Aaron picked me up to return the favor of being a guest at a holiday party. Now it was my turn. We drove out to Simi Valley to see a friend of his whom he hasn’t seen in a few years. It was an earlier party, since it was a Sunday evening, so we didn’t anticipate staying for very long.
With his hand out to greet me as I hopped up into his truck, Aaron pulled me close for a hello kiss. He was wearing black tennis shoes, dark gray casual dress pants, & a light blue/gray button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. It had a strategic horizontal zipper above one of the breast pockets & army straps on the shoulders. I opted for flats this time, so as not to look odd to his friends. I wore brown/gray studded gladiator sandals, brown dressy gauchos with a swirly white lace design at the waist, & a pink Candies t-shirt with ruching in 3 symmetrical spots in the front so that it looks like the opening of a curtain. I kept my hair straight but put my big H&M flower on the left side of my head & pulled a small loose twist/braid to the right side. I classed it up by wearing my grandmother’s pearl cluster earrings & necklace & keeping my makeup neutral with shades of pink.
I realized I’m still waiting to hear him say something along the lines of my looking nice. Erg. Regardless, I enjoy our dynamic, so I’ll let it slide for a little while longer, I suppose.
When we arrived to the house party, we were already in yet another charming conversation that has the two of us chattering back & forth. Aaron was very good at introducing me to everyone he knew within a few moments of greeting (or being greeted by) them. It’s so nice to have that! So many douchebags I’ve dated before never did & always claimed “oh, yeah, I’m really bad at that”. No. You just didn’t care enough, you narcissistic jerks!
Anyhoo, back to a non-douchebaggy guy…
One of Aaron’s old bandmates ended up chatting us up the whole evening. He’s actually from the same area as I am! It was nice to have someone there other than Aaron with whom I had a lot already established in common with. It made it easier to establish myself as someone who belonged at the party, & not just as someone’s guest. As the evening progressed, I ventured out to chat with all kinds of people there.
They had a giant array of tacos & desserts in the kitchen. Another woman & I found ourselves musing over the hosts’ homemade pumpkin cheesecake with maple topping & pecan pralines. Omm nom nom nom nom!!! Finally, the hostess came by to cut it. Heaven! Pure heaven! I wanted to scarf that whole thing in my face hole. Very much anticipating that to not last much longer once word got out how scrumptious that was, as well as an attempt to be cute, I fed a piece of it to Aaron, since he was still eating tacos. He enjoyed it too, although prefaced his bite by saying he figured he’d still be able to get a piece. I’m glad he didn’t decline the bite for that reason. By him accepting it, even though he wasn’t ready for dessert, showed me that he respects my feelings. I smile, & then go to remark how great it is, & that’s when I embarrass myself.
Only 2 beers & lots of food in, & my Pacifico goes flying out of my hand as I made a slightly enthusiastic gesture. The beer grazed the fellow cheesecake aficionado’s boot. Luckily she was fine & didn’t even bat an eyelash at the incident. The hostess was right there when it happened too, so immediately the three of us got down & picked up the mess. Aaron jokes, “Ooh, she’s cut off. Don’t worry everyone, she’s cut off.” I laughed it off, knowing he was joking, but I still refrained from drinking for a little while longer after the fact, just to downplay any perception of “the drunk girl”. The host immediately said, “someone get that girl another beer!” I politely declined. Luckily, Aaron & I were the only two who held off on the alcohol. I’m relatively sure no one remembered that incident other than us today, given their inability to stand up straight by the time we left.
At one point towards the end of the party, Aaron left me to my charms & personality on the porch by the fire pit to chat with the host & other friends while he went to the bathroom. When he came back, he found me pleasantly engaged in conversation with them. One fella was so drunk that he was wobbling all over the place, asking the host for his keys. I was happy to see he refused to even acknowledge where they might be (although it was obvious he had taken them from him earlier). Previously I had witnessed him groping the host’s girlfriend. Well, sort of. It was obvious he didn’t realize what he was doing, as his hands would constantly move up & down, to & from her boobs as he held her from either behind as they walked outside & he struggled to maintain his balance. So it came as no surprise to me when he came up behind me & did the same thing. The host just smiled & reinforced that he’s harmless. I figured as much & was prepared to take any corrective action that may have been necessary.
No need.
Aaron immediately came up & stood close to me, in between the two of us. No real look of pleasure or contempt upon his face. Just stood there while the host & I continued our conversation. I realized what he was doing & I appreciated it. That’s the first time a guy I’ve been with has ever noticed something happening that shouldn’t (regardless of how menial it may be) & did something about it. It would have been nice if he had put his arm around me or held my hand (I found it slightly odd that he didn’t), but it was still nice to see his protective nature spring up. Later, on the ride home, we talked about that & I mentioned my gratitude.
