The First Date

Now that I've written about our first meeting, I now need to describe our first date.  The results of the date were not anything like I expected them to be.  First it needs to be understood that we met the weekend before finals and I was moving out of my apartment as well as finishing school.  After a few times of trying to call me (apparently I was busy or I didn’t want to answer an unknown number) Joshua decided to text me a couple of days after we met and asked me if I wanted to go on a date with him sometime before I left for the 7 week break.  I was leaving on Wednesday, the 23^rd of July, so I told him I’d probably be able to do it on Tuesday or Wednesday since I was too busy with finals on Monday.  We then talked about it a bit and decided Tuesday night would be perfect.  Tuesday came and it was a bad day for me for many reasons, one of them being that I had tons of stuff to move and I wouldn’t be able to go on the date that night.  I told him we’d have to do a rain check and he asked if we could still go out for lunch for just an hour on Wednesday to give me a break between cleaning and packing.  I told him that would be fine since I knew I probably would want a break. 

The next day started out in a rush.  The plan was for Miranda and me to leave for Utah by 5:00 that afternoon so we could get a good start.  That morning Miranda was on a date, I went to a friend’s birthday breakfast, and I came home frantic trying to get everything done.  I was so busy going back and forth to drop of f stuff at the storage unit my roommate Miranda and I had rented for the break.  I had just enough time to put my contacts in, put my hair up, put on a t-shirt , shorts, and tennis shoes.  Miranda came home from her date and furiously started to clean the apartment while I packed the rest of my stuff.   The date was scheduled for 1:00 so I was in a rush to get most of it done by then.  Before I knew it the time was 1:00 and I still had no makeup on and I looked like a scrounge and Joshua was calling me to see where my apartment was.  Most people had a hard time finding my apartment so I wasn't very surprised, especially since he wasn't very familiar with the area as it was.  He did find it but when he got there Miranda and I needed to move some stuff to the storage unit.  Joshua was very polite and offered to help us, and us being very smart girls took him up on it. 

We were back to the apartment soon and Joshua opened the door for me to get into his big white suburban.  As soon as he got in I apologized about how I looked because I’d never been so dressed down for a date, much less a FIRST date.  He looked at me and said very sincerely, “What are you talking about, you look fine!”  I thought he must be lying or he was just a very nice boy.   We spent some time talking about where to go and I was impressed when he said that he’d asked quite a few people where the good places were in Rexburg.  We finally decided to try Gator Jacks and were on our way.  We got there and it was pretty good and we had a good time just talking some more and enjoying our food.  I still remember him getting 2 straws for his soda, telling me he didn't know why he liked it but he did.  It was fun but a typical first date experience – a bit awkward as we tried getting to know each other.   Joshua was very much into rock climbing and I remember him talking about it a lot and trying to explain different things about holds, ropes, and belay devices.  I was impressed but at the same time concerned because I didn’t know if I liked or would like that sort of thing.   Randomly he said, “So, you got off your mission a year and a half ago right?”  I told him I had and he replied, “So, I figure you’re either 24 or 25 is that right?”  I smiled a bit and said, “Yeah I’m 25.”  He just nodded and said, “Huh, that’s not too bad.”  I had heard that line many times by different boys but from him I was surprised by the sincerity in the way he said that.  It also surprised me that he would take the time to try to figure out how old I actually was and not minding that I was a bit older than he was. 

True to his word he took me back an hour later to finish packing and cleaning.  He came up to my apartment for a bit and offered to help us finish.  We told him it was okay and then he made the 45 minute drive back to Firth.  I am still amazed that he would drive all that way just to take me out on a date that lasted an hour.  I did feel really bad about how dressed down I was and was convinced that was the end of that.  To be honest I didn't think much of the date and didn't think he’d try to contact me after that.  Boy…was I ever wrong.

To be continued... :)