Weddingbee Blog

One of the big reasons Mr. Aardvark says this was not our first date is because it involves me spending the night at his house…

While this sounds like a very scandalous situation, I assure you it was not! You see, as I stated earlier, we were living in middle America. More specifically, I was in eastern South Dakota and he was in western Minnesota. I was attending South Dakota State, and he was working for a large frozen-food company that delivers amazing ice cream (and other less important foods) in trucks to people’s homes. He lived about 56 minutes due east from me at the time.

Anyway, there was a bike race in Minnesota a few hours further east from where Mr. Aardvark lived. We had talked about going for a while, and after our (non) first-date mountain-bike ride, it was clear there was something going on, but I was still pretty unsure of what. The conversation (via email over a couple of days) went something like this:

Me: Are you going to the XYZ cyclocross race?

Mr. A: Ehhh, maybe… Should I?

Me: If you want… Yes? Maybe? I think I will…

Mr. A: I think I will too.

Me: Wanna carpool?

Mr. A: Sure. Do you want to pick me up in the early morning or come to my place the night before and leave from here to get an extra hour of sleep?

Me: Extra sleep is nice… (Thinking: !!!!!! There is no way this is really happening. I am reading way too much into it, OMG! But maybe? Nooo…but maaaaybee?)

Mr. A: If you want I could make dinner and we could rent a movie?

Me: OK. (Thinking: AHHHHHH!!! Totally a date! Dinner and a movie. NO FREAKIN WAY! YAYAY!)

So I went over. He made chicken alfredo and it was really good. We then moved to the “and a movie” part, but he did not have a movie on hand so we watched some football on TV for a while. At this point my hopes that it was a date were quickly evaporating. I had plopped down squarely in the middle of the couch hoping for some potential cuddling, and he had proceeded to sit in his armchair.

However, all was not lost. After a little bit of football he suggested we go rent a movie. We ended up with two (although which ones they were escapes me now). It was a slow progression, but midway thought the second movie our hands met in a bowl of popcorn…and by the end there was an arm around me! The movies ended and it was way past bedtime on a race night, but we stayed up laughing and talking and ended up watching The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The things you find on late-night TV!

It came time for bed and Mr. Aardvark said, “So…I only have one bed. We can share, or I can sleep out here on the sofa…” Not wanting to put the man out of his bed, and also not wanting to come off as a tart, I replied, “Oh no! I can sleep on the sofa!” He looked truly disappointed and gave it one more go: “I don’t bite.” “OK!” My reply perhaps came a bit too eagerly, but grace had been abandoned long ago.

I put on my very carefully selected “cute but not too sexy” PJs and got in his bed. Ever the perfect gentleman, he did not make any moves, other than putting an arm around me. I think I slept maybe 15 minutes that night as I lay next to him completely amazed and anxious and excited and nervous. We had not kissed, there was no hanky-panky, but there I was in his bed on our first date. Shhhh, don’t tell my grandma.

Me at a CX race

We must have fallen asleep, because morning came very early and we went off to race in the snow and mud. Neither of us rode particularly well that day. It could have been the cold, the late night, the budding love, or all three. He bought me lunch and then we went back to his place for a nap. The most glorious nap. When we woke up it was time for me to head home. I had class in the morning and he had work. He walked me to the the door.

Then, after months of flirting, weeks of wondering, and a day-and-a-half-long date, he leaned in and kissed me. The wondering was over. It was quite clear how he felt. “Well, we did that!” was what came out of his mouth next. “We sure did,” I replied with a grin. And with that I was off to my house and our relationship was officially rolling.

Did you have an aha! moment when you started dating?

* All photos personal