Long Distance Part 1 - Introduction and First Date

I wanted to record my thoughts so I can remember my relationship fondly. This is a record of our time together, in parts.

Part 1

Introduction and First Date

 

All things end, more often than not we are not able to look back and appreciate the moments with the reverence they deserve. This story is my way of remembering, remembering the good times, remembering her. My own insecurities and lack of action cost me someone who I treasured dearly. I want to remember our time together fondly, because she was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant life. We ultimately didn’t work out as you might imagine from the start of this. But this is for her, and for myself as my way of understanding where we drifted apart and eventually ended our relationship.

 

Our story begins in the fall of 2016, September to be exact. The leaves were falling, the weather was beautiful, and a lonely red head was looking for love. Jeff was tired of being single. He has worn that hat for far too long. Tired of always being the third wheel, never having anyone when all his friends were a couple. Seeing them happy silently killed him inside. He justified being single for so long due to work. I’ll be honest with you, it’s a lie. In truth Jeff wasn’t fond of who he was and that held him back from putting himself out there for others. So, when Jeff decided to try out the online scene, he was hesitant. He joined multiple sites in hopes of increasing his confidence. He joined sites like Tinder, Plenty of Fish, and Match. Most were filled with spam bots just looking to waste his time, Tinder being the worst. Jeff wasn’t a bad looking guy but some of his “matches” were not only out of his league but playing a totally different sport. It made him smile sure, but he knew it wasn’t real but it boosted his ego slightly. Match seemed like it was good but Jeff wasn’t convinced he needed to drop money to find a match. So, he fell off of that pretty quick. Plenty of Fish was the one that seemed to actually yield results for Jeff. Since you can message for free and see who looked at you, it was the one he stuck with. I have to say it was a bit of an eye-opening experience for him on Plenty of Fish. Was he actually cute? The number of people who viewed his profile, made him smile. It was strange for him to have people seem interested. Although it didn’t last, Jeff played around with the site for a couple of weeks with no real progress in the love department. He was starting to feel like giving up on the site and pursue alternate means.

Then one day it all changed. As he sat at work doing his normal day, his phone chirped. He had received a message. This was exciting because normally he was the one sending them out, to get one at random was a curious thing. Jeff grabbed his phone and checked the message, it was a simple message that just read “hi”. He clicked on the profile to see just who wrote him out of the blue. Her name was Britney and she was cute! Jeff didn’t waste time and responded to her message. He chose to write her using his slightly silly charm. If she didn’t like him for him he might as well move past her. To his surprise, she responded positively to his nonsense. The two continued to have a conversation over the next day or so. Jeff was tired of having to open the Plenty of Fish app every time to talk to Britney, so he had an idea. Since she seemed to like him, he decided to see if she would rather just text instead. She said yes! Britney gave him her number and he quickly sent her a text, he was excited. Jeff probably should have checked the number more than once, as his initial text to her of “so let’s see it!” and “this is Jeff btw” were not sent to Britney. They were sent to an older gentleman who wasn’t fond of Jeff writing him. He went back and double checked the number and resent it to the correct number. This time he had much better results. Britney sent him what would be the first of many photos of herself. Wow she is really cute he thought to himself. The two talked the rest of the day, their connection was immediate.

 

They continued to text back and forth over the next few days. The conversations were fun and flirty. They exchanged pictures, she would tell him he was handsome and he would call her beautiful. He wasn’t really sure how a girl this beautiful was talking to whatever he was, but he wasn’t going to stop it. He was happy, for the first time in a long time he was genuinely smiling. She made him feel a way about things he hadn’t experienced in ages. Jeff’s coworkers noticed a change in the way he was at work. He had a pep in his step that was undeniable. They told him that he deserved to be happy and they liked that Britney was inspiring this happiness. She was becoming special to Jeff and he hadn’t even met her in person yet. He knew he had to remedy that, sooner rather than later. Based off talking to Britney, Jeff was pretty confident if he asked her out that she would say yes. And that is just what he did, during one of their nightly talks he wrote her asking if she would like to go out sometime. She of course said yes. What Britney doesn’t know, is that when she said yes Jeff literally jumped for joy. While he assumed her answer, he was nonetheless super ecstatic to hear her say yes. The two talked about where to go, they decided on the local drive in theater. It had been a long time since Jeff was at a drive in, not since he was a kid. He jumped at the opportunity to relive the joys from the past. The night of their date was fast approaching. Jeff was obviously nervous. It was not only their first date, but the first time seeing each other in person face to face. Sure, he had seen her in pictures but it’s not the same as seeing someone right in front of you.

