Champagne Picnic in the Rain

Finally the day came to meet The Super Sexy MMA Fighter. I was very surprised at how calm I felt, but as the time wore on throughout the day I did start to get a little nervous.

He was driving his little commuter car the hour and a half to get to my little town and I was supposed to meet him at Wal-Mart. He looked VERY handsome in the few pictures he had on his profile but I was worried that his aesthetic or his personality would be… less than charming (ok, I was worried he’d be a complete dork). Through talking and stuff I occasionally got the impression that he was, in some ways, a goofy country bumpkin. That’s NOT attractive. lol. So I crossed my fingers and went about cleaning up my house like crazy.

I had put together a picnic and then planned to come back to my tiny little rental and watch a movie. I also offered to let him crash at my place since the weather was bad over the pass he had to drive. I gave him the option of bottom or top bunk 🙂 since I didn’t want him to think I was offering more than a place to sleep.

Finally I get the house put together and then start packing up my new gorgeous picnic basket. I had a divine chicken salad, some fantastic sandwiches, crackers, and Martini and Rossi champagne.

Now, I am not much of a drinker and it had to be hilarious watching me try to pick out this champagne! I am someone who, until very recently, didn’t even have a cork screw in the house! This only changed because I was cooking a recipe that called for wine… and I had no intention of ever tearing a wine cork out with a pair of needle nose pliers ever again! lol

I knew NOT to get Cooks. That stuff is awful! And I remembered some positive connotation related to “Top Shelf” vs. bottom shelf. So, basically I counted to three and picked the champagne that looked good.

I packed it all in with the REAL dishes, champagne flutes and silverware. No paper plates for this picnic! I was tryin’ to impress! I picked up some strawberries and then headed to the Wal-Mart parking lot to meet him.

Now is when the nervous feelings really set it! I parked my sexy car and looked around for the beat up Honda I knew he’d be driving. When he finally pulled up(he wasn’t late or anything, I was just antsy) my heart started to race and I held my breath as I got out of my car. I made sure to smile!

My smile quickly widened as I watched him unfold himself from behind the wheel of this tiny car. As he stood, I took in the real weight of his 6’3″ frame. Wow, he’s tall! Tallest guy I’ve ever dated! Plus, I’m just a tiny thing and under 5′. AND he was VERY handsome. He was the embodiment of tall, dark, and handsome!

I was right about one thing, though. He was a bit of a country bumpkin, but somehow, not in an unattractive way. He was handsome and big and tough looking in a rough cowboy (that fits since he’s a former bull rider), construction worker, farm hand kind of way. It was almost a primal kind of handsome.

His sense of style left something to be desired though. He wore a bright grass green sport shirt, with Carhart pants and work boots. He looked like a working man, as his clothes were used and dirty.

For a moment I had a fleeting thought that he hadn’t put much effort into his appearance for this date. He didn’t even have a fresh haircut, but that thought didn’t last long. It was like looking at a mechanic holding a wrench, all sweaty and covered in grease. (in my book, this is like soft porn for women!)

We went and parked his car at my place, and of course, it started to rain. That’s a bummer considering that I had this whole romantic picnic planned, but then again, it gave me a chance to see how he deals when things don’t go according to plan. That is SO important to me when looking for a partner because this is LIFE… it’s messy! Life doesn’t care about your plans, and it’s SO miserable to be with a partner that can’t handle that reality.

The Fighter handled it with ease, and was quick to think of a solution. He suggested a covered gazebo at the park. “Great idea!” I said, and we ran our picnic over to the tables under the gazebo. He was quite impressed with my picnic, and did his best to make me laugh as I unpacked it. I have the image of him popping the cork on the champagne burned in my brain. Tacky shirt and all, lol!

To my surprise, I LOVED the champagne! I had a couple of glasses and laughed like crazy at his jokes about being such a dork in highschool, and being too darn tall to fit through the kitchen doorway in his Mom’s house. The food was delish, and I even thought to pack some heals of bread to feed the geese and ducks.

