The Trials And Tribulations Of Online Dating

[no-named-dating]

Date 10 (despite having more than 9 dates prior...)

Whoo hoo! For our tenth date, I booked L a surprise stay at Hazlewood Castle, because she loves looking round castles, and I figured what’s better than looking round one? Staying in one!

She had no idea what we were doing until we got up to the gates and then she didn’t show much excitement till we actually got in and had a look round, then she was super happy.

I also got her some of her favourite chocolate bars and treated her with Doctor Who Fluxx, because she loves Dr Who and collects the Fluxx games, so it was a no brainer. 😊

We went for dinner at an Italian place in the next town, and then came back and played some games on the bed before settling down with a cuppa. I also asked if she’d like to make things official between us, and she said yes, so hooray! I’m in another relationship! 😁 Hopefully this one lasts a bit longer than the previous one!

[no-named-dating]

When your date ends up with you both cuddled up on the sofa, watching Jaws whilst wearing shark slippers, you know you’re on to a good one!

[no-named-dating]

We decided to open our Valentines Cards this morning seeing as we won’t be with each other on the actual day. She got me a shark one!! 😁

[no-named-dating]

Not a massive Valentines person, but this card is brilliant, so I had to get it! 😁

[no-named-dating]

Not Me, You

So for L’s birthday I’m taking her to a castle and I’ve also got her Doctor Who Fluxx (She seems to collect the Fluxx games!) and a bar of Meringue and Lemon chocolate bar because she sent a photo of it on the website and got excited.

However, last night she surprised me with some bits, and one of them was that chocolate bar. I was a tad confused and asked her why she didn’t keep it for herself. She replied it was because she knew I’d enjoy it. I was confused though, why did she send me that photo if she wasn’t keen on it? Turns out she was getting excited FOR ME because she knew I’d like it. She apparently isn’t that fond of lemon in chocolate.

DOH!

The most frustrating part is that I wrapped it all up yesterday using my last bit of wrapping paper!! Ha ha! 

[no-named-dating]

Meeting The Girls

Well, it was interesting date last night. I finally was introduced to L’s two kids. They were absolutely adorable! I got there when they were supposed to be getting ready for bed, but L let them stay up and say hello.

They were showing me all their toys and the big dolls house in their room. Then all 4 of us sat together and read a book about a snail and a whale. Then L had to go and make some milk, so she left me with them and we all sat down and read their book about a dragon called Zog. They’re so sweet, and we said we’d do a puzzle together next time I see them.

Then they had to actually be put to bed, which didn’t go too well, but eventually they settled down so me and L could have some time together. She cooked me some really tasty pasta, and then we watched a film called Troll Hunter, which was a bit random but quite interesting. No idea what she’s going to think when I finally introduce her to Sharknado! 😂

Next date we’re going to go see a comedian and going out for a curry! Already looking forward to it, and to the next time I get to see her kids. 😊

[no-named-dating]

Trombone Witnessing

This weekend me and L spent the longest time together so far, and it all started off with a trombone.

After my friend had set off in the morning, I set off to L’s house and said I’d stop in on her rehearsal for her band. She’s a trombonist/tromboner (Simpson ref) and although i’d heard some of her videos she sent me, I hadn’t had a chance to hear her live. Despite it being a practise, it was great to sit and listen to her playing, along with the rest of her band.

We headed back to hers, and then I had the rather daunting task of going to visit her family for the first time. Well, sort of. It was her cousin’s 18th birthday, and they had hired a social club for the afternoon, and she said we would pop in. Turns out we literally popped in, as I got to have a cup of tea before she whisked us out of there. I think the fact that her parents came earlier than she thought, so they saw us together may have pushed her to get us out sooner than planned. :p I thought her folks were really nice from the brief 2 minutes I got with them, but I’m sure I’ll have a proper introduction another time.

We then set off to the Royal Armouries in Leeds. I do like a good museum, and I really enjoyed wandering around with her, but from my perspective, there wasn’t enough “big texts” to read. I prefer to have a display with a large(ish) chunk of text to digest, and some bits round each side of it. This place has TONNES of weaponry, and each one has a sentence to go with it. It just didn’t feel right to me, but that said it was really interesting and we both had a good time.