The night of the date was here. Jeff got off of work and when he got home the madness started! While he had been preparing himself for this night, he neglected one crucial component, what to wear. Everything else was set, the cologne, the hairstyle, the flowers for her, mints for fresh breath, and a podcast for the drive over. What to wear apparently slipped through the cracks. So, tornado Jeff tore through his closet, trying on shirt after shirt. Nothing fit right, everything made him uncomfortable. This was a disaster, and he was starting to stress over it. The simplest detail was throwing a wrench into his plan. As he sat on the edge of his bed staring at the mess of clothes left in his wake. He remembered a conversation with Britney from when they first started talking. She mentioned she loved pink. There it was, a beautiful polo shirt that was pink that had to be a sign, right? He grabbed it and put it on, it actually fit comfortably. A smile washed over him as he stared at himself in the mirror. A handsome devil, he thought to himself, she will like this. So, he got ready and headed over to see Britney for their first date.

He had a bit of a drive ahead of him as Britney lived about an hour away. Which to Jeff was no big deal, the guy had some sweet podcasts to listen to and the long drive would hopefully help calm his nerves. When he arrived in the small mountain town that Britney called home, he got super nervous excited. He was finally going to meet the girl who has for the last few weeks made him so happy. He wanted to see her, he wanted to hug her, he wanted to…ok well let’s just say he was excited to see her. She told him to meet her outside a local bank branch off of Main Street. As he was unfamiliar with the area it was an easy landmark for him to find. He indeed found the bank, he parked and took a few deep breaths. It was finally time; his heart just couldn’t rest. As he stood around the outside of his truck, he caught an angel out of his peripheral vision. He was so nervous he left the flowers he got for her in his truck. But I can’t blame him, she was a sight to behold. She was so much more beautiful in person; her pictures didn’t do her justice. Jeff was taken aback but he gathered himself, he gave her a big hug and remembered the flowers. She thankfully thought it was cute, and loved the flowers. After a bit of small talk, the two headed over to the drive in. They took Britney’s car as he didn’t know the area at all. Jeff had no idea what was even playing at the drive in, and frankly I don’t think he cared. But since I’m telling this story I’ll fill you in. It was Ghostbusters, sadly the newer remake and Star Trek Beyond. When they arrived, It was a drive in, tried and true right down to the speakers you put in your window.

It was hitting all the right notes, as they waited for nightfall the two sat and talked. They didn’t get a chance to talk too long before it was dark enough for the first movie to start. Ghostbusters was up first, neither of them seemed interested after a few minutes because they couldn’t stop talking. A little into the third act they decided they wanted something to snack on. The drive in had a nice little snack bar, that served more things than Jeff expected. They ordered some popcorn, a pretzel, and some fries. Solid snack choices you two! As they waited for the snacks Britney remarked she was chilly, so Jeff offered his coat, true gentleman style. I know it was well received because the girls working the snack bar let out an audible aww. It made Britney smile too, which was all that mattered to him. After they got their snacks, they walked back to her car. This time they decided to sit in the back seat…all right dirty birds it’s a first date! They got in the back and shared their snacks. Once the snacks were gone, Jeff tried to be smooth and get close to Britney. He was, to put it nicely, rusty. The two snuggled in the back seat, as the first movie ended. Up next was Star Trek. From the back seat, Jeff couldn’t really see the screen but honestly, he didn’t care. He could hear it so there is that. As time went on Jeff wanted to kiss her, but he has never been good at reading “signals”. It was a first date after all, do I just go for it? He thought to himself. He was still nervous so every decision was amplified in his head. At one point, not sure if sensing he wanted to or her being tired of waiting. She remarked “are you ever going to kiss me?” Jeff was caught off guard, he wanted to but he was lost in his head. He told her he would, and made some dumb remark to brush off the pressure. Eventually Britney just kissed him. He was in shock, she kissed me! He shouted internally. He couldn’t believe it, but he was happy. Not going to lie they kind of made out a good amount after that. Jeff is going to have to work on breathing through his nose! Before they knew it Star Trek was over. They had completely missed it, something Jeff was decidedly happy about. Sadly, it was getting to the end of the night and their date was going to have to come to an end. Jeff did have work in the morning after all and still had that lengthy drive home.

Britney drove them back to Jeff’s truck. Neither of them wanted the night to end. It was a wonderful night and having to say goodnight seemed like the worst. They shared a goodnight kiss, and then another one, and another one. I think you get the idea, these kids liked each other. Eventually Jeff had to pull himself away from her because he had to go. He didn’t want to but had to be a lame responsible adult after all. So, they shared one final goodnight kiss and Jeff headed home. Now I don’t know about Britney, but Jeff had a smile the entire way home. He couldn’t believe the girl he met a few weeks ago left such an impression on him. He was smitten and he didn’t care who knew it. Jeff had a thing for Britney and he wanted to let the world know. His newfound smile said more about her than his words ever could. She was special, and the way she made Jeff feel cannot be understated.

 

To be continued…

Author's Note

Review if you like, I wrote it to get some thoughts out but if you enjoy it please feel free to let me know. As always thanks for reading.