The Slacker Saga

When we last left our story, I was lamenting the loss of the Slacker and contemplating doing something about it. Well, something has been done. Things still remain to be done as well, but there has been progress. We continued to hang out after class and on the afternoon of our last class, our hanger-on left after a while and we stayed at the pub and chatted for several hours. I was supposed to go to the library afterwards, but he was walking home and I couldn’t resist the opportunity to walk with him. Silly girl. Anyway, he had mentioned that some of our other classmates were getting together the next night for the pub quiz and karaoke and I would be welcome to join them. Well, I did and things went well, for the most part. We sat next to each other throughout the night and got more and more friendly the more beer he had. He was fairly touchy and luckily it was pretty loud so we had to lean in extra close to make ourselves heard. I was feeling pretty good about things. Then it was time to go home and I rehearsed the speech I had composed in my head in anticipation of our having a bit of time to ourselves for me to confess my feelings. We all started home and one by one people split off to go in their respective directions. Finally it was down to three of us. Unfortunately, the other one was a girl and they were going the same way. DANG IT! So I bid him a fond farewell and walked the rest of the way home by myself, cursing the other girl all the way.

Luckily I knew I would see him at least two more times for meetings and presentations, so all was not lost. Our next meeting came this past Thursday. I knew I needed to work it this time. I carefully chose my outfit and arranged my hair. Then I headed to class, in the rain, which ruined my carefully coiffed hair. Oh well, some guys like the wind-blown look, right? Anyway, I ended up being a little late and having to content myself with sitting by one of the girls in my class instead of him. I did give him a flirty look when I came in and I’m pretty sure he loved it. Anyway, after class a few of us headed to the pub to vent our frustrations over our course. Then two of them had to leave and so we were down to three. Things were going according to plan. The other kid is nice and I don’t mind his company, so it was okay that he was there. More importantly, I also knew that on the walk home, he would leave us fairly early. Perfect. The pub quiz proceeded and I contributed several key answers, which won me some points. As the night proceeded and the beer continued to flow freely, the Slacker got more and more friendly. His arm found its way around my shoulders a couple of times and his hand made contact with my arm, hand, and leg on several occasions. Things were looking good. We sat unnecessarily close and our faces were inches apart multiple times as we leaned in to say something in the other person’s ear, causing my stomach to do summersaults. At one point, in the context of a game called “Kiss, Marry, or Kill” he told me that it had been decided that I was the most “fanciable” girl in the course. (As a side note, I’m the clear choice as best-looking-girl-in-the-class, but it was still nice to hear.) I took that as a positive sign.

Eventually, however, the evening had to come to an end. I had geared myself up to give my speech on the way home, but then he threw me a curveball. When we got to the point at which he was to walk the other direction, and where I was going to give my speech, he kept walking with me. I said something about him leaving me to walk alone and he said he was walking me home. This was a very positive, and unanticipated, turn of events. When we got to my house, he followed me in. I KNOW! I couldn’t have planned things better if I’d written the screenplay myself. I showed him my room and the collection of commemorative china I’ve been finding at charity shops. He was more amused than most, which reinforced my belief that we are very much alike. I then led him to the kitchen/sitting area where we have a sofa and we chatted for an hour more. It was a great chat, but to be honest, that’s not exactly what I was interested in right then. I was waiting the entire time for him to make some sort of move, but nothing came. (Meanwhile, my housemates were upstairs shocked that I had brought a guy home from the pub.) Around 1:30 he decided it was time to leave. I walked him to the door and said goodbye. He said goodbye and gave me a nice long hug, which helped a little bit, but still was not what I was interested in at the time. I was thinking, “SERIOUSLY, DUDE, GROW A PAIR AND KISS ME ALREADY!” What’s a girl gotta do these days? I have one final chance on Thursday after another class meeting. I’m feeling bold and may just do it. If I do, you can rest assured the details will be shared. Check back here for the final installment of the saga. Hopefully you (and I) won’t be disappointed.