He helped me pack up the dishes and we started to feed the ducks. Before you know it, I was laughing like crazy because he was SO jumpy around those geese. He swears geese hate him and have come after him before… Plus there was an incredible amount of birds getting closer and closer to us… inching in closer and getting little by little more aggressive about taking that bread out of our hands.

We found ourselves throwing the bread as far as we could to get the geese to move back a ways. I even got up on the picnic table to put a little space between us.

The entire time he was outgoing and exuberant with his jokes and stories. I was having an absolutely fantastic time.

We went back to my place and put the movie in. Funny, “My Best Friend’s Girl” wasn’t as funny the second time around. Still, we sat close on the couch and cuddled up.

I was having this internal struggle thinking about how long we’d been emailing and texting ( maybe since January) and that this was our first date. I can never reconcile this inner debate. Part of me says all that time before hand doesn’t count, this is a FIRST date… but then another part of my brain kicks in telling me ALL the things I know about him after emailing so long. Still, it just doesn’t feel that familiar. It’s not like we’ve been dating for that whole time. And back and forth goes the battle in my head… counts, doesn’t count, counts, doesn’t count.

Honestly, I know it’s a FIRST date. This is the first time I’ve ever laid eyes on him, but my mind wants rationalize how familiar we are acting. Ehhh, what the hey… Feels nice to have some big strong arms around me.

Still, it’s a slightly awkward feeling knowing this is the type of intimacy that we both want, but we really haven’t put in the time to get there. It’s almost like we are kind of pretending a little. I mean usually you sit like that cuddled up with someone who makes you feel safe, someone who really knows you and has seen your adorable quirks and ridiculous crazy hair in the morning… maybe someone who’s seen you with the flu and on the other end of the spectrum, maybe in a dress and heels. We have none of that.

I could tell that for some time he was working up the courage to kiss me. A first kiss turned into a long kiss and once again I began an inner battle asking myself “How far do I want to let this go? How far do I want to let this go?” This was a conversation I should have had with myself earlier since my brain won’t work right while preoccupied in a lip lock!

We put in another movie… this one a sort of ridiculous late 80s movie… but a GREAT movie none the less.

He kept asking me what I thought. He meant what I thought of him. I told him I was very impressed and relieved. He persisted saying “you wouldn’t just be saying that, would you? because you don’t want to hurt my feelings and kick me out.” No, I laughed… but I was quite aware that this was a sincere question.

I told him he could come by anytime and that I didn’t really have the desire to see anyone else.

See, I am looking for a relationship. I’m not just enjoying all the dating around. I am sincerely looking for someone and when I meet someone I want to give it a go with.. I have no problem taking myself off the market.

I have to admit, I was a little concerned though. In my mind an hour and a half drive isn’t all that far away. In the little town I live in I have to drive over an hour just to get to a mall. We have people who commute in that far to work everyday… and yet, this meeting had been a REALLY long time coming. It had been arranged and canceled at the last-minute like three different times. I’d like to say we are both busy blah blah blah, but he kept canceling and rescheduling. hmmmm.

Still, I remained optimistic. It was a good night, and we spent half the day the next day together too. We went to breakfast and went dutch, which was a little unsettling for me. I offered because I know he’s got 3 kiddos he’s paying hefty child support on and he doesn’t have a lot of money… but he didn’t even argue the point at all. Didn’t even say “I’ll get the next one.” nothin’. I hate to admit it, but it bothered me. I planned the date, and made the picnic and rented the movie.. etc etc etc and he can’t even buy breakfast?

That plus, no effort at his appearance and the multiple previous cancellations. I was aware but still remaining optimistic. I was also aware that I didn’t really seem to be his “type”. At least that’s what I gathered from listening to his stories.

Also, for me, in a relationship the most important thing for me to feel is valued, special, appreciated. I wasn’t getting that vibe at all. So, we shall see.

At some point I wasn’t feeling well, and found myself laying town with a tummy ache. I wanted to take a nap and felt like I was still in hostess mode. I had to sort of say “So, you’ve probably got to get going soon, huh?”

He was being sweet and concerned but I just wasn’t totally comfortable with him there and I didn’t feel good. So, eventually at probably 2 in the afternoon, he left.

Even though the last little but was kind of awkward, I was happy and felt like I had started down relationship road….