Gotta Be Starting Something

Yesterday, was an eventful day of closing chapters and beginning new ones. It started off with a very quick but cute lunch with my RISD clan at a pizza joint in Midtown. It felt very Sex and the City. We wanted each other's company so bad, that even a mere 45 minutes of girl talk over pizza would do. Anything to escape the mundane lifestyle of the office and just to be amongst familiar people that I actually love has become a necessity for me. We all tried to catch up on our lives, July 4th plans, new business proposition, who is working where now, love interests etc. It disappoints me that we have to seriously plan a get together in our adult lives and it's not as easy as it once was just to stop by their room two floors above me and give a shout whenever I felt like it. I miss those days, but I'm also quite proud to feel that everyone is attempting to maintain a relationship even if we are growing in different directions and at different speeds.

After my speed lunch with my friends from college, I met up with my friend Elizabeth Kennedy who is going to have her own couture fashion line one day. Liz has just wrapped up her 7 year life in NYC, from Parsons to Isaac Mizrahi, and decided to venture off into the world of Hollywood working for Roberto Rodriguez. Liz and I have been working on our friendship here and there, but we're so much alike in our ways, that it was hard for us to get out of our shells. So, like many other friends I've shipped off to new chapters in life, I was happy to wave my "see ya laters" and "you'll do great" as she set forth into a completely different lifestyle and environment than she has ever known. She's going to change and evolve so much and it will be interesting to watch how her fashion vision and inspirations adapt with her new surroundings.

But, of all this excitement with my friends and their new career paths, all I can seem to think about or focus on is that fact that I am ready and maybe even in need of a healthy relationship. Which is why I've begun the adult adventure of mingling and trying to meet respectable and fun men. I have always been rather shy, but passionate in the love department, and I'm trying to break out of that shyness and just have a good time, while keeping an eye out for a real man.

So, last night I went on a date. Well, actually I've worded it to my friends as a "get together or hanging out" as not to put the pressure of "date" on myself or him. I didn't necessarily want to be overly sexy or funny or impressive, I just wanted to be my natural self and let that be good enough. Mike is his name. He looks like your average, "WASP" (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) as my friend Liz put it, which according the the Urban Dictionary means "powerful, rich, white, and preppy". However, he strikes me as more than what meets the eye. I met him at a very hip NYC pool party at the Thompson LES Hotel. I was weirded out by how trendy everyone was, and he was relaxing by the pool side with me, when I managed to strike a conversation after a drink.
We kind of just hit it off...easy conversation, nice guy, athletic, works in finance. He was impressive to say the least, me...not so much. I was obviously very oblivious to what I was doing with my life and where I was going, but that fact that I could laugh at life and uncertainty, is probably what connected us. So he gets my number and sends me a text referring to himself as "Debonair Dreamboat Mike" which in my opinion is incredibly clever and unforgettable...what girl doesn't want a Debonair Man with a Dreamboat?

So we meet up at Olives at The W on Park Ave. I circled the block a few times, I didn't want to be super early and feel like I didn't have a life, but I didn't want to be even a little late and seem careless...so I arrived five minutes after our meeting time. I walked in to what seemed like the fancy button up colony of men and women. Professional people come out to mingle and drink Blue Moons and Cosmos. And there was Mike, eager and attentive, as soon as I walked around the bar, basking in the sunlight, he jumped to his feet, walked over, kissed me on my cheek and told me I looked pretty. At this point, I'm kind of feeling like I'm in a movie, and maturing, because I felt confident, even though I was nervous, I was feeling something that I wasn't afraid of. I slurred my words a bit, stuttered and stammered, which I hadn't planned on....lol. In my head, I was going to be perfectly articulate and sound exquisitely intelligent and classy and spirited and all those things I want to be, but soon enough I gave up and just relaxed, and he made me feel comfortable enough to do so.

