Only the lonely...part 1

i mentioned in the last post that i am now single...here is the situation in a nutshell.

Nelly and i have, lets say known each other, since Oct. 2002. we met when he moved across the street from us and into his best friends house. he had this black jeep with big rims that he kept immaculate, and i thought he was SO cute. for months we just looked at each other while he drove past the house, eventually it led to an occasional wave. i have never been the type of girl to approach a guy. i guess i just cant deal with being rejected by anyone, especially in a situation that i created!

eventually, i started "adjusting" my schedule so that i could see him. some called that stalking, but i call it giving fate a helping hand. sure enough, i saw him leaving every day at the same time, white uniform and apron in hand, i thought he was a busboy or waiter. not exactly my caliber of guy, but he had a job and had a car, so that was at least working in his favor.

i asked my neighbor, J.A. to ask about the "guy in the black truck". she came back with some supreme info: he was from out of town, a chef, trying to get started up here. 24 years old, single...things sounded okay to me! i continued to work my way outside whenever possible, usually when he was outside. we would still stare at each other, never saying a word. this went on for about three months.

then, one day, i lost my keys. i figured i had left them somewhere outside, i had been in the front yard with Ari playing earlier. i called my mom to let her know i would be leaving later than usual since the keys were nowhere to be found. while i was walking around the yard talking to her, i spotted an orange shirt: he was outside at the truck. i panicked for a moment, i hadn't really gotten cute enough to see him that day, but i was too late, he had already noticed me. he sat in the jeep for a minute and looked at me. i kept peeking at him, waiting for him to leave. "mom," i said, "That guy across the street is sitting in his car staring at me!" she told me to hurry up and find my keys, that he could wait. when i looked up again he was walking towards me. i hung the phone up and swallowed the feeling of imminent nausea that hit.

Hi, I'm Nelly
Hi, I'm Bee
Nice to meet you Bee.
blah blah, insert 10 minutes worth of usual getting-to-know-you speech

he gave me his number and said to call him. and then, in a move i had never witnessed, he kissed me on the hand, turned around and left. i stood there for a minute like "say what? what type of game does he think he is running!!!!" and then i blushed a little bit and smiled.

i sat there that night, nervous as hell, holding the little green cell phone i owned, dialing his number over and over and hitting end after i lost my nerve. finally i let the phone ring, he answered, and we talked for a few. we made plans to go out the next night. i couldn't believe i was talking to him, it was like being in high school all over again and finally getting your crushes phone number.

the next night, we went on what i have classified as my best date ever. the restaurant was beautiful, he looked good, i looked good. the food was excellent, i tasted his shrimp dish and sipped his apple martini. he told me he couldn't taste my food with the prosciutto because ham didn't agree with him. we left, listening to Musiqsoulchild on the CD player, realizing that i had the exact same set of Cd's at home in my stereo. we witnessed a car accident while we rode around and talked.

i almost don't remember the end of the date. i wasn't drunk, we didn't sleep together or anything. we went back to his house and watched the end of a James Bond movie. he walked me home across the street. we kissed. and as i went back in the house and laid in the bed next to Ariana's crib, i reflected on the evening and thought how nice it had been. i felt like i had known him for years before. My phone rang a minute later, and i looked out the window, he was sitting on his front porch, i could see the blue from his cell phone across the street. we stayed on the phone for hours that night...and i knew then that something special would come from this chance meeting, i just wasn't sure what yet.