I keep my promises

Ah yes, elaborate I shall. It can probably go without saying that the fireman did in fact show last night.

Fast forward fact: I know there's chemistry when I get in my car and I have to shriek. Not scream, just a high pitched shriek. It took all I had to wait till I got outta that parking lot to shriek behind the wheel. Then I smiled to myself a bit. I was still smiling a little even by the time I walked into my apartment. (Go ahead, throw up in your mouth a little. I know you want to. Sorry).

So anyway, as odd as the whole concept was, it held my interest, kept me intrigued, and in hindsight I recognize it's probably just what this girl needed (to feel all that oddness). I am a strange creature at times--especially on the heels of my hibernation where I'd tell even some of my closest friends I'd do something with them and then bail. I couldn't really bail on this. More importantly, I never felt the desire to. Instead of texting with him and talking about plans, it was sort of a game. Texting as a form of dating really gets on my nerves. It feels like such a cop-out. Minimal effort for maximum results. Yes, time spent with me is considered maximum, my friends. You as well ladies (and fellas).

Now let me just add that if the fireman wasn't a friend of a friends boyfriend, I would not have participated. My closest friend vouched for him so it was OK. If I'd gone missing, people would know who to look for. This girl does not recommend doing this sort of thing with a perfect stranger. At least not without some pepper spray on-hand.

Still, I was anxious as shit. It didn't help that while facebook chatting with my old college friend Nick, just hours before date time, he planted a seed that my wandering mind watered like hell. He expressed his unsettling thoughts: maybe the guys' married or living with someone and that's why he "didn't want to talk all day." Thanks a bunch, man. Sheesh. I usually go through a small fit of paranoia right before a first date so I briefly entertained that thought as a genuine possibility. It was vetoed by my friend while on speaker phone as I did my make up, which is always my prime freak-out time. I think it's because once I've carefully applied a full face of fresh make-up there's no turning back. I'm going out that door.

So I rolled up at about five minutes till 7:30. I sat in my car for a bit. What if he was there and saw me pull up? I frantically searched passenger seats of the cars in the parking lot, careful to not be too obvious. What if he saw me looking for him? I saw no one. Suddenly the thought of him watching me walk to the door freaked me out. I didn't want to get there first so I sat there for a bit. I'd watch him walk in and then I'd follow. Yeah, I'll just stroll in a couple minutes after. But then the horror of the thought that he watched me pull up, saw me look around and then saw me sit and wait in my car for a while overcame all other worries and I just got out and headed for the door.

I walked into the bar. Of course the playoff game was still on so the bar was packed. With guys. Everyone turned to see me walk in. Alone. Shit. (I understand people may do this all the time but lil' ole me was like a fish outta water). I figured I'd walk around the bar, swoop the scene and then hit the bathroom which was conveniently located on the other end of the bar and around the corner. If I don't see him on my way out, I'll bounce. I saw him no where. Fuck. What the hell was I doing?? I officially walked the entire length of the bar. No fireman to be found. I turned the corner and there he was, sitting all alone on a bench by the other door. The door to the restaurant. Not the bar. He immediately jumped up, walked over to me and gave me a hug. Shew. bomb dodged. Ego in tact.

He said he couldn't remember if he had said 7 or 7:30 so he'd been there since 6:45 just in case. That warmed my heart a little bit. I told him he could've just called or texted me, but oh, wait, that's right there was a rule against that. :) I definitely probed his reasoning behind the concept. He laughed, said it felt like a really good idea last night. I told him it was memorable, if nothing else. And that it was.

So we opted to grab a cozy booth in the bar portion of the restaurant. More casual which I prefer for a first date. We had a couple drinks, some food, and a lot of easy, fun talking. He was all smiles. As was I. Nothing short of adorable. I liked him more that night than I did the entire day before. He was great. A real great guy. I know it's great when we're constantly smiling at each other. (OK I just said great in one paragraph more than I have on the rest of this entire blog). There was definitely some consistent cheesing going on in that booth. And I'm not talking about the loaded cheese fries we devoured. Though they were equally fabulous.

It wasn't a late night. We left by 9:30 at the latest. We both had work in the morning, him much earlier than I. He walked me to my car, a hug, and small peck on the cheek and we said our goodbyes.

The date didn't end without him asking me out again. But, (always a but) he asked me to go to a small, very low-key wedding on Saturday. It's brief, noon to 3ish and apparently no big deal if I attend or not. My initial reaction is it is too soon for something like that. Combine that with the fact that I have a hair appointment at 9:45am and then a birthday party in the city at 7 and I just don't think it would work. I told him I thought it might be cutting it a little close, but I'd let him know. The problem is I don't want him to think that I'm turning him down because I don't want to see him again. I definitely do. I haven't heard from him yet, which is absolutely fine. In fact, he had to work a 24-hour shift starting at 7am so technically he's still working. I think I'm just going to let him down easy, but let him know I'd like to see him another time that would work better. A girl should never be too available anyway, right? Right.

I talked to my friend after the date. Told her it was awesome. She says it's good to hear friends go on successful first dates, gives us hope that they're still out there and possible. Even if nothing comes from it. That high from a good first date is fabulous. She said the fireman called his friend (our other friend's boyfriend) after our date and said I was a 10 out of 10. Presh.

So it's possible there may be more of this fireman to come. I just can't get enough of calling him a fireman. Mmm, hot.