It was Friday that we had agreed to go on our first date. The day couldn't come to an end fast enough. At dinner we served a record number of customers, which was always something to celebrate. Things would often get crazy and mixed up when it was busy, but that night went off without a hitch. Everyone worked well together, and there were no messed up orders coming out of the kitchen. So, when it came time to close up shop, because of the high tips, someone bought a round of drinks for everyone, and a lot of the staff wanted to linger longer than usual to celebrate a great night. I was trying to play it cool, but all I wanted to do was bolt out of there, take a shower, and go on my date. Both Joel and I worked that night, and I could tell he was getting antsy too.
I managed to leave around 10:45, and rushed home to get cleaned up for the date. After wearing a baseball cap all day I remember stressing over the fact that I had a large red streak across my forehead. When a knock came on the door at 11:30, I answered the door and was greeted with an equally spiffed up date whose jaw promptly dropped to the floor. That darn red line on my forehead. My hand instantly went to my forehead and I mumbled some kind of apology for my appearance.
"Are you kidding me?!? This is the first time I've seen you out of your uniform. You look gorgeous." he said.
I blushed.
I introduced him to my parents. My mom was doing her job of being all gushy and embarrassing, and dad was puffing up his chest and trying to look intimidating. I rushed us outside as quickly as I could muster. He asked if I minded riding on the back of his motorcycle, or if I'd like to drive instead. This guy has a gorgeous smile, a cute bum, AND he drives a motorcycle?!?
"Sure, we can ride on your bike" I tried to play it cool while I smiled at the thought.
He offered me a helmet and I laughed at my earlier worries about my appearance as I smashed it onto my recently styled hair. We both climbed on, the motorcycle roared to life, and I tried to keep a shred of propriety and sit upright so as not to cling to this guy I barely knew. He accelerated into the first turn and I shrieked and wrapped my arms around his torso. I totally caught him grin as I did so.
Because we were going out so late, our options were pretty slim for what to do. Two young LDS kids looking for a wholesome first date activity, around midnight? We decided that Perkins 24 hour diner would be a good place to visit and get to know each other a little better.
We went in and got seated, and each ordered a piece of lemon meringue pie. The place was deserted, and the waitress was not too thrilled that we were even there. A few minutes later, she came out with two plates of pie that had an exorbitant amount of chocolate sauce poured over the top of them. Who mixes lemon meringue pie with chocolate sauce?!? It definitely broke the ice, and we had a good laugh over the ridiculousness of it. We spent the next TWO hours talking, laughing, poking at our inedible pie, and getting to know each other. It was as if I had known this guy my entire life. We learned that his dad and my uncle were best friends. We also learned that our paths had crossed many times, yet we had never realized the other existed. I learned that he had served a two year mission in Tahiti, and was soon to celebrate his one year anniversary of being home from his mission. He learned that I had just decided to start dating again, and that my relationship with the restaurant family was complicated to say the least. And finally, I learned that he had a second job working at the airport for FedEx, and that he was expected to be there at 4:30 am. It was now 1:30 am. So we paid our bill and left to go home. I didn't even hesitate to hug his body the entire way home through the deserted town on the back of his bike.
When we got to my house, I pulled off the helmet to hand back to him, and our eyes locked. For whatever reason, although every fiber of my being wanted to, we didn't kiss. Ever the gentleman, he walked me to the door, we hugged, and I apologized for keeping him up so late, and wished him a safe drive home. He responded with, "Can I see you again tomorrow???"
I went inside, closed the door and leaned back against the door with a deep, happy sigh. My revelry was interrupted by my mom, who had been waiting up to hear how it went. Of course she had. :) We spent the next hour talking about how well things had gone, and how I thought this guy was pretty great. I was excited to see how things went in the future. She answered with an all knowing response of
"So am I..."
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