Joys of Spring

Dear Diary,

Gosh. What a weekend this has been! All I can say is, I now completely understand the saying "Full of the joys of spring." I mean, Spring is known for being Nature's way of saying "Let's get it ON!!!" and sending everyone all frisky and loved-up. Maybe it's the sun, or that wonderful smell that hangs in the air. And now, I have it, just as June arrived. No wonder Aaron and I were doomed - we started in October! Haha. (I really should stop laughing at my own jokes)

So, thus begins my weekend-long date. Yeah, you heard me!

FRIDAY

After last entry, I went to meet Joe in town, tottering off the bus in my killer ankle boots (the only fashionable item in my wardrobe) and walking, apparently, right past him. (*Groan*) He looked gorgeous in a brown shirt and jeans, and we proceeded to head for somewhere to eat (we still hadn't fully decided). Popped into a bar with my name in the title for a quick drink, before deciding on Nandoes. As we nursed our pints, we discussed last Saturday, and both agreed that it shouldn't have happened. It was clearly the drink that was responsible for my lack of turned-on-ness (although I didn't tell him about that) and his self-admitted poor performance, and we'd both been worrying over the outcome. We decided to forget it had happened, start over again, and take things slow.

Trailed over to Nandoes for some spiciness and charming Portugese legends about cockerels (did you know that the cockerel is considered the Portugese symbol for faith and justice?). We got one of those gorgeous "sharing" platters with chicken wings, chips and garlic bread. I discovered what a wuss I am when I found even the mildest Garlic sauce too hot to handle. We talked about everything and anything, and he paid for the meal (all together now: Awwwww!).

But here comes the best bit - we decided to go catch a late-night film. And get this: He likes horror films. HE. LIKES. HORROR. FILMS. TOO!! Halle-fricking-lujah!! I NEVER get to go see horror films at the cinema, none of my friends like them. And I can't watch them with the parents at home, as they don't like them either. So with a joyous heart, we went to see "Drag me to Hell" (by the director of "The Evil Dead") - which was excellent and shit-scary, I must've jumped clean off my seat about 20 times. Sadly was too nervous to make use of the old "Oh I'm so scared, can I hold your hand?" technique, I'm ashamed to say. But I came away with an untouched bag of Pick and Mix, and "Saw 3." Since when did the cinema start selling DVDs? Oh well, not complaining.....

Afterwards I didn't quite want the night to end, so we went for a little walk. Bearing in mind it was half 1 in the morning and we had to step over the drunken bodies of bare-legged girls and bleary-eyed kebab-nursing boys lining the streets. Have to say, it felt profoundly strange not to be one of them for a change! We sat under the Big Wheel and chatted for ages, before kissing. To his credit, I pretty much had to initiate it - he seems to be playing the gentlemanly game and not doing anything without my say-so first. Awww! That CAN'T be what he's really like, can it? Surely no-one is THAT chivalrous? Mind you, he opens doors (even the car door!) and pays for everything..... despite me trying to chip in. I know I'm technically unemployed, but I still have some (however little) savings! Hmmm.... Not that I'm complaining, like.

Too anxious to brave the night bus without the protective influence of alcohol, we opted for a taxi. Trouble is, it came to £18, and that was just back to my house. Obviously, that was madly frustrating for Joe, as we hadn't ended up drinking, so he could've just brought his car and saved the money. I hated the idea of him paying another tenner to get home, and offered he stayed over (Mum's visiting relatives in France and Dad was out at the dogs for the night), which he accepted. We stayed in the spare room (what was previously Shaun's room) in the double bed, kissed for a while and talked some more (no sex!). It was pretty funny, as I had no idea whether Dad was coming home or stopping out with the lads - so we arranged and practised the "Stop Drop and Roll"..... the idea being that if we heard Dad coming home, Joe would roll down the side of the bed, hiding him completely from Dad's view, should he stick his head round the door. Turns out we didn't need to worry about it.

SATURDAY

Dad didn't come home, apparently he went straight from the hotel to work in Wales (where his new job's based) - so we woke up feeling pretty relaxed. After a large amount of shyly hinting at each other that we wouldn't mind hanging out a little longer, we realised we both had nothing to do all day and that since we were having such a good time, there was no reason for it to end. He went home to have a shower and get changed, and came back an hour later - we went for a Subway and had a "Family Guy" marathon in the lounge all afternoon, laughing our arses off and quoting along.

Auntie rang me after a while - citing a BBQ at her house. Felt kinda bad not asking Joe along, but come on, it was only technically our 2nd date (or 3rd, depending on what you class as "date"), I wasn't exactly ready for him to meet the family! He offered to give me a lift up to her house, as he had SatNav. Mmmmm..... SatNav.... After taking me to Tesco so I could pick up some wine, he put the soft-top down and we drove down the motorway with the roof back and the sun blazing down on us. I lay back, my arms in the air, gazing up at the blue expanse and continually getting excited at being able to see the sky whilst whizzing along in a car. And he didn't even think I was weird. Sweet times!

The BBQ was GORGEOUS - we sat and chilled out, sunbathing and catching up while Dan tended to the food. It was absolutely DELICIOUS. I told her all about Joe and she was suitably impressed with his incredible kindness (at giving me a lift) and gentlemanly-ness.
As they were going out later, I had to leave about 8 oclock - and Joe had offered to come and pick me up. All the way out in the valley! Awwwwwwwww!!! This seriously can't be happening to me.... he seems to good to be true. Anyway, Auntie and Dan said Joe was more than welcome to come in for a drink, which he did. And it was lovely, they chattered away to him, Dan being his usual hilarious self, putting Joe at ease by talking about cars and everyone being very pleasant. We left soon after, and he dropped me off home, stopping in for a quick brew, before going to meet his mates for a drink in town. Apparently his mates said I was more than welcome to come along, but I (wanting to play it cool and also wanting a girlie night in) opted for a night in front of "Saw 3" with a bottle of wine and some popcorn. More fool me.

I ended up watching "Saw 3," "The Evil Dead," and "The Exorcist." And consequently, despite having seen all those films before, I was terrified. When I finally went to bed, I just lay there wide-eyed, all the lights on, with a rosary and a knife next to the bed - in case I needed to defend myself against demonic possession, or intruders in pig masks, determined to torture me for not "cherishing my life." Being alone in the house didn't help, and I'm CERTAIN the wine didn't either. Took small comfort in texting Joe my woes (hey!), who had been sending me progressively drunk texts all night. Informed him of my poor choice in evening entertainment and my subsequent fear - at which he actually phoned me and asked if I wanted him to come over and keep me company. Which was tricky - on the one hand, I didn't want to come across as a big girly wuss, or worse, sound like I was making a blatant booty call (which honestly never crossed my mind). But on the other hand, I wanted someone to be there, to talk to and reassure me I was in Imagination-Overdrive, and, if I'm truthful, maybe give me a little cuddle. Not to mention the outside security light kept coming on, despite NO-ONE BEING OUTSIDE.

Frankly, I was bricking it. So I admitted defeat, and asked if he wouldn't mind. Was a little worried about how much he'd drank, but he assured me that the 45-minute walk home and litre of water he'd just drank had sobered him up.

So, at 3am, he came over. And I cracked.
But that's a story for another day......

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Current Mood: exhausted
Current Music: "Rich Girl" - Gwen Stefanie ft. Eve