So, I’ve told you how we met, now let me tell you how we started living together and eventually became engaged in oh…less than 5 months. (Edit: or START telling you, cuz I just read this post and realized how long it is…so, it will happen in installments…)
He did call the next day. At about 11 in the morning. [Thank God! I was really worried he was going to stick to the "3 day rule" which meant that I wouldn't have heard from him until Wednesday or so of the next week. Now, this wouldn't normally be that big of an issue (except that I really liked him and didn't want to wait that long) but he works nights. And had just started a week-long vacation, which meant that we only had a week to hang out at night, cuz then he would be back to work (And while I was jobless at the time, I was really hoping that would change within the next week or so), so I was hoping, for logistics reasons (and purely for logistics reasons, not because I really really wanted to see him again, of course), that he wouldn't waste time on the "rule" and just call me!]
So, he called. And I was ecstatic! And he wanted to do lunch. Great! We met at a restaurant that we both liked and was halfway between both of us (he lived about 25 minutes away from JP’s house). Had an awesome lunch. And by awesome, I mean there were no awkward silences, no lulls in conversation that you drive a truck through that normally happen on first dates (cuz technically, that’s what this was). There was no nervousness. We pretty much already knew we liked each other from the night before. This was just getting to know more about each other. After lunch was over, we both knew we didn’t want to go our separate ways just yet…so we tried to come up with other things to do. Desperately tried to come up with other things to do. I suggested go-cart racing (we both are extremely competitive and loved driving, so this seemed natural to me). He declined saying that I would be really upset when (yes, he said “when,” not “if”) he beat me, and he didn’t want to make me upset on our first date (eventhough, if you remember, he thoroughly beat me several times the night before in our impromptu street race). So, we ended up going with his suggestion, which was…are you ready?…A shooting range.
Yep. He took me to a shooting range. For our first date. I, being the city girl that I am, have never shot a gun. I have never been to a shooting range, and didn’t really think people (other than cops or FBI agents) went to them. But, because it was different and original (and of course, he implied that he would do better than I would) I was all about it. When we got there, we rented a gun and bought bullets and targets, and I had to sign a waiver saying that I knew the person I was with was not a homicidal maniac and/or suicidal. Now, normally, having to sign a piece of paper like this about someone I’ve known for less than 24 hours would worry me for a couple reasons: A) because how do you really know those things about people you’ve known for years, let alone 24 hours and B) being in a situation where you would even HAVE to sign something like that is weird in and of itself. But, oddly enough, I didn’t really think twice about it.
We were then assigned a room, set up our targets, and he showed me how to work the gun. How to load the clip, put a round in the chamber and how to undo the safety and fire. Then he proceeded to shoot the crap out of the target. Next it was my turn. *gulp*. We loaded up a new target and a new clip. Then he just handed me the gun. I shot a few rounds, and every time the kick back of the gun made it jump up and I kept hitting the top of the target, if I hit it at all. (Now, I swear this wasn’t planned) After seeing how bad I was at keeping the gun level, he stepped up behind me and told me he would brace himself behind me so the gun wouldn’t jump like that. He firmly put his chest up against my back and put his hands on my wrists and told me to try again. Well, I could barely think about shooting the stupid thing anymore. All I could think about was him pressed up against me and how strong and solid he felt against me. That clip went by much too fast. We went back and forth like that for a box of bullets. Him shooting 1 clip, then me shooting one with him enveloped around me. Wow.
Anyway, there’s only so much time you can spend at a shooting range, and that, too, came to an end. We still didn’t want to leave each other, though. So, we started making more suggestions. I, again, suggested go-carts. He laughed, and again, refused. He wanted to go to the beach. I thought he was kidding. He wasn’t. He kept at it til I finally gave in. Now, the beach isn’t really far away from us, but it’s not right up the street either. It’s about an hour away. But neither one of us had work the next day, so why not? We stop by my house, I grab a sweatshirt, cuz it’s cold on the beach at night, and we’re on our way.
We get to the beach area, but neither one of us really went out there much, so we didn’t really know where we were going. We drive around kinda lost for awhile, but eventually just kept driving west til we find a beach. One that looked fairly deserted. Then we got out and walked by the water for a bit. Continually talking and laughing. (Let me say, that was the best part of this date. We didn’t run out of things to talk about. And we were constantly laughing.) Then we decided we wanted to lay down under the stars…but we had no towels or blankets. We go back to my truck which was still full of miscellaneous odds and ends from my move cross country, hoping to find something suitable. We found paper towels, zip ties, rags, a book…and a cargo mat! Score! So, we take out the cargo mat, walk back down to the beach, and sit down on it. Ok…better than nothing. We can sit…but no laying down. It’s just not that big. We decide we really want to lay down. Back to my truck, and we’re off in search of a Walgreens (because they have blankets, right?) Some more driving around partly lost, but thanks to Verizon and their navigation service, we find it without too much time being wasted. No blankets. This Walgreens does not have blankets. So…the next best thing? Towels. Brightly colored lime green and fluorescent orange towels. OK. That will work. We get our towels, a couple sodas, and make our way back to the beach. This took us longer to find because Verizon Navigator didn’t have “our beach” as an item that we could get directions to. But we made it back. We take out our brand new towels, and make our 3rd trek down to the beach that night. And we lay under the stars. And it’s perfect. He’s rubbing my back, I’m laying on his chest. And we lay in silence, listening to the waves and looking at the stars. It was the first time all night that we weren’t talking and laughing, but not because we ran out of things to say, but because just being together in that moment said more than words could.
I wish I could say that’s where our first kiss happened…but I can’t. Because it didn’t. we laid on the beach for over an hour. Just holding each other and being together, until the beach warden (don’t really know what he was) drove up in his big truck and told us to get off the beach cuz it was closed. We got up, gathered our bright towels and went back to my truck. We started talking and laughing again and made our way back to the restaurant where we had lunch (cuz that’s where we left his car). And that’s where I got my first kiss. He got out of my truck, and so did I to give him a good bye hug. We didn’t want to leave each other now, either, but there was nothing left to do! Everything was closed and it was too soon to go back to each other’s houses…so I resigned myself to having to say goodbye. As I was giving him the goodbye hug, I got my good night kiss…and it was perfect. Butterflies in the tummy, tingling kind of perfect.
So, there you have it…our first date: lunch, shooting range, beach, kiss. Perfect. *sigh*
