in the car, a sweet scent perfumed the air, and I loved it. She looked fantastic, and I was excited to be with her once again. I made a few humorous comments and kicked off the conversation, then drove us a couple towns over for a game of mini-golf.
I explained the scoring system, then surprised myself at how clearly I was able to teach how her to putt. The mini-golf game itself was far from fantastic - and a cheap date at 10 bucks for both of us - but just like with bowling, we were laughing and having a good time.
When I picked her up at 4:30, Rayna had reminded me that she needed to be at her friend's dance show at 8:00. Forgetting this, I asked if she wanted to go eat, and she did.
With little other activity to distract us from our conversation, it was now much like the meals we'd shared on our first and second dates. I could again see obvious signs that Rayna was very concerned with how I viewed her. Twice when I casually asked about her tattoos, she was slightly defensive, avoiding the topic at first, then saying that it wasn't as if she were covered in them. I had given no opinion about tattoos, but she was clearly worried hat I might find them to be a turnoff.
When I returned from the bathroom, I noticed something interesting. Rayna absolutely lit up after I sat back down, momentarily gazing over at me with a big smile on her face. I knew exactly what she was feeling: she was delighted and in awe of the fact that she was with me, and that things were going so well between us.
The feeling was mutual. Realizing that it was our third date and that now we'd have the privacy of her doorstep to say goodbye, I felt a surge of anxiety from time to time as the possibility of more intimate physical contact hit me.
As we talked, I was struck by how beautiful Rayna was. When I first met her in line outside of a nightclub, I noticed that she was a sweet, pretty girl, but not like this. She must have let her hair down, but it couldn't have made that much of a difference. Somehow, she now seemed to have flawless beauty. I knew it didn't make sense, and tried to see her normally once again, but found it to be impossible.
Finally, I understood what was going on: I was afflicted. Afflicted by the most powerful of devices devised by Mother Nature, God, or both in order to keep men and women together for the good of humanity. I was afflicted, to at least some degree, by what we call love.
After the busgirl took away Rayna's plate, I suddenly realized we'd been at the restaurant a long time. I checked my phone, and it was 7:27. Rayna really needed to be at her friend's performance at 8:00, but we had both completely forgotten about the time. She asked if I wanted to come, but I already had plans. After getting the waiter's attention and telling him we were in a hurry, I paid cash for the check, and we headed out.
On the way back to her house, I found myself doing an unusual amount of talking about myself. I typically spend most of the time asking questions and discussing things going on in the the other person's life, but for some reason I now felt like saying more about myself. I told her how I kept getting traffic tickets from the city cameras, and told her a story about a bad experience I'd had at a restaurant we passed. My storytelling could still use some work, but I enjoyed the deviation from the usual conversation so much that I was actually excited to tell her Rayna some things.
When we arrived back at her place, she said she wasn't going in the house before leaving for the performance - she was already late - so I said I'd walk her to her car. It would be the first time I'd ever kissed a girl for a third time, and so I was a bit nervous.
After I made a comment about how neatly the items in the garage were arranged, she started to hug me. I tried to avoid it so as not to end the date exactly the same way as the first two - with a hug followed immediately by a kiss - but was unable, so I held her gently for a moment.
In that first moment after the hug, there was something odd. I can't quite pinpoint it, but it seemed as if she weren't looking directly at me. Whatever it was, it gave me the feeling that she was reluctant to kiss me. I kissed her anyway, but the subtle feeling I'd gotten discouraged me from doing so passionately. It ended up being short and forgettable.
As I drove home, I felt negative feelings, in stark contrast to my bouncing-of-the-walls enthusiasm after our second date. It had been great until that last moment, which left me feeling unfulfilled.
I couldn't figure out what that vibe was before the kiss. She had lit up in speechless joy at the sight of me only a couple hours ago. My storytelling skills weren't great, and I might have shown a little nervousness in the final few minutes, but surely those things couldn't have had much of an effect on her interest.
What was up with this girl and kissing? This time, was she just being awkward because she'd forgotten to bring her lipgloss? Or because she'd had garlic in her dish at dinner? Or was she nervous the same way I was about the prospect of getting much more physical? And maybe still it was the fact that her family lived in the same house and might walk in on us.
I didn't know what to make of it. As I decided to just let it go and see if she'd be the one to call first again, I started thinking. It actually felt like she'd opened her mouth a bit when I kissed her. Was she trying to french kiss me? If not, why were we getting less physical on our third date? I'd gotten much more physical with girls at nightclubs whose names I didn't even know, yet I had been talking to Rayna on the phone and in person for well over a month!
Little did I know that the antidote to my worry about Rayna lay just hours ahead. I had obliviously set in motion a chain of events that would lead to the evening becoming the best night of my entire life.
That Thursday, I sent a text asking if she'd be free on Sunday. At first she responded that she didn't think she would be busy, but then called again on Saturday. She now said that she was scheduled to work, but would make some calls and try to get a coworker to switch shifts with her.
Rayna ended up leaving me a voicemail, sounding a bit down, saying that she wasn't able to find someone to switch times with. It was perfectly fine with me, and I was happy to see the lengths she was willing to go just to spend time with me. Seeing that level of interest from a woman was definitely something special.
After a few more texts and phone calls - much more communication than I'd had with anyone else I dated - we planned to get together on Saturday.
