The Stories of Three First Dates

The wonderful Sydney Salter posted about first-date no-nos today, and that got me thinking about the many first dates I've been on. And how they all, somehow, seem to go horribly wrong. Horribly. (No names have been used to protect the innocent boys who had no idea what they were getting themselves into.)

Story #1

Like the time I had an allergic reaction to something I ate. My face swelled up like a balloon. I decided to tough through it and took a bunch of antihistamines to stop the swelling. We then played a game with a bunch of other kids, but it had rained that day and all of the leaves had fallen in the cool weather. I proceeded to slide down the hill, got horribly muddy and also ended up with the BIGGEST BRUISE EVER on my hip. After a quick wardrobe change, we went to a movie, but the meds I had taken earlier made me fall asleep. I'm sure I was snoring because I couldn't breath very well. My date was really nice and asked me if I wanted him to take me home. Of course my delicate emotional state made me burst into tears, which didn't help the puffy-face situation in the least.

Story #2

Another time my date ran out of gas. Yes, ran out of gas. In the middle of the road. I had to push the car across the street to the gas station. What kind of boy makes his date push the car? (A word to the wise, if a guy makes you push the car, say no to date two, no matter how cute he is. The second date didn't go much better.)

Story #3

And then there was Crazy Boy. No kidding. He was crazy. He was a friend of a friend, so even though we had only talked once before for a few minutes, I agreed to the date. His idea of a good time was to watch Star Wars on his sofa and make me a microwave burrito for dinner. This might be okay for like the sixth date. But date number one? No chance. And it gets even better. He didn't have a driver's license, so he insisted on walking me home while pushing his bike so he could ride it back to his place. He walked me up to my apartment door and got that look on his face like he really wanted to kiss me. Well, that was not going to happen, so I pushed out my hand for a warm, friendly shake. Instead, he grabbed my hand and started singing to me. Right there on my front porch for all the world to see. Thank heavens my roommate came home from her date just a minute later and I was able to escape.

Redemption

But there have also been some really good first dates as well. Memorable moments that I hold very dear to my heart. With guys who are now some of my best friends. Okay, and a couple of guys I won't talk to if my life depended on it. Dating is a funny thing. Even if it all goes horribly wrong, you keep coming back for more, hoping for those perfect moments that make it all worthwhile.