The entire time I was in college, I never went on a Real Date.  Sure, I went on dates (emphasis on the lowercase “d”).  Dinner out with a guy “friend” who said we should “hang out” and ended up buying the meal because “I’d never let a girl buy a meal.”  But never a Real Date.

And, if you want to know the truth, it always bothered me.  I wanted the Real Date, the fairytale date… the Date that screams “Yes, I am 23 years old and I am normal!”  Deep down, I think every girl wants to have one night where she feels like there is something special about her.  I spent many Friday nights helping roommates pick out which necklace to wear and opening the door when their date would show up.  But I never got that night.

Well, that is, until tonight.

I present… My List of Reasons Why Tonight Was Perfect:

First of all, he called it a date.  Not “hanging out.”  Not “getting together.”  No pansy stuff here.  I liked that.

Secondly, he opened my door.  This may sound like a given when on a date, but trust me, it isn’t.

Thirdly, he took me to the sweetest little restaurant you can imagine.  Think Italian food, handful of tables and candlelight.

Fourthly, he led the conversation.  And yet still asked me questions.  And actually listened to my answers.

Fifthly (is that a word?), we had coffee after the meal.  It was my first time ever having coffee.  No kidding.

And so, it was lovely. 

I, of course, immediately drove to my friend Allison’s house where we spent the next hour discussing each and every part of the evening and WHAT DID HE MEAN WHEN HE SAID THIS and ARE YOU SURE MY HAIR LOOKS GOOD and so forth.  Her boyfriend, Ryan, played the Good Boyfriend Role and sat there listening silently for the most part.  Occasionally he’d offer up something profound like “Well, make sure you give it a few days to see if he calls.  It’s like a guy rule, you know.  He probably won’t call you tomorrow.”

To which Allison would reply “Oh, he BETTER call her tomorrow.”

And I would reply “I don’t think he will.”

And then she would say “Quit saying that, you always say that, you’re always wrong.”

And then Ryan would say “Wait, I thought this was her first real date in awhile so how can she always say that?”

And then Allison and I would glare at him because?  Umm, Ryan?  No need to point out unnecessary details.

Once the fateful “will-he-call-again-or-was-this-just-a-nice-dinner-oh-my-goodness-what-is-going-to-happen” conversation got riled up again, Ryan created a diversion by mentioning that he was leading a music critiquing session tomorrow morning (he’s a worship pastor at a local church). 

I, of course, immediately stood up and sang several songs to give him practice.

He was, I think, a little harsh.  But he did say my hair looked nice and that I had good stage presence.

A fairytale night indeed.