Our first date

 I bet Justin was expecting me to say, "JUST KIDDINNNNNG!" some time between finally accepting a date with him and the actual date itself. (He had tried asking me up to 3 times from October 2017 to February 2018, and I turned it down every time.)

BUT. I didn't change my mind. I agreed to go on our first 'official' date and was nervous as I'll get out. 

It was February and very, very cold outside. We went to a cafe called Shirley's to get some hot chocolate and sit by the indoor fireplace. It was about 830p, and we didn't know the cafe was about to close at 9p. 

We held our freshly poured hot chocolate close and stepped out into the numbing winter night, not sure where we would go next. Somewhere we could sit comfortably and just talk; because, despite being friends for so long, we really didn't know zipola about each other. The goal of the night was to actually learn about each other's lives. We needed to go somewhere we could do that...

We sat in the car about 3 minutes trying to figure it out & trying not to freeze out brains out until Justin announced, "I know where we can go!"

He drove for a little while & I had no idea where to.

Then he pulled into the Provo temple parking lot.

He confided, "This is where I come sometimes when I just need to get away and think."

I got even more nervous. IN FRONT OF THE TEMPLE?? No pressure. 

Of course, he didn't plan to go there originally, so it wasn't one of those creepy-dropping-you-a-hint dates. We just needed a place to go away from crowded Provo apartments and away from the winter cold, and this was the best thing we could come up with on the spot. I still tease that it was part of his evil plan all along. : P

We sat in the car and talked for about >3 hours. About our families, our careers, our goals, our values, our interests...all in pretty decent detail.

I guess I thought I would be underwhelmed by the conversation, but it was actually very eye-opening for me! I was incredibly surprised by his responses. Each topic drew out more of my curiosity because his answers were so dang spot on with my own views and opinions. -- And to think that all this time he was keeping all this juicy stuff to himself. Probably because I never took the thought to ASK about any of it!! *forehead slap*

Anyhow, his answers were so effective that I left the night feeling more enlightened than anything.

At one point while he was talking, I distinctly thought, "I would feel at peace if he wanted to kiss me right now....Holding hands would be great.....I really want to hold his hand." 

- - - - - - - - -

Quick question: HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW ME?

I NEVER WANT TO HOLD HANDS LET ALONE KISS. And not on a first date!!! I am pseudo-conservative about that sort of thing. I just am. So this thought that I wanted to be physically close to Justin was...amusing to say the least.

And, fortunately for you, we left those gestures behind for another day. No kiss. No hand-holding. Just a thoughtful hug and "goodnight" at the end of the evening.

__________________________________________________________________________________

OKAY NOW. The real reason I wanted to tell you about our first date story!!!!

The entire night, Justin had needed to urinate. I didn't know that of course! He was just being polite and holding it during the entire date. He didn't want to end the date early or interrupt our conversation to pee. 

Of course as time went on, that bladder just got fuller....and fuller. Understandably, 4 hours into our date was enough to reach the breaking point.

Justin excused himself, mentioned he needed to go, and stepped out of the car.

Our of the corner of my eye I saw him scurrying toward a 4 foot tall snow bank near the back of the parking lot.

Oh. My. 

I kept my eyes fixed on the temple directly in front of me until he re-appeared at the driver's side window.

Cold and visibly relieved, Justin stepped back into the car. He apologized, we laughed about it, then he drove me home. 

I'm just glad he skipped the joke that night and left the yellow snow out of it.

I knew I had found a keeper hahaha. xP

__________________________________________________________________________________

A keeper........hehehehe.

Turns out the story wasn't that simple.

However, this was the first night I began to look at Justin as a potential keeper ;).