Elle and {The Bus Rider}

Yes. It's true. I've been MIA. Again. But you would be too if this had happened to you.

I signed up for OkCupid because eHarmony has been lacking in quality matches. I lined up two dates pretty quickly. One with {The Dutch Boy} and one with {The Bus Rider}. Juggling all these boys is exhausting. Seriously.

Anyway, {The Bus Rider} lives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. We communicated a bit through OkCupid and I gave him my number. He asked if I want to meet up for dinner, drinks, a walk whatever. A. He royally {sucks} at texting. He takes hours, if not a few days to respond. B. He likes to dance {or so he says from his profile}. These are two things that annoy me. But I push on.
In the meantime, I'm talking with {The Dutch Boy} and eagerly awaiting our date to the {ZOO}.

Perfect.

So I meet {The Bus Rider} on a Saturday - after running 8 miles. Whose idea was it to walk around Capitol Hill after that? Oh yeah, it was his. I ride the bus up to Cap Hill and get off at the wrong spot. Dates off to a good start, right? He meets me on the street. First impression? His jacket isn't buttoned, and it appears to be flowing in the wind. I detect what I think is a limp, and I'm curious to find out if he has a fake leg. Not sure why, I go straight to that conclusion, but remember? I'm judgmental.

After our date, this is how I remember him looking.

We walk around. And my legs are killing me. Like killing me. I keep peeking around each corner looking for a wheelchair.

We go to Starbucks, where he opens the door. For himself. Not me. But he does treat. So I can't complain right? He makes fun of me for ordering iced coffee. And I later regret my choice, when I realize it's three degrees outside. And raining.

We continue on our walk and he brings me up to the water tower at Volunteer Park. It's actually kind of romantic. Did I mention I had to walk up like 100 stairs? And my legs/knees were {killing} me?
Next stop? The Greenhouse. I tell him about nearly killing the plant my Mom gave him. He's not impressed. He buys me a cactus and buys himself one too. I think it's kinda sweet. We continue on our walk and it starts pouring rain.

{And}

He invites me back to his place to get out of the rain and for some {tea}. {What is it with guys and tea with me?!}

Holy shit. How do I say no to this, without letting him know that I am totally creeped out. This is how people get killed, right? I'm gripping my phone. Not sure what to say. And then I hear myself say {sure}. What the fuck?! Who said that? The only thing that made me feel better was knowing that my friend, {The Doctor}, was expecting to see me around dinner time.

We go back to his place and he legitimately seems to be making tea. {I'm keeping my eye on him though.} His place is cute/clean. Turns out his mom helped him decorate {phew}. He turns on the fire place and I'm holding my hands in front of it. He touches my hands. I freak out.
I find a way to pull them away. He does it again. Fuck.

The tea kettle starts whistling, so he gets distracted. I decide to put some distance between the two of us and look out his balcony. The next thing I know he shows up behind me. And then he puts his arm around me. Fuck! I tense up and pull a Macgyver like move to get away from him. I plant my booty firmly at his dining room table and distract myself with some catalogs.

He asks if I'd like to move to the couch. I promise it's not as creepy as I'm making it sound. But I was still freaked out. He sits on one couch and I sit on the other. I wave to him. What the fuck am I doing? Why am I so awkward?

Eventually he decides to use the restroom. So I do too. I tell him I'm meeting a friend in Belltown for dinner and need to get going. He offers to walk me to the bus and I decline {Hi, remember? I'm awkward. What if he tries to touch me again?} He ends up walking me to the corner, where I run away from him.

This isn't where our story ends.

xoxo,
Elle