Earlier that month, she had received a follow request from a guy who had seen her on one of the dating apps. She checked out his open profile and saw that he was a bit of an amateur photographer. She enjoyed his photos but he had none of himself, so she was skeptical of accepting his request. A few moments later, however, she got a Tinder notification from him. “Hey! I just requested you on Instagram. Hope that’s okay 😊”. She was happy to have a face to go with the photos.
He had a kind face and seemed pretty nerdy. Definitely not her type and frankly, she didn’t even remember swiping right on him. He was very tall, and had dark blonde/light brown hair, which satisfied her MGK thing for the most part. She really did seem to have a specific look in mind, apparently. He had a goofy, child-like smile, and was very clean shaven. His profile said that he was 37, but he really didn’t look it. Maybe that’s why she had swiped right on him? Apparently she had really developed a thing for the younger guys, but it was a bonus that he wasn’t actually younger.
After examining his profile, she decided that she was fine to add him to her Instagram. She then replied to him in her DM’s where he had also messaged her saying that he had come across her on Tinder. They started chatting and he was polite, complimentary, and inquisitive. He asked all the right questions and chatting with him came so naturally. He didn’t over do it on the conversation, either. When there was a natural end, he wouldn’t push it with the small talk. And he never once mentioned sex. He just watched her InstaStories and asked her about all the walks she had been going on lately, or commented on the artsy posts she shared.
That Saturday after she had lost the interest of the other Tom, this nicer Tom had happened to message her as well. He asked how she was doing and what she was up to. She replied and told him that she was thinking about going on one of her walks, and asked if he wanted to join her. She had barely hit send before he replied “Sure!” He asked where she wanted to go, but also suggested they hit some walking trails near his place as he lived really close to a beautiful, picturesque area of town with amazing walking trails and beautiful views. She was happy to switch up her surroundings and try a different trail.
Tom sent her his address and she told him she would text him when she was on her way. She finished cleaning for her mom, then showered and got ready. When she arrived at his house, she was completely taken aback. He lived in a gorgeous, old white house surrounded by a stunning, overgrown English garden. There were birds and squirrels and bunnies just flourishing all over the property. You’d never know you were smack dab in the middle of a bustling city. She texted him that she had arrived and waited for him to come out to meet her.
“Hey!” he shouted from way up the driveway, still half inside. He hurried out and they exchanged sweet yet awkward greetings before heading out. As they went to cross the street, a family of geese and goslings appeared and crossed the street right in front of them. She was so excited! She had never seen little baby geese up close like that. He was less than impressed as he saw this all the time. These geese were very prevalent around that area. But he was sweet and patient as she took a million pictures and videos before they continued on their way.
Once they got to the trails, the conversation just flowed out of them. Tom was genuinely interested in anything and everything she had to say, and he asked such awesome questions that allowed for no lulls or awkward silences. He told her about himself and what he did for a living. And though much of it went over her head as she had zero knowledge of Software Engineering, she did enjoy listening to him express his passion for what he did.
They walked all along the river, checked out some local water falls that she had never even heard of in all her years of living there, and as they returned back, Tom invited her to join him on his quaint little patio for a drink. She hesitated at first because she really had only intended to go for a walk with him. Even though she knew she liked him as a person, she wasn’t sure if she had any romantic feelings for him. That being said, he really didn’t seem like the type to put the moves on her, so she accepted his offer.
He walked her around the side of the house to where a side apartment was located. It was then that he explained that he didn’t own this gorgeous house, but that he was renting his space from a lovely little old couple who had lived there for 20+ years. Ah, that explains it, she thought. He went inside to grab some refreshments, and she just sat on his patio, looking up at the trees overhead, while she watched the birds fly over her and listened to their sweet songs. Tom came out a few minutes later with a bottle of wine, two wine glasses, and two fancy beers she had never heard of. “Pick your poison,” he said.
She had to drive home later so she suggested they share a beer. He poured it into the wine glasses and joined her on the patio. As she sipped this delicious brew, she noticed him inch his chair closer to her. His hand grazed her thigh and she felt tingles throughout her entire body. She had forgotten what subtle, flirty body language felt like. They chatted a bit more and sipped their beers, then Tom offered to give her a tour of the English garden on the front lawn. She happily accepted and they brought their drinks out to the front of the property. He showed her around, then brought her to sit on a darling, ornate cement bench.
As they sat there, basking in the sun, a cool breeze washing over them, the sounds of the birds chirping above them, she felt his hand gently tickle and rub her back. “Holy fuck, he is putting the moves on!“, she thought to herself. It was then that she realized she had been talking a mile a minute. She couldn’t believe how nervous she was all of a sudden. No one had wooed her like this in… well, maybe ever! She nervously hadn’t been looking at him as she blabbered away, but as she turned her head, she locked eyes with him and her stomach exploded with butterflies. He leaned in, and he kissed her. A soft yet strong, lovely kiss. She kissed him back, and now they were making out in this beautiful English garden.