The rest of the story

Okay, so here’s the lowdown. Tweed came home and I have since had the chance to interact with him again. I’ve been flirty and friendly, but it feels a bit forced. While I still enjoy his company on a purely friendly basis, I don’t think there’s any romantic attraction on my part. I sort of thought there was at first, but the more I’ve gotten to know him, the less I would want to kiss him, which I think is a bad sign. Plus, he moved to Manchester.

Now, Swish. I’m a little put out at the moment. He might be permanently off the list. I was a little worried about how our first interaction post-“date” would be, but it actually went really well. The first Sunday back was fantastic. He sat next to me again all day and we flirted like old times. I had been out to dinner with a friend the previous night and he overheard another friend asking about it. He was properly jealous of the fact and brought it up multiple times. I assured him that he had nothing to be jealous about, but it was good to make him realize there are other people who want a piece of this. Since then I have seen him for a grand total of maybe 15 minutes. He has made no effort to speak to me at Church and barely says hi in passing. I think it’s time to call it quits on him. What he coulda had! (I'm going to make shirts with this emblazoned on the front and wear them around all the guys who have missed out on the best thing that would have ever happened to them.)

Next up is the Slacker. We’ve had class together once a week this term and the more time I spend with him, the more I like him. He’s very cute. Anyway, after our first class, we were on our way to get some lunch when he mentioned that he had split up with “the Mrs.” over Christmas. I have to admit I was pleased to hear that. So off we went to the pub that is located on campus for a lovely meal, unfortunately accompanied by our other classmate, who I don’t particularly care for. If only he could somehow notice that I don’t want him around. Grrrr. Since then, lunch on Wednesdays has become our norm. We sit in the pub and chat and it’s fantastic and then he often walks me home. He’s really quite interesting and we’ve had a couple of really good discussions on subjects as varied as music, politics, sports, and religion. I have also been sneaky enough to get his email address and phone number. I know, I have mad skillz. The problem is that now that he and “the Mrs.” have split up, he has nowhere to live and is moving home to Nottingham. He will only be returning to Reading a couple of times for scheduled appointments and such. (Shakes fist at the sky.) I’m contemplating something drastic, like actually telling him that I think he’s cute and I want to make out with him. Knowing me, though, I will chicken out and let him fade into the sunset. Then again, what have I got to lose? Carpe diem, right?

Teaser

I have lots to write but no time at the present.  I’ll try to get to it very soon.  Just to give you a taste of what’s to come, here are some of the exciting developments of late.

 

1.    Tweed has returned. 

2.    The first Sunday back saw continued flirting with Swish.

3.    I had a date.

4.    There was another dance on Friday.

5.    The Slacker (my cute classmate) split-up from his girlfriend over Christmas.

Dating Delusion?

(This actually happened the Friday before I went home for Christmas.  I'm back in England now and Operation 2nd Date is in the planning stages. Stay tuned.)

Hello ladies and gentlemen.  I have some good news.  Swish and I had a date-ish.  Our mutual friend called us each individually to see if we wanted to go to a movie with him and his girlfriend.  So it was a setup…of two people who already knew each other…by someone they both knew.  They do things a bit differently here on a number of accounts.  First, and most frustrating, they don’t just casually date.  If you ask someone out, it’s tantamount to a declaration of love.  As you may well imagine, that puts a damper on the amount of dating people do.  How do people find each other, you may wonder.  I haven’t figured that out yet, but I will let you know.  Also frustrating is the fact that they all know each other and each other’s past so there are lots of off-limits people.  The English grapevine is much higher developed than even the Utah Mormon grapevine.  People are always watching and they will tell on you. 