__________________
This time, I finally insisted on picking her up at her home. I joked that this way she might actually be on time, since she'd been quite late for our first two dates. Still, she wasn't ready when I arrived, and said I had to give her another five minutes. Again, I was happy to see the effort that she was putting in to be her best with me.
When she got in the car, a sweet scent perfumed the air, and I loved it. She looked fantastic, and I was excited to be with her once again. I made a few humorous comments and kicked off the conversation, then drove us a couple towns over for a game of mini-golf.
I explained the scoring system, then surprised myself at how clearly I was able to teach how her to putt. The mini-golf game itself was far from fantastic - and a cheap date at 10 bucks for both of us - but just like with bowling, we were laughing and having a good time.
When I picked her up at 4:30, Rayna had reminded me that she needed to be at her friend's dance show at 8:00. Forgetting this, I asked if she wanted to go eat, and she did.
With little other activity to distract us from our conversation, it was now much like the meals we'd shared on our first and second dates. I could again see obvious signs that Rayna was very concerned with how I viewed her. Twice when I casually asked about her tattoos, she was slightly defensive, avoiding the topic at first, then saying that it wasn't as if she were covered in them. I had given no opinion about tattoos, but she was clearly worried hat I might find them to be a turnoff.
When I returned from the bathroom, I noticed something interesting. Rayna absolutely lit up after I sat back down, momentarily gazing over at me with a big smile on her face. I knew exactly what she was feeling: she was delighted and in awe of the fact that she was with me, and that things were going so well between us.
The feeling was mutual. Realizing that it was our third date and that now we'd have the privacy of her doorstep to say goodbye, I felt a surge of anxiety from time to time as the possibility of more intimate physical contact hit me.
As we talked, I was struck by how beautiful Rayna was. When I first met her in line outside of a nightclub, I noticed that she was a sweet, pretty girl, but not like this. She must have let her hair down, but it couldn't have made that much of a difference. Somehow, she now seemed to have flawless beauty. I knew it didn't make sense, and tried to see her normally once again, but found it to be impossible.
Finally, I understood what was going on: I was afflicted. Afflicted by the most powerful of devices devised by Mother Nature, God, or both in order to keep men and women together for the good of humanity. I was afflicted, to at least some degree, by what we call love.
After the busgirl took away Rayna's plate, I suddenly realized we'd been at the restaurant a long time. I checked my phone, and it was 7:27. Rayna really needed to be at her friend's performance at 8:00, but we had both completely forgotten about the time. She asked if I wanted to come, but I already had plans. After getting the waiter's attention and telling him we were in a hurry, I paid cash for the check, and we headed out.
On the way back to her house, I found myself doing an unusual amount of talking about myself. I typically spend most of the time asking questions and discussing things going on in the the other person's life, but for some reason I now felt like saying more about myself. I told her how I kept getting traffic tickets from the city cameras, and told her a story about a bad experience I'd had at a restaurant we passed. My storytelling could still use some work, but I enjoyed the deviation from the usual conversation so much that I was actually excited to tell her Rayna some things.
When we arrived back at her place, she said she wasn't going in the house before leaving for the performance - she was already late - so I said I'd walk her to her car. It would be the first time I'd ever kissed a girl for a third time, and so I was a bit nervous.
After I made a comment about how neatly the items in the garage were arranged, she started to hug me. I tried to avoid it so as not to end the date exactly the same way as the first two - with a hug followed immediately by a kiss - but was unable, so I held her gently for a moment.
In that first moment after the hug, there was something odd. I can't quite pinpoint it, but it seemed as if she weren't looking directly at me. Whatever it was, it gave me the feeling that she was reluctant to kiss me. I kissed her anyway, but the subtle feeling I'd gotten discouraged me from doing so passionately. It ended up being short and forgettable.
As I drove home, I felt negative feelings, in stark contrast to my bouncing-of-the-walls enthusiasm after our second date. It had been great until that last moment, which left me feeling unfulfilled.
I couldn't figure out what that vibe was before the kiss. She had lit up in speechless joy at the sight of me only a couple hours ago. My storytelling skills weren't great, and I might have shown a little nervousness in the final few minutes, but surely those things couldn't have had much of an effect on her interest.
What was up with this girl and kissing? This time, was she just being awkward because she'd forgotten to bring her lipgloss? Or because she'd had garlic in her dish at dinner? Or was she nervous the same way I was about the prospect of getting much more physical? And maybe still it was the fact that her family lived in the same house and might walk in on us.
I didn't know what to make of it. As I decided to just let it go and see if she'd be the one to call first again, I started thinking. It actually felt like she'd opened her mouth a bit when I kissed her. Was she trying to french kiss me? If not, why were we getting less physical on our third date? I'd gotten much more physical with girls at nightclubs whose names I didn't even know, yet I had been talking to Rayna on the phone and in person for well over a month!
Little did I know that the antidote to my worry about Rayna lay just hours ahead. I had obliviously set in motion a chain of events that would lead to the evening becoming the best night of my entire life.
3 comments:
In reference to your last paragraph, what happened later that evening? Did you and Rayna end up doing what i think you did? ;)
Haha! So, I intentionally left that out because I'd decided to boycott my blog until someone posted a comment (it'd been a while!). Nope, I still haven't done that. Think "intermediate step..." I'll tell you about it later today :)
新年を寂しく過ごしている方に必見。まだ間に合う出逢いのサイトです。冬休み後半の思い出作りに異性と過ごしませんか？今から始まる異性との新たな関係を築き、一年の初めを良い思い出に変えましょう
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