As we left the party, much later than we had anticipated, the host walked us out, inviting us to future pool parties & outings on his boat & plane. Yep. Rich dude. I wouldn’t mind doing that. Sticking around Aaron is relatively effortless, so perchance it won’t be a difficult task to continue to be dating by the time weather allows for that.
The first moment we were totally alone, Aaron remarks, “everyone loved talking to you!” Aww! That was so nice to hear! Reassurance that I was accepted & the evening was a good time. Yay! In truth, I’m pretty sure I was more of a social butterfly at the party amongst total strangers (to me) than he was amid friends & acquaintances. I wasn’t expecting him to say that, so it was a nice reinforcement that the night went well.
I did find it funny, however, that every time people asked how we met, he would answer that we live down the street from each other. Well, while that is true, that’s not how we met. I had no problem sticking to that story & even proactively answered it to someone before he had the chance. I meant to mention that to him on the way home, but our conversations go all over the place, so it slipped my mind.
Being lost in conversation as we neared our homes (Aaron was talking), I notice he’s not slowing down to turn on my street. I said, “so, I guess I’m not going home tonight?” He didn’t hear me. We get out at his place in his garage. I’m OK with that because it’s not that late out & maybe he wanted to just unwind for a little bit with me before taking me home.
Once inside his place, we settle in his bedroom & he begins to take off his sneakers. My gladiator sandals are a pain in the ass to take on/off because of their multiple buckles, so prior to attempting to, I reiterate, “So, I’m not going home tonight, then, am I?” He starts laughing & said I can if I want to; he realized that he totally passed my place as we pulled into his garage but didn’t want to say anything because he felt stupid, so since I didn’t say anything right away (that he heard), he didn’t want to out himself as having been on autopilot & having a blond moment. Adorbs. I do that ALL the damn time. Before I even had a chance to say it, he said, “I’ve even shown up to the wrong place of work before because of that,” Yep. Me too. Weird. I keep thinking but then try to repress it for the sake of not getting too attached & continuing my dating escapades, but we’re pretty fricken alike & kind of good for one another…as it seems so far. Dorks.
I allowed that a sleepover would be fine. We talked for a little while longer before agreeing to put on 1 episode of Kenny Vs. Spenny & then hitting the hay. Well, that didn’t work. The episode ended with Kenny falling off of a segway. Fucking. Hsterical. We were dying! So, naturally, after a few minutes of trying to catch our breath, I tell him to YouTube people falling off segways. Sure enough, there was a montage. For the next 5 minutes we were laughing so hard, I had tears in my eyes.
OK, so now how do I go from that to sleeping? Why, making out, naturally, right?! Ha! Things progressed further this time & we found ourselves topless. I refused to go beyond that. He made two attempts for more, but I stuck to my guns, as The Power of the Pussy repeated over & over in my head: 2 month minimum! Ack! Another month to go.
I DID, however, get to put my fears/curiosity at ease: it appears Aaron really is mostly white & not so much Chinese in the below the belt situation. (He sleeps in his underwear & so had gotten comfy just prior to the make out session.) I can work with this when the time comes. Ideal? No. But manageable. I know that sounds awful to say, but ladies, let’s be honest, no matter how much we like a guy, there’s always that fear of, “oh god, I hope he’s not too small!” in the back of our heads…ESPECIALLY if we like the guy. Nothing worse than being really into a dude to find he’s just ill equipped. To be fair, I’m sure guys have the same thoughts when it comes to the size of our tits or how tight the space is between our legs. So I feel no shame or guilt in just putting my share of the concerns out there. If you’re offended, then I suggest you grow some self confidence if you can’t seem to grow much elsewhere.
In any event, to cut him off, I told him, “I’m not trying to be a tease. I just like you & don’t want to rush anything.” He DID say, “I don’t think this is rushing anything,” to which my established sense of humor came into play by retorting, “Of course YOU don’t…you’re a dude!”. Luckily, not only does he get my sense of humor, but he also respects me, so continued to converse with me a little while longer before I kissed him goodnight & snuggled up with my head on his chest, providing a physical indication that it was now time for sleep & nothing else. Still, this man has not pushed back or fought me on my little demands (limiting how much “fun” we have, saying when it’s bedtime). Hmm…..
Fast forward to this morning & my alarm never rang! I woke up at the exact time I should have been leaving my apartment for work. I redressed & kissed him on the cheek. To my surprise, he asked me if I wanted him to give me a ride home. I super appreciated that, but I didn’t want to have to wait for him to get up out of bed & dressed too, even though, combined with the ride, that would have still taken up less time than my walk home did. Guess the larger part of it was that I didn’t want to inconvenience him. Weird. I’m trying to learn how to be selfish & take every opportunity for a guy to do something for me, & yet here I am, denying a ride because I’m starting to care for this guy. Help!
xx,
Lilly Cat
LA Date Buffet 