I’ve been dying to post about my recent date with Justin #2!  Things were crazy with work this past week—I had to go on an unexpected business trip—and they’re just now settling down enough for me to write this.

Anyway, I had my first date with Justin #2 last Saturday. I’ll try to give an accurate rundown of events, but the whole experience is kind of a blur.  We planned to meet around 2 to grab coffee, so I naturally assumed I’d be back home by 5 tops. None of my other dates so far have lasted over two hours, and even THAT can feel like an eternity. But what was supposed to be a quick coffee somehow turned into—well you’ll see….

The date started out like any other, very casual. We met outside the Starbucks near my apartment. As I crossed the street and spotted him in front of the shop leaning against a parking meter, I felt instant relief to see that he actually looks like his pictures. He’s not my usual type—tall and dark—but is attractive nonetheless, despite his slicked back hair.  I’m not normally a fan of the greaser look but he somehow pulls it off. After exchanging hellos, we entered Starbucks to get a little mid-afternoon pick-me-up.  Since it was a beautiful fall day and Central Park was only steps away, we decided to take our coffee to the park and walk around. Conversation seemed to flow pretty naturally as we discussed our backgrounds, the awesomeness of Target, and our love of the film Cinema Paradiso. We were totally on the same page! After a couple hours of talking and with our coffee long gone, Justin suggested we get a real drink.  I don’t usually imbibe in the middle of the afternoon but I was actually enjoying the conversation (and how often has that happened recently?!) so I agreed.

Over beers at a local pub, we carried on two more hours of semi-stimulating conversation before Justin proposed we get dinner.  I hesitated at first because, let’s face it, that kind of persistence from a total stranger is a little weird.  But since I couldn’t think of a good reason not to—after all, I’m trying to follow everyone’s advice and live more in the moment—I figured, “what the hell?”  So we headed out to find a restaurant.  We settled on an Italian place, pretty new to my neighborhood.  It was still early for dinner in the city so the restaurant was nearly deserted, but I hardly noticed.  I was too focused on trying to decipher my date.

I kept waiting for Justin to reveal some terrible flaw. He had to be an ex-convict, a former drug addict, or freshly released from a mental institution, but no skeletons emerged.  A bottle of wine, a plate of pasta and a tiramisu later, the check finally arrived.  Fully expecting to call it a night, I began contemplating what I should say to avoid the end-of-date awkwardness likely to ensue, but before I could formulate my thoughts, Justin asked if I was up for seeing a movie.  After pondering it for a minute and acting on yet another rare moment of spontaneity, I figured I really had nothing to lose, so I said yes.

Our movie of choice didn’t begin for a while so we stopped by another bar to kill some time.  It amazed me that we still hadn’t run out of things to talk about.  After another beer for him and water for me (the last thing I needed was to be drunk at the movies) we made our way to the theater.  I was curious to see whether Justin would try anything in the dark—it was the perfect locale if that’s what he was after—but he was a complete gentleman. By the time the movie ended it was nearly 1am and I worried that my roommate might think I was lying in a ditch somewhere, so we finally ended the evening and said our goodbyes.  Justin gave me a quick peck on the lips and said he’d call me. I climbed into a cab, my head spinning with thoughts about the whirlwind date I’d just experienced.

Sure enough, as I sat at brunch the next day, completely immersed in my banana stuffed French toast, I noticed a missed call.  It was from Justin.  He called to invite me to stop by his place because he and a friend were there watching a game.  Let me just stop for a minute and say that a guy calling—not texting—less than 24 hours after a date is completely unheard of in my world of dating, and pretty damn refreshing.  I figured if he didn’t feel weird about calling me so soon, I shouldn’t feel weird about going to see him. So later in the afternoon I dropped by for a couple hours and hung out with him and his friend.  I think it went well. Seeing Justin outside of a date setting, in the comfort of his own home—which is spotless and super nice by the way—affirmed my positive assessment of him from the first night.  When I left he thanked me for stopping by and we made tentative plans to get together again soon.

You can imagine my surprise then to hear from him again Sunday night, not once but twice! The first time he called to say that he didn’t have to work as he originally thought and was wondering if I wanted to come over.  (God this guy must be really into me!) I turned him down, since I was tired and had things to do before the start of another grueling workweek (plus, being a little elusive is never a bad thing), but I have to say it’s flattering that he wants to see so much of me. A couple hours later he called AGAIN, this time just to chat. Because of my work trip and the fact that he’s out of town this weekend, I haven’t been able to see him again yet, but we’re supposed to get together this week. I think this guy might be a keeper! So far he’s doing all the right things. Can he be for real? Does it all seem a little too easy? I don’t want to get my hopes up but I have a really good feeling. Can’t wait to see him again!