Offhand Invitations

After I had been part of the singles ward crowd for about four months, Terence decided he was going to gather up his courage and attack the challenge of asking me more directly. (At least he felt it was more direct.) This oh-so-smooth move on his part was to ask me after church if I was going to the fireside that night. (A fireside is kind of a devotional meeting done at night. In a singles ward, they are another opportunity to socialize and flirt!) My innocent response, as it appeared to be just a friendly question with no hidden meanings, was to tell him that my grandmother had just passed away, and I was going to go home that evening and spend the time with my family.


To Terence this was a crushing blow. He thought I had just given him a variation of the lame "I'm washing my hair" excuse. So though I had no idea anything unusual had happened in this conversation, Terence felt that his first attempt to ask me out had been shot down in flames. So he backed off a bit (according to him-- I didn't notice any difference in his friendliness) and tried a few other dating options.


A couple of months later, he was ready to try again. Once again he went for the subtle version, but at least this time he asked me an actual question. He invited me as part of a group to come watch movies at his home. I accepted this offer, even though it was a weeknight and I usually passed on such activities. Unlike a lot of the other crowd, I had a full-time job and I had to get up by 5am. It meant a late night for me, and I don't even remember what the movie was, but I do remember enjoying the time with Terence and just feeling very comfortable around him. This was encouragement enough for Terence, who then proceeded to the next level: he asked if he could make me dinner, which I accepted. I still wasn't thinking romantically about this whole situation, but I had fun with Terence and I felt completely comfortable around him, which was more than I could say for most of the other guys I had gone out with.

In the middle of all this arranging for dinner, he asked if I went to the young single adult dances that the church put on. The answer to this was a resounding no-- and my general excuse was that I had no idea where they were held. Terence nonchalantly informed me there was one the next Friday and offered to give me a ride, if I wanted.

It was another offer I accepted. I was finally beginning to have my suspicions that Terence might be interested in me. (I guess I was a little dense. Hey, I'm not used to interpreting every little attention a guy shows me as proof that he's interested in that sense.)

The next week turned out to be a week to remember. But sorry, Kaycee, I'll have to make you wait again . . . I keep spinning these long tales that I have to break up. I'll post more as soon as I get a chance, I promise.

Comments

Abby said…
I wouldn't be too hard on yourself. If you recall, guys at BYU were doing nice stuff like that all the time, but it never EVER meant you (or me or anyone else) was on their radar for dating. And then you went from there to your mission where if a guy was interested in you he proposed marriage. Hard to miss that clue. So I think you were perfectly justified in thinking his tiny moves were nothing more than a popular guy being nice, which he most certainly was of course.
Anonymous said…
I read kaycee's blog before yours, so glad I got around to your fun reading. As I told kaycee, these are my favorite stories, and yours is especially interesting. Can't wait to hear the rest. I'll be waiting patiently! ha ha
Kaycee said…
How exciting! It's like I am reading a book, and I am done with one chapter and cant wait for the next. I love, love stories!

Popular Posts