Anyway, back to the “date.”  The plan was for us to go to dinner and then a movie, which was perfect.  I began planning my outfit for maximum hotness.  Truth be told, I was feeling a little nervous and awkward.  Part of the problem was that I didn’t know what Swish’s understanding of the evening was.  I didn’t know if he thought it was a date or just a group of friends hanging out, so I didn’t want to make it seem like I thought there was more to it than there was.  But I also wanted him to think I was fun and into him so he would want to spend more time together in the future.  So complicated!  I was also feeling awkward since, being award of the English aversion to dates, I knew there was a lot riding on this one evening.  Well, it turns out that most of my worrying was in vain.  Swish ended up having to stay later at the lab (he’s getting a Master’s in chemistry) so we just did the movie.   When we arrived at Swish’s house, they made me go to the door, which made me feel awkward.  Then I didn’t know which of the three doorbells was for his apartment so I went back to the car whereupon I was forced to call him, which also made me feel awkward.  When he got in the car, he informed us all that he had had an allergic reaction to the chemicals he was working with that day.  The skin on his face was red and a little flaky, but not too bad.  I felt sorry for him and thought to myself that if it had been me I would have cancelled the date.  (That could be because I base my self-esteem on my physical appearance, but whatever.)  We proceeded to the movie, which was hilarious and, from my point of view, we had a good time.  There was a good bit of teasing and flirting, but it was a little less effortless than it had been in our previous interactions.  I think we were both a little unsure of just what the situation was and it sort of put us off our game.  It could also have been the chemical reaction all over his face.  I guess we’ll never know.  Afterward, we went for ice cream and he paid for mine, so, as per Elder Oaks 3 Ps, I’ve been on a date with Swish.  Now the question remains as to how to get to date two.

Good Things Come to Those who Wait

My patience has been rewarded.  I got kissed 4 times.  Who knew all it would take was some carefully placed mistletoe?  Last Saturday, my friends decided to take a little trip to Bath where they have a Christmas market in the streets around the abbey.  When we arrived, there was a homeless guy selling bunches of mistletoe.  I joked that I should buy some and my friends encouraged me enough that I couldn’t resist.  We all know I’m a bit of an exhibitionist, so this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.  Anyway I gave him 60 pence and in return was given more than enough mistletoe to do the trick.  Jokingly, I then said something about wishing there was a way for me to clip a bit to the front of my coat hood.  Well, shockingly, at that point a hair pin was proffered and the mistletoe affixed to the appropriate spot.  That’s when the fun began.  Now, in my defense, I’ve been around plenty of mistletoe in my day and have never reaped the rewards of it, so I thought this would be the same thing.  I figured we all have a laugh and maybe a few other people would find it amusing and no harm would be done.  Well, I was wrong.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the English, it’s that they take their traditions seriously, even if that means kissing people in whom you have no interest or having a Queen who really doesn’t do much.  Mere moments after the mistletoe was put into action, I saw one of my friends coming at me with lips pursed.  Before I had time to react, his lips were attached to my cheek.  Then we had the brilliant idea to take a picture of the moment, which meant that he had to leave those lips firmly planted for quite some time.  I am pleased to report that the picture turned out very well.  We then met up with a few other friends and the mistletoe magic was repeated, luckily I was better prepared this time.  When I saw the face approaching mine I offered a cheek and everyone was happy.  We wandered around the market for a while and plenty of comments were made, but no other kisses were given until we were in the car park getting ready to leave.  The couple ahead of us had finished paying when the man turned to me and said, “Tempting fate, eh?” to which I jokingly responded, “And hopefully people.”  He apparently thought I was serious because he said, “Well let me be the first then,” and proceeded to plant one on my cheek.  At this point I realized that this mistletoe business could get me into serious trouble.  I resolved to wear it every day.  The final mistletoe escapade of the day came that night at the ward Christmas party.  I was getting ready to leave and was showing my clever invention to one of the old married guys in the ward with whom we’ve all gotten to be friends.  Again I was not prepared for the consequences of my mistletoe decision.  I was powerless to avoid another wet kiss on the cheek.  When I got home that night, I decided that I will never again be afraid to kiss someone under the mistletoe.  I can just tell them it’s a tradition I picked up in England, among other things…

