She never thought the date would end up as it did.
They met online, as most single people tend to do these days. And after many a bad date with many strange and unusual men, she had to admit that she's enjoying his company more than anyone else. He was funny, witty, down to earth and honest. A rare find in this crazy world.
Their first date went so well that it hadn't even finished yet and she had already decided that she wanted to see him again. They had taken a nice brisk walk along the water, their feet crunching the snow and ice beneath their boots, and chatted about everything under the Sun, from their kids, their failed marriages, the subsequent separations, and life beyond the end of what they both thought was their forever person.
After walking for an hour or so, they decided to sit and continue date #1 over a nice coffee at the nearby cafΓ©. He was polite, kind and a true gentleman, opening the door for her as they walked in and not even hesitating in buying her coffee before she had a chance to open her purse. He had an air of confidence about him, confident without being cocky, yet he was quieter than most. It made him seem intriguing to her, like she needed to know more about the man behind the mask.
He wasn't a large man, or athletic, but his 6' frame and proportional body made him look muscular and lean. When he took off his coat, she saw that he was casually dressed in blue jeans and a red and grey checkered button down shirt that hugged his form, and yet his attitude made the outfit look dressy. It was obvious by his choice of clothes and how he trimmed his facial hair that he wanted to impress her, which made her smile inwardly. He couldn't have known this, but she was already sold.
During this first meeting he informed her that the best way to get to know someone was on less "official" date settings, like having a nice quiet dinner at home, where they could eat well and have an intimate moment or two over a nice bottle of wine. She had to admit that it sounded tempting, and why not? She already knew she was attracted to him, so she saw no reason to say no. They made a date for the following weekend at his place and he said he was going to prepare a feast for her to enjoy.
"You might even like the food," he said with a wink.
"What could I expect to eat?" she asked inquisitively, before quickly adding with a nervous laugh, "... for dinner!"
"I'll keep you posted as the date gets closer. But for now all you need to know is that you should show up hungry and ready for anything," he said with a sly grin.
The comment made her blush and it stirred feelings deep inside her that she didn't expect. He was bold and unafraid, which, on the one hand frightened her a little bit and on the other hand it made her not want to wait an entire week before seeing him again. She started to reconsider her well-established three-date rule: Nothing intimate before the third date. Sure, there had been kissing, a little bit of touching here and there since they first met but she always maintained that the truly intimate physicality would only be after they had really had an opportunity to get to know each other. She had never considered breaking the rule before, but he was making it difficult to remember why she would be so adamant about it.
As she was weighing her options and arguing with herself in her head, his voice interrupted her thoughts.
"It's getting late and you've got a long drive home," he said with a caring look.
"Yes, I guess I should make a move," she replied, reluctantly realising that she wasn't really being given an opportunity to make the decision.
As they left the cafΓ©, he walked her to her car parked near the entrance to the path they took for their walk earlier. When they got closer, she saw her headlights were on, and dimmed much lower than they should be. That's when she realized she had accidentally left them on for the past 3 hours and a sinking feeling made its way into her stomach.
"Looks like you may have a problem," he said, with concern.
She opened the door, got in and tried to start it but it wouldn't even click on. The battery was almost completely dead. The cold weather had already weakened her old car's battery and now with the lights having been on for too long, she was stranded. They called roadside service but with temperatures well below freezing, the companies were overloaded with calls and they couldn't guarantee quick service. She was looking at a minimum 4 hour wait time. She agreed to the wait and they took her phone number, saying that she would be called by the driver 10 minutes before they show up but don't anticipate hearing from them any earlier.
"We're swamped," the dispatcher said, oblivious to her personal dilemma.
She hung up the phone and they stood there for a moment, looking at each other, neither sure what to do next. She had come out to his area of the city for the date because he was close to some nice walking paths, but it was a good hour's drive from her apartment, especially with the roads covered in snow and ice. Now with the car not starting, she was unsure what to do.
He hesitated for a moment.
"You could come back to my place to wait it out, and then we'll come back to the car as soon as we get the call.
Her vocalized, "Umm ..." reminded him that the relationship was still very new.