LOL

I’m not sure if I was truly nervous, but I know I was a little on edge because of having to find my way to a location I’d never been to before. Did the cyber-guy give me “girl” directions? Will I be circling for hours? Regardless of the fact that I had my trusty – but belligerent – GPS, I will remind you that I am, after all, the Queen of Lost, and can outsmart even the most advanced navigational system in order to get myself completely turned around. I pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and it was exactly how he said it would be laid out, and there he was in his car. Now I was really nervous. I pulled up beside him and raised my hands in a gesture of victory. I didn’t know what else to do – I hate hellos and I hate goodbyes – I had to break the ice somehow. He was already standing outside of his car when I got out of mine, and I was so grateful I was wearing my sunglasses to mask the look in my eyes, because I did not expect to be so taken aback by his appearance. He was wearing a dark blue windbreaker that looked amazing against his olive skin and silver hair. He was so tall and so solid that I just wanted to wrap my arms around him. The term wow was actually uttered very clearly in my mind. The photos on his online profile were headshots, and his hair was considerably longer – the man in front of me was clean cut and freakin’ gorgeous. Nervous? Yes. We now have confirmed nervousness. We have lift-off! What started as a rip-off-the-Band-Aid-and-never-talk-to-him-again meeting took quite an unexpected turn. For the first time since I started this whole cyber-roller coaster, I was looking at a man whom I found to be quite…well…scrumptious. Remember beautiful Erick? Good, because Greg’s gorgeourifickness made Erick look like Gomer Pyle. I can’t believe I considered settling on Gomer when I could have Adonis. Holy crap! How am I even going to be able to string together simple sentences on this date? I was completely gaga and tongue-tied. We popped into a coffee shop to grab our drinks, but I really didn’t want anything because I knew we’d be walking for a while and didn’t want my infantile bladder to embarrass me. I ordered coffee, and he, a mint tea. Mint tea? Mint tea? I wanted to order mint tea. Why didn’t I order mint tea? Why is he ordering mint tea? Is he trying to put on airs? Is he trying to come across as Mr. Suave and Sensitive? Grrr! I really want mint tea. I can’t change my order now – that would seem lame. Ugh…I really would prefer mint tea. Pout. We walked along a lakeside path and Greg talked just as much as I did (it was so refreshing, as I was used to more one-sided conversations from previous dates). I felt comfortable around him. We talked easily and I found myself acting like me. The me that only Daniella ever witnessed. Greg was excited. As he'd told me in one of his previous messages, he had just quit his job as a foreman in metal fabrication to become an independent salesperson for a water conditioning company. He was so excited and spoke about it with such passion – he told me so many facts about water conditioning that I finally let him know he was preaching to the choir. I spent years as an independent contractor for a company that marketed, among other things, water filtration systems. I really enjoyed listening to Greg. It was nice to keep my mouth shut for once and just go along for the ride. We walked for over an hour, and there was never a lull in the conversation. It wasn’t constant chattering to fill awkward silences – it was sincere conversation that flowed. Finally I had met the real man under the fluff. He spoke like a regular guy – the Shakespeare-on-crack from the cyber world didn't make an appearance. I found out that English was Greg's second language (his family immigrated here from Hungary), which explained the grammatical disconnect of his written messages. I felt slightly ashamed – maybe it wasn’t insincere fluff after all…maybe he was doing his best to rise above his linguistic limitations. Whatever it was, I’d met the real Greg now and liked what I was seeing and hearing. As we came close to reaching our cars again, he asked if we could stop so he could use the washroom. Thank gawd! I won’t have to suffer needlessly. Hold on a minute. A man needing to stop to use the facilities? Do you think he has an immature bladder too? Have I met my soul mate? Upon entering the washroom, I was quite dismayed to see that the blustery winds had wreaked havoc on my hair and that my eyes were bloodshot from all the fresh air. Honestly, I don’t remember the last time I'd gotten that much fresh air. Since I moved here, I’d pretty much been a shut-in. Okay, let’s be honest…before I moved here, I'd pretty much been a shut-in. We got back to our cars and stood and chatted even longer. I kept changing positions to get him between me and the strong winds. The man is built like a brick shit-house, so he made a great windbreaker for me. He asked if I wanted to continue our chat in my car, but I told him I was fine. Shivering uncontrollably, but fine.