It was just another
Friday night Meetup group event. About a dozen of us were meeting up at Tradition
brewery, just a two minute walk from my apartment. I got there around 7:45.
Kevin (the well dressed Asian), Rodney (the beer aficionado who needs to go to
the dentist), and Jordan (the big boned group organizer) were already there.
A few ladies from the
group shuffled in, including one I had never seen before that caught my attention.
She appeared to be about 40 with shoulder length dark blonde hair that had been
spiral curled. She was wearing jeans, a black leather jacket, and a
multi-colored tank top that certainly showed off her impressive assets. She
would later say that she was surprised a guy like me was there and that she was
waiting for me to say something dumb or have a terrible speaking voice. She
told me her name was Jessica and after a minute of small talk, she headed over
to the bar to get a beer. I could see a guy or two trying to get her attention.
Though I talked with a few people, I had an eye always watching wear she was
going.
About 12 people came and
we moved upstairs to a communal table. I made sure to sit next to her. I was
facing a few other people who were there when I suddenly felt her soft hand gently
touch my left wrist. A shiver went through me. She had noticed my black prayer
bracelet. I had gotten it back at The Well, two years ago in Geneva. We began
discussing faith and it didn’t take us long to figure out we had a lot in common
in terms of value and beliefs. When she mentioned that values were the most important
thing in a relationship, I had a good feeling. But gosh, I couldn’t stop
staring at her chest! Hey, I am a guy, I'm a writer, I'm cursed with an eye for detail. I also found out that she had only moved to Virginia two
weeks prior, from Southern California. She didn’t have a job, but she moved
here hoping the prospects would be better. And I thought I took a big chance by
leaving my home and traveling 1,500 miles when I actually had a job lined up!
At 9:15, Jordan and I left
for our next event, karaoke at Quaker Steak and Lube, which was about ten
minutes up the road. We arrived and within a few minutes, there were about 12
of us crammed in a tiny booth. There was one guy sitting between her and I so I
mostly chatted with my friends Jon, Shawn, and Christina. I don’t remember much
about that hour except I drank a huge Yuengling and people were talking the
most useless BS imaginable; I think we were just letting out frustrations on a
Friday night.
We soon worked our way to
the ventilated side room, where the karaoke was but smoking was also allowed. Within
a few minutes, we got word about a murder that happened a few yards away from
the restaurant. Some guy just got shot in his car.
Jordan had gotten drunk
by this time, I saw him drink two flights of eight beers plus two or three 22
ouncers. I turned around and saw him trying to rub up on Jessica. I wanted to
kill him. Even though he weighs about 100 pounds more than me, and I had
considered him my friend, I would have given him my best shot.
I was ready to leave by
midnight. The singers sucked and the cigarette smoke was wearing my energy down.
I was actually the only guy in the group who had the balls to sing. Of course,
I performed a Bee Gees song, I went with Jive Talking. I said my goodbyes and
Jessica was about to leave, but I caught up with her. I promised to message her
through Meetup and she said yes. I gave her a big hug and even snuck in a quick
peck on her cheek. I said good night and went to my car feeling pretty decent.
I’ve never gotten a date out of a Meetup group before, but I had a confident feeling
I was going to talk to this girl again.
I woke up the next
morning around 8:30, feeling a little groggy after a steady stream of Yeungling.
I turned my phone on and, I had a friend request on Facebook. The first name
was Jessica. Now I didn’t know her last name and the picture didn’t look too
much like her. I started to think to myself that this just didn’t make sense. I’m
the one who’s supposed to pursue and fail miserably at it. It’s my trademark. When
I saw her Facebook address was in Costa Verde, CA, I knew it was her. She had
actually tracked me down right after we said good night.
We messaged a little bit
that day and we agreed to meet that night at City Life Church in Newport News,
near CNU. It offered a Saturday night service, and she had wanted to try it
out. I missed one turn, but she got really lost, Google sent her on a path
where she had to make four U-turns. Then, because there were four doors to get
in the building, we had trouble figuring out where the other person was. She
walked in, we gave each other a huge smile, and embraced. Her hair was straight
this time, I almost didn’t recognize her.
This church actually is
located inside a large Baptist church. The pastor came up and introduced
himself, we had a little trouble explaining how we knew each other, but it was
kind of interesting to him. The service was energetic and lively, it lasted about
90 minutes.
At 6:30, we definitely
weren’t ready to say good night. She was hungry, but I really wasn’t, so I
drove us to Bonefish. But with a 45 minute wait, we decided that wasn’t the best
idea. We then tried 1608 Craft House. With the parking lot full, I pulled in
next door to an auto parts store. I pulled onto the gravelly lot and settled right
next to a tree and behind a tractor trailer. Pretty impressive park job.
We sat at a corner table
for two at a window, which gave us a view of the dark parking lot. She ordered
a dirty martini and I went with the Dogfish Head Pennsylvania tuxedo pale ale.
For dessert, we split Bourbon barrel bread pudding with caramel and ice cream.
Cost me $32, and yes, I paid. Even though I get uneasy about paying, I know it’s
the right thing to do sometimes. It wasn’t supposed to a date, but it just
turned into one. Some of the things we talked about were politics, family,
surfing, travel, and fitness. I found out she actually had a grown son, which I
preferred, because one, he was in California, and two, she didn’t have to take
care of him 24/7. I held her hand for about 10 minutes and it felt great. What
surprised was when she told me she hadn’t been in a relationship in 13 years.
Realizing they probably
needed the table, we waked back to my car and sat inside. It was really dark,
there was just a smidgen of light coming from the lights of the restaurant and
a telephone pole. In the darkness, she could see my eyes changed and I just
laughed. I always thought I had brown eyes until another girl mentioned to me that
she thought they were hazel. I’m pretty sure that my eyes change color in
different levels of light. Sensing my opportunity, I leaned a little closer to
her. I asked if she was sure. She said yes. I leaned closer. Are you really
sure? She leaned in. Our lips touched.
We wound up fogging all
my windows at least three times. It was incredible. Her lips were amazingly
tender. She grabbed me so tight, we wanted to fall asleep together so much. We
drove back to the church lot and did it all over again. We didn’t say good
night until nearly 11 pm. The next day came and she went for a day hike. She thought
it over, and it was over. I found out that she is planning to leave Virginia by
Christmas if she doesn’t get a job.
I don’t know if I’m more angry
at her or angry at the circumstances. But now I don’t want to think of her or
even talk to her. It’s almost as if she’s looking for a reason to not get
attached to me. The circumstances make it challenging. I just wish she hadn’t
sucked me in only to hurt me less than two days later.
