The Story...part 2

The test

I pulled up to Scott's house and sat in my car for a few minutes gathering my thoughts. This dating thing was still overwhelming to me and frankly, I hated it. I hated first meeting people and the awkward conversations you might have when first getting to know one another. But, I had made a goal for myself and I needed to stick to it. I walked up to the door and knocked. Here we go...

To be honest, I couldn't tell you what all we did that first night. Scott's house is a virtual toyland for both kids and adults. We might have nervously played a few rounds of Battletoads to ease the tension. Or we could have spent the first half of that evening with me kicking his trash in ping pong. Those details I don't quite remember. Eventually I remember we made it to the couch (separate couches mind you) where we talked and talked and talked. 

I'm pretty sure we talked until it was way past the time I should be home. I was still in nursing school at this time and homework, studying and clinicals bombarded the majority of my time. Not to mention my children were still waking up at the crack of dawn at that time. But that didn't matter to me. We talked about everything from friends and family to wondering if we ever met at the church Saturday night dances during our teen years. The one thing I remember about Scott is that he was easy to talk to. He wasn't judgemental or arrogant. He was genuinely interested in what I had to say and who I was as a person. On a sidenote...he was a talker. So when I say that we talked, it was probably 70/30....maybe 60/40 if I'm being generous :) But, he was funny. I remember I was mid conversation about who knows what, facing him on the opposite couch. I was fixing my hair and out of nowhere Scott interrupts and says "You're so hot." Um......what? I wasn't sure how to respond. I laughed and he laughed, and we started our conversation right back up where we left off. I thought to myself how different he was than other guys I had met. He actually said exactly what he's thinking. Which could be a good and bad thing I've since discovered. 

It's never going to be comfortable when someone starts out a conversation with "You're a nurse so..." This usually resorts to someone talking about a personal medical ailment of theirs looking for treatment, sympathy or I'm not sure what.  Some people might be aware that Scott's conversation filter is pretty much broken. I think it has been his whole life. He doesn't quite pick up on what stories he should tell and not tell in situations. This was definently one he should not have told on a first meeting, and will never live it down. Scott felt that since I was in nursing school, I would find his medical history pretty interesting. He failed to consider the awkwardness that might also occur in conjunction.He proceeded to tell me about a medical condition of his, one that will not be named because the comfort level in reading this post would go down a bit. He told me everything from about his experience in treating said condition to dealing with it in everyday life. I sat on that couch and thought to myself "why is he telling me this...." but at the same time, I found it extremely entertaining. All I could see was this goofy guy sitting across from me nervously rambling about whatever he could think of, not realizing that perhaps it doesn't give the best first impression. I laughed through the majority of that topic, not believing at what was occuring. At times, I tried to be serious and acting genuinely concerned, but failed to maintain that attitude for too long. After about an hour, Scott concluded his story-but it probably wasn't until he was laying in bed that night that the realization set in of what was just discussed.

It's conversations like that, that would/should typically scare a girl away. And to be honest, I don't know why I wasn't. That night, I didn't find myself attracted to Scott, but I felt comfortable with him. He was funny, goofy and laid back. That's really all I needed at that point. He didn't stress over little things (like I did) and being around him was just easy.He didn't make me feel weird for being a divorced, single mom. After that first night of being together, I felt like he was someone I could really get along with and have a good time with. My life was so consumed by responsibility and stress, I needed someone that I could have fun with. I needed a friend. My girlfriends were all off at school or married and I was seriously lacking people to de-stress with. Scott was the perfect solution.

I left that night feeling happy and relaxed. A feeling I hadn't had in a long time. I wasn't sure what would ever happen with Scott, but I felt we would have a fun time figuring it out. And I learned the next few weeks would certainly prove that..