First Date

It started with butterflies. The moment your eyes met the fluttering merriment danced in the pit your stomach. Your knees were like jelly; if it weren’t for your perseverant effort to maintain composure your ass would have surely hit the floor. His proposal of the most dumbfounding and exhilarating question shocked you. As only someone you just met and are extremely attracted to could do. Friday night was suggested as the reserved date. Perfect! No plans (weird). You quickly marked it in your blackberry (as if you would forget) and said “See ya then!” All of this taking place while your posse of girlfriends patiently waiting to hear details. On the ride home you meticulously review your conversation, pin pointing the articulation and structure of each sentence. Your friend’s verdict is that you played it cool. Even if you did say “See ya then!” A minor infraction to the rules of flirting, never sound too excited. Your scheduled rendezvous could be the beginning of something special.

Friday. The weekend has finally arrived after an antagonizing couple of days. The nervous anticipation of what is to come controls your every move. Your imagination runs wild with visionaries of the two of you frolicking into the sunset hand in hand. This could be it, the one! Daddy always said that your prince, a Knight in shinning armor, would appear at your doorstep on his white horse for you. Magically today could be the day that your fairy tale comes true. The evil spell of a lifetime of bad dates and immature men that unfortunately was cast upon you could be broken! Until reality hits…

So maybe Prince charming left the armor at home and showed up wearing designer jeans and a long sleeve button up. And maybe the white horse he was supposed to be riding was disguised as a white F150. Nice! Screw the fairy tale this is way better! From your window you watch as he approaches your front door and naturally your butterflies start again. His greetings are pleasant as you walk to his gorgeous lifted truck. You can tell he is nervous too by the way he looks at you in your newly purchased outfit from Forever 21. He would never expect that it was only $28.98. His hand slightly shakes as he opens the car door for you. Not only are you in awe of his chiseled bone structure and baby blue eyes, not to mention the Ford and fashion sense too, but what a gentleman! He must have sisters.

On the drive to your undisclosed location curiosity overflows your mind. A traditional dinner and a movie would have sufficed for your first date; but you already passed the theatres and are headed for the freeway. You start to get nervous, praying that he isn’t a serial murderer taking you to some remote place. That thought promptly advises you to cut down your CSI intake. The car ride small talk consists of likes, dislikes, people whom you both know and high school activities you were involved in. You realize that it really does not matter where you two going, you could talk to this guy all night. The more you learn about him the more you fall head over heels for him.

The GPS system tells you that you are only .3 miles from arriving at your final destination. You pull into the parking lot of “Fun Mountain”. The adolescence that your professional workingwoman persona tries to hide is ecstatic. How did he know you loved family fun-centers filled with Miniature Golf, Go-Carts, Bumper Boats and best of all Laser Tag? By this decision alone he scored major points in your book. You try out the mini golf first. The attraction between the two of you is undeniable. After a few missed holes he offers to help you putt. Damn he noticed you sucked too! Innocently, he put his arms around you and gently touched your hands and guided you through the motion of swinging the golf club. Hole in one! He must be good luck. Just like little kids you ran around the place laughing in search of the next activity. Your request for laser tag was granted. Before entering the battlefield you both sized up your opponents. Six twelve year olds on a birthday with two of their adult chaperons and another couple who didn’t look like they were having as much fun as you two. It was on! By the end of the game you found your Prince sitting on the floor with one of the birthday kids shooting him in the back of his target vest. All the excitement had worn him out. You both decided it was time to leave.

The ride home from the date was the most nerve wrecking. Perspiration begins to appear in the most unwanted places, the damn butterflies are furiously flying now and you can no longer feel your legs. All of this is due to the very thought of how he is going to say goodbye. Will there be a kiss or not? Your not one of those girls who religiously abides by the aged rule of not kissing on the first date. If the timing is right then it is meant to be.

He walks you up to the door, at a slow easing pace. You could tell that he had been practicing his lines since the last few miles before your exit because he started to stare off into space. He tells you how much fun he had and how “super cool” he thinks you. Then he books the next date! The attraction was mutual and this perfect evening hadn’t been something you made up. Compared to the last guy you dated who thought inviting you to his Fraternity party was romantic, this guy was Rico Suave. And just as you were imagining the future he leaned in and gave you a tender kiss on the lips, thanked you for a great evening and said he would call. Ten minutes later he texted you “Goodnight, sweet dreams”.

Who says fairy tales can’t come true?