The 6-Hour Date
I promised you details about the 6-hour date.I'm sorry this post is long...but it was a long date.
First off, keep in mind that I was with a boy I don't even know. My friend was on the date with a boy, too, and the two of them progressively started dating over the course of the night. By that, I mean they were merely sitting close to each other when the date started but were all over each other, holding hands, cuddling, etc 6 hours later. (I've been telling myself that the reason for my friend's complete and utter obliviousness to my very apparent discomfort was that she was so enmeshed in this boy of hers.)
Anyways.
My date comes and picks me up around 3:30, we go back to my friend's apartment, and then we split up into couples to go on a scavenger hunt. It was fun enough (as fun as these types of things can be) and at the end of an hour, we meet up again. I'm thinking Okay, that was fun. I'm done. I vaguely remembered Mr. Chatty, my date, mentioning something about bowling when he called me up to ask where I lived. I figured maybe we were going bowling after our little scavenger hunt and then we would be done by 6/6:30ish, leaving me free to go grocery shopping and work on my talk I was supposed to be giving in church the next day.
Oh, was I wrong.
I began to realize just what was in store for me when the three of them start talking about the "birthday party" that started at 7 and how we still have about 2 hours before that. My thought process starts getting a little panicky. BIRTHDAY PARTY?!?! At SEVEN?!?! As in I'm going to be on this date for at least 3-4 more hours?!??
I snuck off to the bathroom and sent my roommate a text that said something along the lines of, "Girl, this looks like it's going to be a marathon date. Don't expect me back anytime soon."
So we go bowling and play 2 games. (Luckily I'd had forewarning and so I was prepared with socks, because this date could have gotten a LOT worse!)
Boys of Provo take note: Bowling is really not a fun activity. Can you please pick another date idea? Thanks.
After bowling, we went out and got dinner. Because I love to eat, this may very well have been the best part of the date. It would have been better if it had been the end of the date.
At this point it's just after 7:00. My friend realizes that they didn't get the birthday boy a present, so we proceed to drive around looking for a gift. Somewhere in the midst of driving to multiple stores, she realizes that I a) don't know this kid and b) didn't really know what I was getting into when I agreed to this date and c) have gotten really quiet in the backseat as I begin to ponder the dismal future that this party seems to hold for me. She asks me, "Oh, you don't really have anything else going on tonight, do you? Because we're all friends and so we can just hang out forever...but you might have other plans."
I abstain from pointing out that I feel like I have been hanging out with them forever, but I do let her know that I "really need to get home to write my talk tonight." Since, after all, I have to give it tomorrow. And it's not written.
So we decide to just "stop by" the birthday party for a few minutes. It took almost 45 minutes to get the kid a present, so it's almost 8:00. I pray that the birthday party is winding down.
We show up at Kiawanis and to my relief, the birthday party looks like it's nearing the end. The cake's been cut, the pizza's cold, and everyone starts heading out shortly after we arrive. Yes yes yes, I think, this date is almost over.
Nope.
For some reason, I find myself sitting there for the next hour. The birthday boy, his girlfriend, birthday boy's brother and his girlfriend, my friend and her boyfriend(?)-that-wasn't-her-boyfriend-6-hours-ago all start chatting it up. So Mr. Chatty (who actually isn't that chatty) and I end up sitting there joining in the conversation, too. After all, we only drove one car over. If my friend and her boy stay, we're stuck staying as well. Luckily, the conversation was interesting enough to keep me somewhat engaged. But even then, I still had a pervasive feeling of Why am I here?!
My date confided in me that he was kind of tired and not interested in being social. I told him I was feeling the same way. We both agreed that we were ready to go, and when the bell tower chimed 9:00, I decided to use that as an excuse to get out. We stood up, everyone else stood up, we all start heading out to our cars...
...And for some reason, I'm still there 15 minutes later. My friend and her kind-of-boyfriend are still chatting it up with birthday boy and girlfriend.
Finally, my date turns to me and says, "You don't live that far from here, do you?" I shake my head. "How about I just walk you home?" I nod emphatically.
So we leave. My friend just waves. I get home at 9:35, surpassing the 6 hour mark by 5 minutes. I am so ready to just rush inside my apartment and spill the details to my awaiting roommate...but this date wasn't quite over yet.
Mr. Chatty keeps me on the doorstep for a few minutes, re-capping the date. (His favorite part was the scavenger hunt. I'm left wondering why we didn't end it there.) And then, to my utter surprise, he ends with, "I really had fun with you tonight. Would you be interested in doing something again?"
I really didn't see that coming. I was pretty sure my decreasing enthusiasm over the course of the afternoon/evening/night had been apparent and had left him uninterested. I squeaked out, "Yeah...maybe....sometime..."
And then I had to tell him it was okay for him to hug me since he just stood there staring at me.
Then, mercifully, the 6-hour excursion was over. I retreated to the safety of my own bedroom, my roommate and I took a trip to Dairy Queen, and because I didn't have the time or energy to write a whole new talk I ended up revising one I'd given before.
And the moral of this story is...
Just kidding. I'm pretty sure it's obvious.
I dare you to take a girl on a date that's only an hour long.
The Charmer
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