Next up, we set off out to a Mexican place called Pinche Pinche which was AMAZING! We shared a starter, and then had tapas which included a brilliant burrito, followed by my favourite mexican dessert, churros. :)

We just had such a great time together, and I really enjoy her company. I’ve decided to keep my castle plan for the weekend after her birthday, I’m just going to call up and see if I can get us a room in the actual castle,,, 

[no-named-dating]

Quesadillas, Castles and Musicals, Oh My!

So Date 5 was a pretty good date!

She came over on Saturday after band practice so I did us both quesadillas for lunch, whilst we caught up and chatted.

I then drove us up to a nearby castle to go and have a wander around, because I knew she likes castles. 😊 Id actually already been to this one, but it was a fair few years ago, and couldn’t really remember much. We had a really good time, a fair few laughs, lots of smiles, hand holding and thinking how cool it would be to live in a castle! (With a moat!)

We had some time to kill afterwards, so we went in to a little cofffee shop for a drink and sit down out of the rain. We discussed families, jobs, the kids and lots of other things. Then we went out to the restaurant where I’d got the staff to put a little Rebel Alliance flag on our table! 😂 I said that we were having a meeting about the Death Star plans. She said she found it quite funny. The food was amazing as always and we just about managed to cram in some dessert!

Then we came back to mine to watch West Side Story, because I hadn’t seen it. (The proviso being that she’d watch a shark film with me one day.) It was great to snuggle up to her on the sofa, and we also had the cat join us as well! In the morning we stayed in bed till the last possible moment, and when we did get up I made us bacon sandwiches to keep us going.

Date 6 is Friday, and I was already excited on Sunday after Date 5!!

[no-named-dating]

“I Like You Too”

Yesterdays date was a bedroom date. Aside from the obviousness of what that involves, we’ve both been pretty knackered recently and literally just wanted to chill together and sleep, so we had an evening in. 

I finished work a bit early so I could go and get my hair cut (Nothing beats having a girl run her fingers through hair!) and have a quick shower before hading on over, via the shop to get her some flowers. :)

I just about managed to remember where she lived, with a touch of help from GoogleMaps! She was a bit surprised with the flowers, but was really happy when I showed them to her. After last weeks “cheek-kiss-gate” I didn’t want to give the wrong impression again, so I immediately went up to her and embraced her in my arms, and kissed her, and thankfully she kissed me back without turning her head his time. :p We made our way to the  kitchen where she cooked a pretty yummy curry! We talked a lot afterwards, and then sat in the living room for a bit, before both just feeling pretty tired and saying we should just go to bed.

Other stuff happened before we settled down, but oh my god she is just SO good to cuddle up to in bed. Not dissing my ex, but she wasn’t a big cuddle person, which I didn’t think I was that fussed about, but now I’ve met L and seen how much she likes a cuddle, I’ve realised just how much I missed it! Bed-fun was interspersed with lots of talking about all manner of things. At one point she even went downstairs and brought up some (rather yummy) chocolate for us both to nibble on.

This morning we both said how much we enjoyed just being with each other, and how much we enjoyed just relaxing and doing nothing. I think we both said that that was the longest amount of time we’d spent in bed with someone else before, but we really liked it.

Due to previous arrangements, it turns out that what will be Date 10, will be the closest date we will see each other to her birthday, so I’m planning on asking her out then. :) (I’m fairly sure this is just a practicality, and she’ll say yes, but still, it’s going to be nerve wracking!)

[no-named-dating]

“I wanted to hold your hand earlier but I was nervous”

I swear I’m just going to title these with one quote we said in our date!

So, date 3! We decided to go and see Star Wars despite both of us seeing it beforehand, (I saw it at midnight on release, and she saw it on the friday) but we really wanted to watch it again! I was really excited to see her again, I hadn’t seen her in over 2 weeks (however we did facetime on my birthday! Best birthday gift IMO) and couldn’t wait to rush up to her and kiss her.

I arrived at the station, getting all excited. Briskly made my way out through the ticket barrier to find her, came up to her smiling like a loon, grabbed her in my arms and went to kiss her.... and she turned her head so I ended up kissing her cheek! :O It through me, I thought we were the sort of people that kissed now? Maybe I got it wrong. So I instantly went back to keeping myself to myself, and just chatted and walked with her to the cinema.

