"I'm sorry, I got a little bit lost on my way to your apartment, I'll be there in an hour instead of 30 minutes! Sorry!"
I rolled over, after reading this text. It was 12:30 PM on a Saturday, and I was still in bed. Obviously, I was still in bed. I'd been out with a few friends the night before, and even though I knew I had a date at 1 PM, I was staying in bed as long as possible.
At 1:00, with more apologetic texts sitting in my unread texts, I forced myself out of bed, and towards a mirror. What I saw looked horrendous, but I didn't really care. I didn't shower, quickly doctoring my hair, putting on a minimal amount of makeup, and putting on one of the rejected outfits from the night before.
At roughly 1:20, I got a text saying that he was there, but he couldn't find my building. I assured him that no one ever could, and I'd meet him in the parking lot. I put on my favorite aviators, locked my front door, and headed down the three flights of stairs.
I had never met Seth. One of my closest friends had told me that I'd be a really good match with him, but I was still hung up on a crush from earlier in the year, before school started. Plus, this boy lived 4 1/2 hours away from me. I was still kinda floored that he was driving all that way for this date. But he'd assured me that he was coming into town anyway to visit his brother, and he just wanted to take me to a casual lunch. I knew he was interested in me, we'd texted and snapchatted over the course of the last few months, as I'd been out of the country until a few weeks before.
I walked into the hot and sunny parking lot, and spotted him right away. He had the passenger door open, bent over as he cleaned something off the floor. When he spotted me coming, he shut the door and came up to me. After exchanging a quick, and slightly awkward hug, he opened my door for me.
Wow. Chivalry. Something I hadn't witnessed in a long time, since my boyfriend when I was four, and that doesn't really count.
He drove me to the cutest hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant, ordered us matching salads(he didn't order his with dressing, which is gross), and we sat and talked.
He was sending the vibes. I knew he was interested. He was playing it cool, but his eyes would sparkle when we'd make eye contact, and he'd start smiling ever so slightly when I would talk to him.
But I tried shutting him down. I told him about all of my ex-boyfriends in the recent years. It didn't phase him, he responded with stories of his own exes. I talked to him about all of the weird things that I did. He laughed and told me that he did them too, and then supplied stories.
As we got back into the car, I invited him to come over and make cookies.
And that was one of the best decisions of my life.
We made the cookies together, me trying to figure out how to share a kitchen, while he told me funny stories and I laughed.
He set up a movie on my laptop, and as I turned towards him from the kitchen, holding a plate of cookies, he asked me how to properly pronounce my last name. "It's pronounced 'Fack-rull'. Kinda like 'Fat Girl'." We both glanced at the mound of cookies in my arms. "I know what this looks like..." I said, staring at the cookies. He laughed. I loved his laugh.
Throughout the movie, we started moving closer to each other. After the movie, we watched a musical. He showed me a few youtube videos. We talked about our shared interest in How I Met Your Mother. I knew he wanted to kiss me, but he was too chicken to try it.
He later told me that he was afraid to mess it up.
He ended up staying until 5 am. We sat on my couch and laughed and joked and I probably almost peed myself at some point. He looked at me like no boy ever had, and I liked it. I never wanted him to stop.
His smile made that 4 1/2 hour distance worth it, every single time.
It was the best, and the last, first date.
Inspired by this LDR Blogs Prompt: Date Night
