4/19/16
I'm lying in bed still feeling pretty gross (thank you always getting sick during finals week) when my phone buzzes. I glance over to see Jason's name pop up.
Hey! Are you feeling good enough come on a hike with me and my cousins?
I hesitate for a half second, our past conversations flashing through my head. Last Friday when I was sick and delirious and convinced I was about to get fired (long story - shifts are hard to get covered last minute when you're sick and the Rec center is crazy strict with attendance policies), so he tried to comfort me. Monday when he texted just to check how I was feeling.
"GRACE!"
"Hang on!"
She comes in a minute later and I just hold up my phone. She reads the text and squeals.
"Energizer bunny just asked you out!"
"Did not, his cousins will be there."
"Might as well have!"
I throw the covers over my head and groan. "What do I do?"
She bounces on my bed. "You're gonna go, right??"
Ben taps on the door. "What's the squealing about?"
Grace fills him in and he gives a woot that rivals Grace's squeal. They really are made for each other.
"You're going, right?"
And their enthusiasm is how I end up loaded up on cold meds, hiking the Y with Energizer bunny and his two crazy nerdy cousins, and how I end up letting him pay for ice cream and drive me home. But…it's all me when he asks if he can take me out on Thursday for dinner and I say yes.
4/21/16
I’ve just finished putting the finishing touches on curling my hair and sending a snapchat to Grace for approval when he knocks on the door. My stomach lurches and I grab my purse and open the door.
Jason is standing there, looking very handsome. There’s a second pause where I see his eyes travel the length of my body and then he says “Wow. You look beautiful.”
I grin. “You clean up pretty well yourself.”
He offers his arm and opens my car door and pays for dinner. He’s definitely a talker, which works well since it takes me a while to feel comfortable talking a lot anyway.
The Mexican restaurant goes over well with him—we both know good Mexican food and are homesick for it and for California. We have a lot in common, so this feels natural.
After dinner, we stop by my apartment to grab my iPod for music on our drive. I queue up my country play list and he pulls onto a dirt road and we end up on a mountain, looking out at the city lights. He turns to me with this adorable crooked smile and throws open his car door, running around to open my door for me and pulling me out of the car. One hand finds mine and he twirls me, then pulls me back closer and starts dancing.
I’m laughing and noticing the softness of his hands, the safety in his hand on the small of my back … and when he nestles his forehead against mine, I don’t pull away.
It’s really not like me to kiss on the first date, but he’s been such a sweetheart and a gentleman. He brushes my nose with his and whispers, “what are you thinking?”
“Just kiss me already.”
I’m expecting a laugh or something to break the mood, but he just exhales quickly and presses his lips meekly to mine.
The timidness of the kiss doesn’t last long though. We’re five seconds in when he bites my lip and I melt into him, fingers curling into his hair. He hoists me up onto the hood of his car and I wrap my legs around him, drawing him closer.
It’s 2 am by the time I make it home with flushed cheeks and lunch plans for the next day.
Please be the guy who has the guts to kiss me on the first date but still makes me feel respected and know that I love you.
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