We took our seats, and I’d got us tickets to the Everyman so we had a sofa to ourselves. But I didn’t think she wanted to cuddle up, or anything so I just put my coat on my lap and had my hands on top. Then about halfway through the film, she grabs my hand to hold! I’m like, what? Lol. 

Later on in the evening we were chatting and she said that she wanted to hold my hand earlier but she was nervous? She wasn’t too sure if I was still interested. I replied, I was nervous because when I went to kiss you, you moved so I ended up kissing your cheek, and I thought you weren’t interested in me! She laughed and did a sort of facepalm and said she’s really bad at reading people! :p

Anyway, I did her an amazing chilli for dinner, and we had some cookies that she made for dessert. We played some games, and did a lot of talking. We’ve booked in the next 2 dates already! :D She also broached the subject of when do we stop calling them dates and “become something else”, so I’m glad that we’re on the same wavelength, but I want to be the one that asks her to take the next step, so I’ve said that I’ll ask her soon. :) I kind of want to wait till her birthday, as it’s not far away, as then I thought I could give her me as a present. :p I dunno, I want to make it sort of a special moment, without going over the top, so i need to have a think.

But yeah, another successful date, I still really like her and fancy the pants off her, and I’m already looking forward to the next date! :D

[no-named-dating]

“I’m Glad You Missed The Bus”

Well, my second date with L was absolutely amazing, and I’m so glad everything happened how it did.

So I arrived at the bus stop, and she met me there to walk with me to hers. She has a really nice house, albeit some of the rooms she’s wanting to re-decorate. We went to pick some games from her room, and grabbed a drink before setting up in the living room to play Rescue Polar Bears. We had a good game, despite losing, and then she made a start on dinner which she had termed “second date pasta” (tagliatelle, courgette and sausage! Excellent choice!) and we sat together eating dinner and generally chatting about everything.

We then decided to play something else, so she taught me how to play Killer Bunnies and quest for the Magic Carrot, which was quite good fun, but I had abysmal card luck! We’d been enjoying the evening, and she asked what time my bus was, so I checked and realised it was fairly soon, so I got all my stuff sorted to leave, and she said she’d walk with me to the stop, as it’s in a different place. I figured, this time I’d ask her how she wanted to say goodbye, rather than the awkwardness of last time! Plus I wanted to give her the little gift, so I’d do it at the bus stop.

However, as we walked round the corner, we saw the bus heading off early!! I checked my app, and I could take a bus and a train, but it’d be nearly two hours due to the time. I said I’d be happy to take an Uber, but she said not to and despite it being Date 2, I could crash round hers. I was happy to not have to spend extra time or money heading home, plus it meant getting to be with her for longer, so I was more than happy for that.

We walked back to hers, and proceeded to play more games, listen to more music and chat loads till the early hours of the morning, when we both thought we should get some sleep. We were just laying in bed together, talking and facing one another. I was giving her space, but she seemed to take offence, and made a comment that I was leaning back away from her? I felt bad, that was definitely not the impression I wanted to give her, so I jokingly moved right up to her. We were practically nose to nose. I just looked at her and smiled. I moved my hand under the duvet and it brushed hers, and we both instinctively grabbed on to the others hand. 

She had such soft hands (something I’d noticed earlier, much to my delight. I do like nice hands!) and I felt like I needed to do/say something to her, and I was about to start saying that I quite liked her, but her desire to beat her nerves took over, and she kissed me! I was caught a little off-guard, as I wasn’t sure she actually liked me (despite the obvious hand holding!) but was so glad she did! For some reason she apologised and said she felt she needed to do that. I said that she didn’t need to apologise, and I’ll do it to her so that we were even, and then kissed her back.

Then followed a lot of kissing, smiling, nose touching and cuddling, and OH MY GOD WAS IT GOOD!! Like seriously, it was amazing! I just felt such..desire and closeness to her. I felt like there was nothing else that mattered at all, just me and her. I haven’t felt like that with someone for a long time. I don’t think I ever felt like that with E, and never with any of my other dates. I’m almost a little worried, I mean this isn’t a normal thing, right? Am I going overboard with my emotions? Do I need a reality check? All I know is that I had such an incredible night that night, and I keep replaying it over in my head, re-enjoying every moment, re-living the nervousness and then relief and realisation that she liked me.

