Erin in Love (Part Twenty-Three)

Okay, so I had just said "okay" to Matt asking (well, sort of) me again if I would date him. Now that the moment was past, what was I supposed to do now?

I glanced over at Matt (because the entire time we were having that conversation my eyes were glued to the floor) and he was grinning. Then he said, "Okay, then. Well, where do you want to go on our first date?"

I looked at the clock and it was midnight. Heidi and Jason were asleep in my room, Rosey (my roommate) was asleep in hers and we were going to go on a date?

"Well, there's not a lot around here that's open right now, but there's a Steak 'N Shake close by. They're open 24 hours. Do you want to go there and have some coffee?"

"Sure, let's go!"

So, I ran upstairs and felt like such a heel for doing so, but I knocked quietly on the door and went in to get my tennis shoes. Heidi looked at me and asked if everything was alright and I said, yes, that we were going on a date. She just said, "I knew it!" :)

Still feeling like this wasn't all that real, we hopped in my car and went and had coffee and spent a couple of hours talking and going over things that had happened and misunderstandings and had a great time. But when we got home, I still felt unsettled and unsure of what exactly was going on now that we had agreed to date. I mean, was he my boyfriend? Were we going to be seeing other people? What was really going on?

I said goodnight, and went to sleep on the couch in the basement....the last thought that went through my head was, "Do I have a boyfriend now?"

The next day was the movie showing, and so there wasn't a whole lot of time or opportunities for us to talk. It wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be, but after we went to lunch and got back to my apartment before they needed to leave, the perfect chance came up when Matt asked if I wanted to go on a walk.

We didn't say much on the walk at first; I think both of us were pretty content to just be quiet, but then I couldn't take it anymore and blurted out, "Okay, so what happens now?"

He didn't seem surprised by the question and answered, "Well, we're dating. So, I'll come down and visit you, and you can come visit me and we'll spend time together."

"Okay, I get that, but what ARE we? Are we boyfriend/girlfriend? Are we dating? Are you going to be seeing other girls? I need clarification. I mean, we've known each other 5 1/2 years now....it seems a bit silly to me to say that we're dating."

"Do you want to see other people?"

"No. Do you?"

"No."

"Sooooo.....you're my boyfriend, then. And we're not going to see other people. So, we're not simply dating. We're in a relationship."

"I guess so. Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah. Are YOU?"

"Yeah. I mean, that's what I thought we were doing, but I think it's good that we talked about it."



A couple of hours later, he and Heidi and Jason were getting ready to leave (I had a house-sitting obligation starting that evening and needed to get going myself.) and as I walked them out to the car to say goodbye, I started getting nervous. Was he going to kiss me? Do nothing? Should I do something? Hug him? Shake his hand? (Remember, Matt and I had essentially NO physical contact in the entire course of our friendship, save the one evening of the Jazz-a-thon.)

"Well, I guess I'll talk to you when you get back, huh?"

"Yeah, I'll call you sometime tonight."

"Okay, then. Well, thanks for coming down. 'Bye."

"'Bye."

We just stood there looking at each other and then he reached out his arm, grabbed mine and pulled me to him......

And gave me the sweetest hug ever.


Blessings and love,
Erin

(No, he didn't kiss me then....that would come later....)