The state of things

Hello faithful readers.  I’m sorry for the infrequency of posts lately, and for the lack of any proper snogging.  Believe me when I say, I am working on it and am probably closer now than I have been at any point since I got here.  For the Tweed fans out there, a quick update.  He has gone to the U.S. for an unknown amount of time.  He is looking at continuing his studies in the States and is checking out law schools there.  Thus, we have had no contact for weeks and, as the saying goes, absence either makes the heart grow fonder or makes it forget.  In this case, absence has not been good to him.  Those who know me well know that proximity is usually a key, determining factor as to how much I like a guy.  If he’s not around much, I tend to move on to someone who is. 

Enter…Swish.  Things have begun to progress nicely with him.  This past weekend has seen a substantial increase in the amount and intensity of our flirtatious interactions.  Saturday evening there was an activity that I wasn’t too keen on attending until I found out that Swish would be there.  I flirtatiously texted him about getting a lift and he flirtatiously responded in the affirmative.  He sat next to me throughout the activity and we exchanged a bit of witty banter.  A quick side note on that; I very much enjoy flirting with people who are quick witted and can handle a fair amount of good-natured ribbing.  Swish has proven to be just that kind of person.  I thoroughly enjoy flirting with him because he’s a tease and also smart enough to both give and get witty exchanges.  He also has pretty blue eyes and dimples, which never hurt anybody.  Anyway, back to Saturday night.  After the activity, a group of us decided that a jaunt to McDonald’s was in order.  Now, I’m not a huge fan of McDonald’s, but it is cheap and fast (just like me!) so off to McDonald’s we went.  It turned out to be fertile flirting grounds that night.  Even my friend who hadn’t witnessed my interaction with Swish before this night commented on both the quality and quantity of our flirtation.  My favorite part of the evening consisted of him giving me the pickles off his hamburger.  You know, like a married couple would do.  When he dropped me off later that night, I felt reasonably sure that there was something there. 

Those feelings were reinforced the next day at Church.  He again chose to sit next to me at every chance.  I tried to ignore him just a little, but I’ve never really been good at that game and so, paid him a fair amount of attention.  We shared a hymnbook and sat closer to each other than was really necessary, which of course led to the occasional leg or arm graze.  Witty comments were made and laughs exchanged, all accompanied by flirtatious glances. At one point he even draped his arm on the back of the pew.  Then after the meeting, instead of immediately leaving as he usually does, he stayed on the bench and we flirted fairly shamelessly (in the words of my roommate) for a solid half an hour.  A fair amount of teasing ensued and I, of course, pretended to be put out so he would have to say something nice.  Standard flirtation techniques were put to good practice.  There was even some casual discussion on our attitudes concerning making out (I’m pleased to announce that we’re on the same page there) and it ended up being another typical (for me) Sunday afternoon conversation.  Meanwhile, my roommate and the people he drove to Church were waiting (mostly) patiently to go home.  Finally, the time had come to call it a day.  We parted on good terms with the hope on my part that it wasn’t all for naught.  Later that night, when I checked my facebook, he had requested my friendship.  Sometimes the littlest victories are the most rewarding.  

P.S.

Last night my friend invited a bunch of people to go see 2012 at the cinema.  I had no interest in paying the equivalent of about $11 to see a movie that I was pretty sure would be a waste of time.  Well, then he mentioned that a certain young man by the name of Swish would be coming.  So like the lame girl that I am, I decided to go.  We did end up sitting next to each other at the movie and made a few witty remarks to each other throughout the night.  I had decided to be a little aloof to make him really work for it.  Unfortunately, he didn't do as well as I would have liked, but come to find out, my efforts were not all in vain.  In Sunday School I caught him looking at me a couple of times and then he followed me into Sacrament meeting where he sat next to me as if that's our standard operating procedure.  He was quite flirty during the meeting and some witty banter was exchanged.  Afterward my friend said she thinks he fancies me a bit, so apparently that whole hard to get thing does work sometimes.