This was not at all what she had intended when she asked him to join her for a walk. She thought he was just a nice guy and hadn’t wanted to go for another walk by herself. She thought back to Tommy and the other Tom she had just been in contact with and realized that the Universe had definitely been pushing her in this direction. She didn’t want to resist this. She didn’t want to run from what could clearly be an incredible experience. He wasn’t her typical “type”, and normally she would have interpreted his kindness for weakness, for lack of a better term. But she had just been so used to always having to fight for guy’s attention. Yet, here Tom was, giving it freely. She told herself as they were making out that she was going to enjoy every second of this, whatever may happen.
Shortly after, Tom heard some voices in the backyard and realized his sweet, older lady landlord was coming towards them. They quickly stopped what they were doing and picked up their drinks to head back to his more private patio. “Oh hello, Tom!” the old lady said as she approached. Tom introduced them and she complimented this lovely woman on her beautiful garden before they headed back towards his apartment.
They sat on the patio and immediately picked up where they left off. He stopped kissing her for a moment and asked if she wanted to stay a while. “I can’t,” she said, knowing that if she did, the chances of them having sex would be very high. She worried that it would ruin things too quickly. “I have to go home for dinner. I have to pick up hamburger buns for my parents…” she lied. He paused and said, “Um, that’s what you said last time?”
She panicked. She had completely forgotten that he had asked her to come over after one of her walks a few weeks back, but she lied and just randomly said that she had to go home for dinner and was supposed to bring home hamburger buns. Using her quick thinking and wits, she replied, “Yeah so? We eat a lot of hamburgers..?”
She was surprised yet relieved that he seemed to accept that answer as truth. But she really was enjoying herself, and reminded herself that she wasn’t going to run from this. So she fake texted her parents and told him, “Okay, all good. I can stay.” “Great!” he said excitedly. “In that case…” and he rushed back inside. He was only gone a few moments before he came back out with a giant mason jar full of weed. “What the fucking fuck?!” she thought. “Who is this guy?!”
He did not seem the type to smoke weed, nor to have a giant friggin mason jar full of it. He then told her the story about how his lovely, geriatric landlords actually grew weed behind the house. They had these giant, super tall plants and one day, some kids had hopped the fence and stolen a bunch. As shady as it was, Tom had then jumped at the chance to precure some for himself, as well. So he chopped off a limb and his landlords never noticed because they had already just been robbed.
She busted out laughing. This guys was NOTHING like she had thought. This tall, awkward, nerdy guy was actually super cool and fun and charming and she just kept thanking herself for not judging this book by the cover. When Tom brought out his jar of weed, he had also brought out a pre-roll. He didn’t like smoking alone so he was eager to try this new strain with her. They puffed a bit, finished their drinks, and then headed inside.
“Well I guess if you’re staying, we should probably eat something!” he said as he headed over to the fridge. He began listing things off that he could whip up for them and she just stood there thinking, “This guy has a stocked fridge, and is about to cook me dinner… This is what a grown ass man looks like…” (Isn’t it sad that something as minor as having groceries was such a big deal to her?) “Raise your standards, sis”, she told herself.
After a little back and forth, Tom decided he could make them pizza. Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!! You can never go wrong with pizza. She had told Tom about her recent weight loss and how she had cut out beef, pork and most dairy from her diet. She still ate cheese though. Specifically because, pizza is life. So he grabbed some peppers, olives, onions, and cheese and began preparing their meal.
“I usually use goat cheese but I’m out at the moment…” Tom said as he began chopping peppers. “Oh, well forget it, then!” she joked. As he began cooking, she noticed he seemed kind of flustered. Making like, quick, anxious movements and thinking out loud. He then hurried over to the table and asked her to come sit. He plopped the weed jar down in front of her and asked her to roll them a joint while he prepared dinner. This date really could not have been going any better.
She began grinding up the buds as she watched him shake up some weird, white substance in a jar. “What are you doing?” she asked. “Oh, just prepping the starter…” he replied. She then realized that HE WAS MAKING HER A SOUR DOUGH CRUST FROM SCRATCH! She asked herself again, “Who the fuck is this guy!?” She couldn’t believe that this guy, this random guy she had had absolutely zero intention of really giving a chance, was cooking her an incredible, homemade meal from scratch. She had never experienced this kind of chivalry in her life. Not that she didn’t think she deserved to be treated well, but she just never had been so it was quite the surprise and adjustment.
She finished rolling their joint and then grabbed her drink and walked over to where he was cooking so she could get a better view. She was genuinely so interested in this sour dough crust process. He then began his awkward, anxious movements again. “Am I distracting you? Do you want me to go back and sick down?” she asked. “No, no!” Tom replied. Then, without warning, he just swooped in towards her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her. Her arms flew up around his neck and they just started making out hardcore, right there in his kitchen.
This time the kissing was just like.. wow. Before it was just the soft, sensual type kissing, and was always somewhat awkward as they had been sitting beside each other so it wasn’t a really great angle. This kitchen kiss was like… whoa.
She could feel herself getting tingly and becoming super duper turned on. Tom moved his hands up to the sides of her face and held her cheeks as he slowed down. “Okay no. I have to finish this..” he laughed as he stepped back from her. She legit had to catch her breath and steady herself on the couch she had been leaning on. This was going to be the best pizza she had ever eaten…