In the morning, I gave her the gift (a Lego Star Wars Han Solo keyring, because Han Solo is her favourite character, and she’s played all the Lego Star Wars games) which she decided to open there and then (It wasn’t even Christmas!) and said it was a really thoughtful gift. :) She gave me a lift to the bus stop before she headed off to her band practice, and we kissed goodbye in the car. 

I’m trying hard to keep emotions in check, but I’m really really fond of her...

[no-named-dating]

About to head off out for date 2 with L. We’ve been in touch a lot since our last meeting and I’ve started getting this warm feeling everytime I see her name on my phone.

I’m trying not to look too much in to it, as I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I’m finding I think about her more and more now.

Yesterday I set to making a batch of brownies to bring tonight, as she’s cooking us both dinner. (I know! Second date and it’s boardgames and food! I’m in heaven. 😋) I also bought her a little Star Wars keyring, because we’re both excited about the new film and she said her favourite character was Han Solo. It’s just a little present for Christmas as I don’t usually buy gifts. 🎄

I’m currently on the bus which is weird, I very rarely take the bus. But things seem to be going ok, but my stomach is doing jumps abound. Think it’s a bit of nerves. Need to keep calm and focused...

[no-named-dating]

Beer And Boardgames

Tonight I went on a date with a girl and we had a boardgame date! 😁

We met at the station (after a lot of faffing with the trains being cancelled on my side) and walked up to the top of town to try and find a quiet bar. (Notice the mistake of finding a quiet bar on a Saturday night!)

We found somewhere fairly quiet and just had a chat about various things before breaking out some boardgames. She taught me 2 new ones and I taught her one, and we both got on quite well. 😊

We share similar taste in films, but not really music. We did both laugh quite a bit though, and I felt relaxed around her.

I struggled to read her though, and when it came to saying bye, it was a bit... not awkward but definitely not natural. She was the one who said if we should meet again though, so I’m fairly sure she’s interested, but who knows! 🤷‍♂️

[no-named-dating]

Becoming Real

Up till now, whenever I’ve mentioned E to my friends it’s just always been “someone I’m dating” so to speak, but this weekend has made it seem much more real.

She came round on Friday evening for dinner and she said she was happy to help me do some of my miniature painting. (Yeah I know, I take ages doing them!!) we’ve been together from then till Sunday morning, and it’s felt the most natural thing ever.

We’ve watched The Living Daylights, cooked together, played bird games together, went for a walk, she met my housemate, we played the Lego Star Wars game together, it’s been great! 😊

We also had a chat about what we’re looking for, and thankfully she’s not looking for kids either, and she wants a wedding but not an elaborate one.

We even ended up putting up some IKEA furniture together, and there wasn’t an argument! 😂

Things are going well, so I’m just going to be posting on my main blog, seeing as I’m just being with her from now on. 😊

[no-named-dating]

Well that feels good.

Me and E have decided to become exclusive, and I couldn’t be happier. 😊

Date 5 was spent with takeaway pizza, a boardgame and the film Bad Boys. (Again, taking another reference from Hot Fuzz, but we decided we should watch the first one first.)

It was such a fun night, I always seem to forget how much she makes me smile. 😁 Trouble is I’m off to jersey soon, so won’t be able to see her for 10 days. 😓 At least we have WhatsApp!

[no-named-dating]

Point Break

Date 4!

It was round to hers after work for some dinner, cake, boardgames and a film.

I brought round the caterpillar cake, which she found quite funny (not as hysterical as I found it though!) along with Point Break and 2 boardgames.

She had done a chilli, which was really tasty! 😋We just caught up over dinner, the subject of our past relationships came up as well, along with other bits.

Then we played a boardgame, she picked Pandemic, which was a good choice as it’s very similar to Forbidden Island that we played last time. She picked it up fairly quickly, and we won together. 😊

Then we had some cake and sat on her bench outside, trying to cool off, but in this heat we just got more stuffy, so after a quick tour of her amazingly cool house (she has an awesome attic!) we sat down and snuggled up to watch Point Break. It’s the film referenced in Hot Fuzz, so since we watched that last date, we said we’d do it again this time. It was a good film, very typical of that era, but we both enjoyed it.

So we’ve arranged to meet again next week before I go away on holiday, and both looking forward to it. 😁

[no-named-dating]

Date: Cool, well I’ll cook and you can bring dessert!

Me: