The next morning I skipped into work. I walked down the road with a coffee in my hand feeling elated with life, new job, great date and it was a Friday. Happy Days! He texted me ‘Good morning’ and bid me a good day. His phone went into lockdown when he entered his work building so he couldn’t text much during the day. Which was actually a blessing. There is nothing worse than waiting/anticipating a guys text message when you are in the throes of something new. So knowing that I would only be liable to hear from him at some times of the day was actually refreshing.

We arranged our second date for the Sunday afternoon. He had a friends birthday that he needed to go to on the Saturday night while I was meeting friends for late lunch on the Saturday afternoon. He suggested we could go for a nice Sunday roast in some quintessential English pub that had roaring fires and board games stacked on shelves for punters to while away their Sunday afternoons in. Bliss.

I went for lunch with my friends on the Saturday and gushed about my date in an excited but cautious manner. On one hand it was all new and exciting but on the other hand it was completely terrifying. I had broken up with my ex just three months before hand and my heart was fragile. One misplaced word, or misjudged feeling planted inside it could easily shatter it all over again and I didn’t know if I was ready for any potential further heartache. I reminded myself that actually this was just a bit of fun. Not everything had to turn into a relationship. Sure I liked him, but christ I didn’t have to marry the guy. I had one good date, and I was looking forward to the fun that would ensue. I needed to lighten up and push any thoughts of heartache to one side. This was just a bit of fun, just a bit of fun.

I repeated that mantra to myself all day.

So much so that when he texted me later that night my mischievous side kicked in…..

I had had a lovely few glasses of wine during lunch with my gal pals and went home on my own at about 8pm. My housemate was out and I plonked myself in front of the TV in my house clothes with a fresh bottle of wine a dominoes pizza and a repeat of Gogglebox. He messaged me at about 11.30pm.

“Hey you, how’s your night been?” he asked

“Hey, ah sure you know, just chillin out with a bottle of wine” I was actually fairly tipsy at this stage and well on my way to being a tad drunk “How was your friends birthday, you still out?”

“Ah it was alright, fairly tame, lots of my mates are married with kids now so wild nights out are less of the norm. Well with this group of friends anyway. Some of my other mates are still mad as hatters, plus I have a hot date tomorrow that I want to be fresh for ;)”

“Oh yeah? Good for you, I hope she knows what wicked plans you have in store for her” I said temptingly

“Ah now if she knew that she’d be blushing” he teased

“Ha! aw I bet she probably is” I was.

“In fairness I am looking forward to seeing you again”

“Maybe you should just come over now” I said half jokingly, but half interested to see how spontaneous this guy could be. (Actually make that a quarter jokingly and a quarter drunkly!)

“Ha oh I would love to”

“Well come on then, come up to my house”

“It’s nearly midnight” he said

“Aw are you Cinderella?” I jested

“Ok you, I’m ordering a cab”

“Great! Bring wine” as if I needed anymore.

“It will probably take me 45 minutes to get there” he warned. He lived in South West London while I lived in North East. Literally opposite sides of the city so him hopping in a cab late at night was a big ask.

“That’s ok, I’ll be here” I assured him texting him my address

“Ok my cabs here, you better not be asleep”

“Asleep! Oh my gosh I certainly won’t be. I’m wide awake”.

This was a complete lie. I practically had one eye open at this point and suddenly what had been a cheeky game of cat an mouse had  become an immediate reality. He was  actually in a cab winging his way to me. I looked down at myself. I was wearing pyjama bottoms, a grey hoodie (that belonged to my ex) which incidentally had a splodge of dominoes garlic and herb sauce on it. My contacts were out and glasses were on and my hair was scooped up into an unflattering pile on top of my head.

Crap!

Ok I had 45 minutes to fix this.

I jumped in the shower and frantically began shaving my legs. Truth be told I hadn’t done the deed with anyone since my ex and my legs were in dire need of a shedding. Crap!

I realised that I could very well be getting down and dirty with this guy tonight. I know it was very quick, but honestly I felt like I knew him really well. I hadn’t had sex in months, and they say the best way to get over one man is to get under another. But I was nervous. Drunk. Nervous. Excited.

I repeated my mantra. This is just a bit of fun. Enjoy yourself.

After my shower I had to try and choose an outfit that said “Chilling in on a Saturday night, but also sexy as hell, but also this is actually how I always look when I am by myself”. This is really not an easy look to pull off. But I think I nailed it. Well my drunken self certainly told myself that I had nailed it. I was wearing sexy underwear, a grey scooped neck pinafore dress with pockets, a black shrug thing and black tights, no shoes. I applied simple makeup, a swoosh of bronzer, a slick of mascara and some shiny lip gloss. By the time he arrived I was reclining on my sofa delighted by my 45 minute transformation.

When I opened the door to him he looked sheepish and a little amazed at our spontaneity.

He wiggled a bottle of wine in front of me that he had successfully bought from an Indian shop who somehow managed to avoid all laws by selling alcohol at all hours of the day and night. There are lots of them in London so this was not too hard a task in fairness.

“Thank god you’re awake ” he said as I ushered him into my living room. “I was worried I’d get here and you would be fast asleep and I would be stranded like a fool in North London”

“Ah you underestimate me, I’m a total night owl” I said. Again another complete lie. I was famous for being the first person to fall asleep at a party.

“I can’t believe you actually came though, I’m impressed” I said truthfully

“Well when a girl like you invites me over I  would want to have my head examined if I said no. Plus I genuinely did really want to see you and waiting another 12 hours just seemed like an awful long time to wait”

Oh this one was a charmer alright.

I poured him some wine and we told each other about our day as we tried desperately to ignore the massive elephant in the room. That being that my bedroom was inches away and the sexual tension between us was, well, palpable.

I’d love to say that in the end we actually stayed up chatting all night long. I’d love to say that this turned into that scene from Crazy Stupid Love with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone (swoon). But actually in reality we got about half way through the bottle before we hopped on each other and frantically made it to the bedroom.

For the sake of my family members who I know read this blog I’ll leave the details behind the bedroom door but suffice to say it was . A.W.E.S.O.M.E. and I, nay we, had a wonderful time.

We reluctantly emerged from my bed at about 2pm the next day and even then it was only because our stomachs rumbled.

We hazily got dressed and rather than him make some excuses as to why he had to leave he suggested we head out together for some lunch and the proposed 2nd date.

We walked hand in hand up to Crouch End. A leafy London burb with fabulous cafes and a buzzing high street. We hungrily ate some brunch in a small quaint little cafe. Exchanging flirtatious post coital glances at one another across the pepper pot and salt seltzer.  We were extremely comfortable in one another’s company and I basked in the after glow.

After we ate we walked around for a little while going in an out of charity shops where he helped me buy a new lampshade that I needed. This felt like such relationship territory and I had to keep repeating to myself. This is just a bit of fun, it’s just a bit of fun. Don’t get ahead of yourself. (Something I am infamous for)

Standing at a traffic light he wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed the top of my head. Perhaps sensing my reluctance he whispered into my ear

“Hey listen, if I’m annoying you by hanging around just let me know, I’m just really enjoying being in your company right now”.

It was refreshing to know he was just as insecure as me about all of this. But surely he knew by how I leaned into him while waiting for the orange man to turn green that I didn’t want him going anywhere.

“I’m enjoying being in your company too” I assured “Lets go to a pub drink some cider and play some pool” I suggested

He feigned his knees going weak and closed his eyes and exclaimed “You did not just suggest that! Oh my god you are literally the ideal woman! That is exactly what I want to do right now and you’ve just suggested it. Amazing” he said kissing me on the lips

“Ha well lets see how you feel after I whoop your ass at pool” I laughed

“Oh you’re a hustler baby! Well we’ll just have to see about that won’t we” he said wrapping me in an embrace before leading me off to the nearest bar.

To be continued….