That kiss with Jordon was a whirlwind. She had simply gone outside to get some fresh air, and by the time she came back in, she had experienced this earth shattering connection with someone she had never expected to meet.
He had left and gone home, but she and her friends were headed to the wedding after party at the bride and groom’s house. The party which the bride did not attend because she crashed as soon as she got home. The rest of the group stayed up until the wee hours of the morning. She and Kaitlin had gotten to talking, and she tried to play it cool regarding her makeout sesh with Kaitlin’s brother.
Kaitlin was chill and pragmatic about it. She talked her brother up saying what an amazing guy he was, but also confided in her about some of the hardships he had faced throughout his previous relationship.
Jordon had been married to his ex for five years, together for fifteen. High School Sweethearts. By the end of it, he was depressed, had gained weight, and was not living for himself. Kaitlin didn’t go in to too much more detail other than that, but she was comforted by Kaitlin’s story. Many of Jordon’s experiences resonated with her own.
She and Jordon messaged on Instagram for a bit throughout the rest of the night. Their conversation continued again the next day as she lounged on the couch in her post-party haze. Her friend and her friend’s husband had stayed over, and her dad had made them a delicious breakfast around noon. It was like they were in high school again. Giggling about shenanigans that took place the night before, hiding their secrets from her parents. Her friend was notably excited for her, but she still tried to keep a level head.
It had been about three or four days since she and Jordon had met, and they had not stopped texting the entire time. By mid-week, Jordon asked if he could take her out on a date. She giddily accepted.
He lived in the far west end of the city, she in the far east end. In planning the date, he confirmed that he would drive the 40 minutes out to her place to come pick her up, to then drive them west again to go downtown for dinner. That gesture alone made her knees weak. She was completely unaccustomed to anyone ever offering to come get her. Her friends didn’t even do that, she was so out of the way! But he chivalrously would not accept her offer to meet him downtown. Eventually she succumbed to his kindness and sent him her address.
It was a Friday night, one week to the day after their first encounter. She had specified that he not park in front of her house as her parents had a giant bay window out of which they would surely see him, and thus begin prematurely planning their wedding. He agreed to park in front of the neighbour’s and would text her when he arrived.
She changed her outfit like a hundred times, but she finally settled on something in which she felt both sexy and cute. The perfect first date look. He texted her when he was outside, and she hurried out to meet him.
She got in his car and greeted him with a smile and a nervous hello. He immediately turned to her and went in for a real kiss. She was not expecting tongue 0.3 seconds in to her date, so she awkwardly gave him the cheek. He was smooth, though, and moved past it as they headed out to dinner.
They parked in a parking garage a short walk from the restaurant. In anticipation of extensive traffic, they had left about 30 minutes earlier than was necessary, and now had some time to kill before their reservation. She suggested they take a stroll around downtown, she always loved the energy of the bustling city core. Jordon had other ideas.
He looked at her and leaned in. “Oh, I guess we’re making out again!” she thought to herself as his lips touched hers. Their energy went from calm and cordial, to hot and heavy real fast. They were full on making out now. Like, wet, sloppy, intense making out. It was a bit too much for her at first, but she got in to it. She felt it was just because she hadn’t expected it. Was he just like every other guy, only in it for the physical?
After several long, tongue filled minutes, she had to pull her face away and insist they head out. She could feel the eyes of passers by peeking in on their steamy car makeout sesh. She also didn’t want to give the wrong impression that she was so easily swayed in to giving it all up. Which, let’s face it, she was, but that’s not the impression she wanted Jordon to have of her.
They fixed themselves up and got out of the car, heading out towards the restaurant. They arrived and were seated right away. The restaurant was dark and moody, classy and elegant. She had heard of it before but had never been. Jordon’s likeability points were piling up for having chosen such a great spot.
The server came by and listed off the specials. They ordered their drinks and continued skimming the menu. She wouldn’t describe it as an awkward silence, but there were definite moments of quiet uncertainty. She always hated bringing up her ex, especially on a first date, but she knew that’s where they held their common ground, so she asked him about his past relationship, and she confided in him about hers.
The server came back and they ordered their appetizers. They both chose a delicious butternut squash soup, and their entrées. Jordon got a mushroom gnocchi which sounded delicious, aside from the mushrooms. She ordered cauliflower steak with cashew cheese and an overload of quinoa and veg. Everything was just so mouth-wateringly delicious.
Once they each had a drink in them, their conversation flowed more easily. He was kind, he was funny, he was sweet, he was smart. He was successful, he was self aware. He’d gone to therapy, he was working on himself both physically and mentally… Literally the perfect, most well rounded guy she could have ever asked for. All that and they had great sexual chemistry? “This can’t be real”, she thought.
They finished their meals and the waiter returned asking about tea or coffee. They both declined. The waiter then suggested, likely against his boss’ wishes, that they stop at a bakery just down the block for dessert. He raved about their donuts and other delicious sweets, so they agreed to go take a look.
Jordon paid the bill like a gentleman, and they gathered their coats and headed out. The bakery was just a few steps away, but as they approached, they saw the line was out the door. As tempting as it was to try these heavenly baked goods, they were both too full to waste time waiting in line.
As she peeked in the window, Jordon came up to her from behind, put his hands on her hips, and pressed himself up against her. “Do you want to grab some dessert here? Or go back to my place for dessert?” he whispered in her ear. She was receptive to the innuendo and they made a B line to the parking garage.
Their comfortable conversation flowed easily on the drive back, but as soon as they got to his house, it was right upstairs for them. For a first time, the sex was pretty wonderful. They both fumbled a bit getting in to a groove, but their connection and attraction to each other was undeniable. They both finished and lay there for a moment, just soaking it all in. Then they got dressed and he gave her a little tour of his house.
She could hear the pride in his voice after having done a few minor renos, and because this was the house he bought when he moved out of his shared home with his ex-wife. She was happy for him. They hung out for a little while, but it was getting late so she gathered her things and he drove back across the city to bring her home. They kissed goodbye and both agreed that there would most definitely be a second date. She got out of the car with a smile on her face.
She enjoyed the rest of her weekend, and even had the Monday off for the Queen’s funeral. Monday morning, she had woken up with a super scratchy throat. She thought it was from sleeping, mouth agape, with the window wide open. Still, by Monday evening, she had decided to take a Covid test, just in case. She did the swab, let it sit, and when she returned to check she saw no double line. “Phew! Negative!” she thought. For some reason, though, she didn’t throw the test out. She left it on the counter and said she’d deal with it in the morning.
Tuesday morning came. She felt fine. Got up, showered, did her hair. Came downstairs to put her coffee on, and happened to glance over at the test on the counter. To her surprise, she saw the faintest, tiniest, little red line. “Oh fuck!” she said out loud to her dog.
She ran and grabbed another test and, sure enough, she was positive for Covid. She called her boss, still feeling healthy as a horse, and told her boss she wouldn’t be in for the week. This being her second time around, she knew to sanitize everything she had just touched, grabbed a mask from the hall closet, and headed back upstairs to her bedroom. And so began her long, boring week, of recovering from Covid… which she very likely contracted from Jordon. Because of course 🙄🙃