Going Out On a Limb
The day of Terence's meticulously planned dinner finally arrived. Now I later learned that he can be prone to experimenting when it comes to food (sometimes with disastrous results), but for this dinner he carefully planned a normal menu that included salmon and rice pilaf. He was so anxious that it come out well that he consulted a good friend who was a chef to make sure he would be doing it right. There wasn't much he could do for the atmosphere though. We ate at his family's apartment, and there was only a tiny little alcove with a very cluttered table for us to sit at. (He did his best to clean up beforehand, but there is only so much you can do when there is a ton of stuff stored in a little area.) Still, I ignored the setting and enjoyed the food and the conversation. Both were very good-- at least I thought so. (Terence later confessed that he was horrified at how the dinner had come out, especially the salmon.)
After the dinner we took a short hiatus from seeing each other-- I went on another date with yet another different guy, and then I flew out to New York with my father for a short trip back to my mission area. When I got home, Terence and I went on our official first date (according to Terence.) I guess none of the other stuff counted as dating-- rather it was just hanging out. The plan was simple and standard: dinner and a movie. I can neither remember where we ate dinner, or the movie we saw afterward, but this date is burned into my memory because of one simple little part.
At the end of the date, while we were sitting in his pickup, Terence took a great risk for a first date. He told me that he really liked me. Really, really liked me. As in "I've never felt this way about anyone before." Sitting there listening to him bare his feelings was an electric experience.
I've had guys tell me that oh-so-cliched line about how they've never felt that way before, and you really know it's just a line. But this time with Terence, everything just breathed sincerity. The effect on me was dramatic. It sounds silly writing it down, but it was like my feelings toward him moved from friendship to romantic interest right then.
No doubt an outsider would observe that I was either desperate for any kind of attention or letting my hormones cloud my judgement, but all I can say is that in my previous wide experience with boyfriends, none of my interest had this level of peace attached.
Still, I didn't suddenly reciprocate and declare my true love for Terence. And I didn't let him kiss me either, poor boy. He was just going to have to wait for that.
After the dinner we took a short hiatus from seeing each other-- I went on another date with yet another different guy, and then I flew out to New York with my father for a short trip back to my mission area. When I got home, Terence and I went on our official first date (according to Terence.) I guess none of the other stuff counted as dating-- rather it was just hanging out. The plan was simple and standard: dinner and a movie. I can neither remember where we ate dinner, or the movie we saw afterward, but this date is burned into my memory because of one simple little part.
At the end of the date, while we were sitting in his pickup, Terence took a great risk for a first date. He told me that he really liked me. Really, really liked me. As in "I've never felt this way about anyone before." Sitting there listening to him bare his feelings was an electric experience.
I've had guys tell me that oh-so-cliched line about how they've never felt that way before, and you really know it's just a line. But this time with Terence, everything just breathed sincerity. The effect on me was dramatic. It sounds silly writing it down, but it was like my feelings toward him moved from friendship to romantic interest right then.
No doubt an outsider would observe that I was either desperate for any kind of attention or letting my hormones cloud my judgement, but all I can say is that in my previous wide experience with boyfriends, none of my interest had this level of peace attached.
Still, I didn't suddenly reciprocate and declare my true love for Terence. And I didn't let him kiss me either, poor boy. He was just going to have to wait for that.
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