There was never a dull moment. We talked about we who were growing up, in college, interests, family, politics, friends, aspirations, food, sports. It was stimulating. I told him I sometimes get bored easily and I noticed him being conscious of keeping my attention....sweet things that made me feel like he cared. So after one bar and a recommended squash pizza by the bartender, we went to another bar, called The Underground, more intimate and secluded, romantic. The drink list was especially long and overwhelming (I hate when there is too much to choose from) so, I sat there undecided, maybe purposely undecided because I like a man who can make decisions. After 2 minutes of sifting through the list and asking a newish bartender "what's good here?", Mike decided that between the Guava Margarita, Cosmo, and other billions of drinks to choose from, that the two of us would have the "Pure Silk" drink. I'm learning more and more about alcohol everyday, but for me, just like judging a book by it's cover, I was completely sold of the idea of have a "Pure Silk" drink. Something smooth, luxurious, and sexy....right up my alley. The drink was exactly that as well. So Mike and I have similar tastes in class.

We sat in a closed off booth and started to discuss past relationships. He's never been in love in all his 26 years. And I'm a little jaded from past heartbreak from an older NASA guy I used to date. The entire time during the conversation of love, our body language was quite protected. We both had our arms crossed, he sat in the corner as if almost afraid of something, I took my hair out of my ponytail in an attempt to be attractive in the dim lighting and seem inviting. We relaxed and chilled, until his next idea came to go to the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park.

We walked up uptown and by now we were feeling the drinks, so we were letting loose a bit, having fun, being silly, and I never felt stupid. He has a corny side, which I find endearing, but not too corny where it's irritating. We stood in a massive line to to grab a simple vanilla shake and somewhere along the way, we caught eyes, and before I know it he grabs a hold of me, with quite a passion and holds me close. It's been quite sometime since I've felt this kind of warmth and comfort. I didn't feel self conscious, or taken advantage of, I felt simply put, GOOD. We held on to each other until we let go and grabbed our shake. I pay attention to the details, and I wasn't quite sure if I was ready to go with one straw to share or two straws to be considerate of each other's health and comfort....so I picked two straws just to be polite.
We walked away from the crowd and sat on a bench in the park and watched couples walk by and people walk there dogs. I didn't feel the pressure or need to talk, I don't think he did either, I was really just comfortable and at peace where I was. I was staring off into something, as I so often do, when he said "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." I said, when his question turned into me looking at him and him inching in slowly but confidently for a kiss. WHEW!!!!
He is certainly a man who keeps you on your toes. Quick, yes....I'm not really one to kiss on the first date, but spontaneous which I loved. I would have been thoroughly disappointed if he was a bad kisser, but he was wasn't!!! It was delicate, sensual, sweet, and delicious between our vanilla milkshake. After our 5 second kiss fest, he followed up with a neck rub and played in my hair, all of which took me by storm, and I was feeling quite hot by this point. I felt my horny hungry demon coming out the cave, as I tried to desperately to pack her back in, yelling at myself about composure and being a lady. I felt rejuvenated....in "that" department. He came in a few times more for a kiss, he started getting heavy, and we kind of pulled back. He wanted to know what was next(which basically means, bar? your place or mine?)...and I was feeling quite dizzy and airheady with emotion. Until I told him that, I wasn't going back to his place and he has to work early the next day, (me trying to be responsible and take things slow). He asked if he could see me again. I said of course. So, he agreed, and walked me to the train station. Even though, we kissed, I wasn't sure if we were ready for hand holding or hugging even more, personally I would have preferred taken it a little slower, but I also like how quick and spur of the moment he is. So...we told each other we had a great time and kissed on the cheek goodbye.

All in all, I had a great time. Just getting back out in the scene, has made me feel my age again, and not the granny version of myself I always seem to fall into from time to time. Mike was good company, and a felt something with him. I'd like to get to know him more and not think about the typical bullshit that comes with dating in NYC. I hope he calls, but if not, it's okay, because this morning I woke up with a fresher more renewed sense of self and I'm grateful to have spent a great evening with a pretty cool guy if only for one night.

Mike: Confident, Fun, Leader (he used to be president of his class in school), loveable, knows the value of a dollar, great body, stylish, likes to look good, attentive, believes in preparation, values family, knows nothing about art but is interested in it and has a sister as an artist, loves kids,
romantic.

I should have asked him about his negative qualities. That's for our next date.

Also, I want to start reading the Twilight books to see what all the fuss is about

Side Note: I woke up yesterday to six gunshots in Brooklyn right on my block. Apparently, some crazy man just let some off. I'm not sure of anyone got hurt, but sadly this has kind of become typical in NYC. You're always around a frenzy of something. Gotta look for a new place now...lol.