Match #3, Date #3

I am officially tied my longest number of consecutive dates with the same man at 3! Can I get a what what?

This date description might be a little shorter than the previous two, but it's still exciting. Ben picked me up right on time at 2:00. I was slightly frustrated with what he was wearing, not b/c he looked bad (b/c he definitely looked good), but because I had spent the entire day before talking with friends about what I should wear. We were going to go hiking so I needed to be dressed appropriately, but still maintain the cute factor. He was in a long sleeved shirt and running shorts. I was wearing my good jeans, and a short sleeved shirt under a long one (thought it was going to be chillier than it was). I would rather have been in running shorts also. And what is the point of shaving if you are going to wear pants anyway?

We parked and he took out a backpack. I had made cookies that morning and brought a few along for a little sustenance on the hike. We put those in the bag and headed off. It was kind of tricky to talk while hiking. There were a lot of people on the trail b/c it was such a nice day and I was concentrating hard on not dying. At one point we were walking on top of rocks with a drop off to the river. Not to mention crevices between many of the rocks. Ben jumped over and continued on, but I am afraid of heights and was lightly paralyzed. I called him back and he reached his hands out to me and helped me across. I told him about my fear and he said that he had the same one. He could have fooled me! We got to the highest point and decided to take a seat and rest. He pulled out water bottles for us from the backpack and also my cookies (which were fantastic, PS). We talked some and just took in the views until we decided to continue on. I needed his help a couple of times, but it was kind of fun. A couple of times he would pull me across and I would land literally against him. Once or twice my free hand would grab his arm and let me tell you, he has nice arms (swimmer).

Once we had to climb straight up the side of the mountain and he said I should go first in case there were any loose rocks. Hah! So thoughtful. I did pretty well until the top when I couldn't position my feet right to move to the next stop. He slid over and again helped me up. I was quickly regretting my decision to wear jeans. It was a lot warmer than I was anticipating, and of course we were doing some crazy physical activity. At one point we were walking and my foot slipped and landed in a crater full of old, stagnant water. I yelled the S-word which I kind of regretted b/c neither of us really use that language, but it just caught me off guard. We sat for a little bit after that, trying to cool off and rest.

We started talking about traveling, work, our shared love of James Bond, all types of things. Hiking kind of made it less of a pressure to fill in the silence, it was nice. Eventually we made it back to the footpath! We started talking about sports and he wanted to guess which two Patriots jerseys I owned. He got them both right on the 1st try. I was highly impressed. We also talked about roommates and were making jokes. I wish we could have held hands on the walk back to the car b/c it was on even ground, but we never did.

We were driving back to my place and started talking about music. I told him that my 1st CD was Wilson Phillips. He said that he couldn't tell me his b/c it was far worse. I asked if I could guess. I got it right on the 2nd try. Not too shabby I think. I won't mention it b/c it is pretty embarrassing. We got to my house and he asked me if I was free to maybe get a drink later in the week. I said definitely, just not on Tuesday. He said okay, a non-Tuesday day it is. He would call me in a couple of days to talk about day, place, time. Then he leaned in and we kissed. When we stopped he said that he would walk me to my door. While we were walking I thanked him for being so gentlemanly. And said that living with the 3 guys that I do, I really appreciate when he does all that he does. It might have been corny, but I didn't want him to think that I was ungrateful. We kissed again. A little longer and deeper than the car kiss. I was somewhat aware that it was light outside and neighbors were probably around, but I didn't care that much. The kiss ended and we said goodbye.

I walked inside ecstatic. Not only am I on my way to my 1st 4th date, but I am genuinely happy. It is so refreshing having something else to think about in my life. And something that is exciting and makes me feel good! I don't have much of that right now. And this is all new to me so it's extra special. What I also like about it all is that I am a mature adult. So even though I am excited and happy, I am able to still be calm about it when I need to be. So privately, or with friends, I may be super giddy, but I am not a 16 year old who doesn't know how to handle herself. Also, I am just taking one day at a time. I am not wondering whether or not he could be "the one" I am just enjoying each date that we have. I think that's all I can do.

Side note: both times that we made out on my front step, we stopped and he drove away no more than 2 minutes before a roommate appeared. It's actually kind of crazy and amazing that it worked out that way. I am not ready to explain this whole thing to them.