My best friend tells me this is an oxymoron, but there's something to be said about a fish who can intoxicate you with his very scent.
I met this fish on one of my dating sites. Three years older than me and over a foot taller. He was born in South Africa, where his two children still live with their mother. We started out by messaging on the site and quickly moved into instant messages.
He's funny and charming. We talked about our kids and movies and he made me laugh. We exchanged Facebook and Myspace friend requests. It didn't take long for me to decide that this was a fish I wanted to meet in person.
My normal rule of thumb is that movies are terrible first dates. You can't talk and get to know someone. But after talking about movies, that's what we decided to do. We met at a theater about half way between where we live.
My nerves were popping and I wasn't sure what to expect. My first date with the clown fish had been pleasant, but not earth shattering, so I wasn't holding out high hopes. Having seen his pictures online, I had no trouble finding him. He shook my hand and amazingly, my frantic nerves began to settle into a dull buzz.
We walked to the theater and he held the door open (brownie points) and asked me what I wanted to see. We decided on the new Harry Potter (excellent, by the way).
Having been out of the dating scene for so long, I wasn't sure what the etiquette was for who should pay. There seems to be two schools of thought. The old fashioned, guy always pays school and the more recent stag/girl pays/he buys the tickets, she buys the popcorn school. The latter is encouraged, not only by broke men tired of having to pay for dates that might not result in any possibility of nookie, but also by modern women trying to prove their equality and drive home the point of there will be no nookie until I'm good and ready because I owe you nothing.
I guess I am somewhere in between. I don't mind picking up a dinner check or buying the popcorn, but I also don't mind being treated. There's something to be said for being taken care of. But this was an old fashioned fish who wouldn't have it any other way.
We had some time to kill before the movie started, so sat in the lobby to talk. His accent is enough to make your toes curl. While I know it is a Dutch accent, some of his pronunciations sound almost Australian and we all know how much we love to listen to Mel Gibson or Hugh Jackman speak, no matter what they're saying. His English is excellent, although occasionally he can't find a word he's looking for. But he has no problem asking for help in finding it (which if you ask me, is worth it's weight in gold).
I was so engrossed in our conversation, I almost lost track of the time. We got a huge tub of popcorn to split (extra butter, of course) and two sodas. We sat near the back of the theater and almost immediately started throwing popcorn back and forth. We watched the coming attractions and it seemed we wanted to see all the same movies.
The theater we went to is one of those nifty ones with the really comfortable seats and the armrests that fold up in between the seats. He put one of them up on the other side of him so he could stretch out and leaned his shoulder against mine. And I found myself surrounded by the most heavenly scent. I have no idea what kind of cologne he was wearing, but I had to physically restrain myself from sinking my nose into his neck and taking a huge sniff.
He excused himself to the restroom near the middle of the movie and when he came back to put his head near mine to ask what he missed. His hair brushed against my cheek and was so soft, I actually ran it against my face for a moment before answering (of course, it took me that long to remember the question, as well.).
After the movie, he walked me to my car, where we lingered talking for a few more minutes. He bent down to give me a hug. A perfect gentleman, from beginning to end. And best of all, he said he wanted to see me again. According to He's Just Not That Into You, that's a good sign.
I got home to find a text on my phone. He said he had a great time and I was very pretty. Any girl who doesn't melt, at least a little, at a message like that, has something seriously wrong with her or is lying.
We already have plans for a second date. I don't believe in love at first site. But I do believe in chemistry and that chemistry can be felt right away. Sometimes chemistry doesn't lead to anything else, but sometimes it's a step to bigger and better things. And, baby, we got it.
No comments:
Post a Comment