Yesterday, I had planned on going to a football game in Chattanooga and out with a girlfriend after. The game got canceled, so my night was free. I ended up going on a first date in Atlanta.
A little background info: The guy's name is Sean, and we have been "talking" for quite a while, but never met. We had planned to meet today (Sunday), but I guess he was a little anxious for the date, because as soon as I texted him and said the game was canceled, he asked if I wanted to go ahead and come down. I figured we might as well, so I finished up my shopping, got dressed up, and headed to Atlanta.
We met near Cumberland Mall and I rode with him to PF Changs. There's not much to say as far as first impressions. We had both seen several pictures of each other and had been talking for so long that it felt like meeting an old friend. I will say that I thought he was rather good looking, but that was apparent from him pictures, so it was no surprise. :)
I had never been to PF Changs before. We had to wait a while for a table, but it was well worth it. The food was delicious. It wasn't hard to make conversation...one of the perks of talking on the phone for so long. It didn't feel like a first date at all.
Dinner got a little more interesting when I saw smoke rising from a table across from me/behind Sean. I didn't see flames, so I said, "Is that on fire?!" Sean turned around, jumped up, grabbed the napkin that was on fire, and put it out! People started turning around and looking, and two waiters came over with the dumbest looks on their faces, inspecting the napkin trying to figure out what happened. They had candles on all the tables, and someone had thrown their napkin over the candle before leaving. Sean just sat back down like nothing had happened, and I wasn't quite sure what to say. We ended up laughing about it, but it was strange. He ended up with a small burn on his wrist that unfortunately annoyed him for the rest of the night.
We continued our dinner, and later the manager came over to our table, pulled up a chair, and thanked Sean for what he did. They talked for a while, and a few minutes after that our waitress came to our table and said the manager would like to buy us dessert. We were both full, but Sean let me pick a chocolate cake that I took to go.
I started to see Sean's sentimental side when he gave me a copy of our receipt to "keep from our first date." I was really surprised because he's always seemed more like the manly/never show a sweet side type. On the receipt, the manager had circled the "-$7.95" next to the cake and wrote "Thank You" beside it. We joked that if they weren't so cheap, our whole dinner would've been free! :) I also kept both of our fortunes from our fortune cookies. (For curiosity's sake, mine said "There is beauty in simplicity" and Sean's said "Love is a present that can be given every single day you live.")
We left the restaurant and headed towards downtown. I had no idea where we were going, but Sean had mentioned that we might take a little walk, so I had brought some comfortable shoes to change into since I was in some crazy heels. He told me to go ahead and change my shoes and he drove us to Centennial Park.
I didn't know where we were going until we got there, and I have to say, it was quite romantic. I hadn't been to the park since the 96 Olympics. Several beautifully lit buildings surround the park, and it of course is filled with fountains, trees, walking paths, a playgound, etc. Along with the lights of the city, there was a full moon out that added a pretty, subtle light to the park. We took a slow stroll and on our way back to the car, he stopped us at a creek-like fountain where the water flows over the rocks and is surround by a few trees. He ended up surprising me with a nice long kiss, and now that I think about it, I think he had planned that out (that sentimental side again) so we could say that our first kiss was on a moonlit summer night in Centennial Park. :) By this time it was getting close to midnight, and I had a long drive ahead of me, so we headed back to my car.
On the way, he was playing a CD with several good songs on it, many of which I had never heard. I wasn't sure where he had gotten it. He's an A&R director for a record company, so I thought maybe he had gotten it from work. I asked him if he had made it himself. He kind of gave me a funny look and said, "Yeah, for you." I was surprised to say the least. We both have a great love for music, and no one had ever given me a special-made CD on our first date. I love small, meaningful gifts. Big expensive gifts are overkill to me, and I always feel uncomfortable receiving them. He had obviously planned this too, and this was when I realized he had put a lot of thought into this date. If he hadn't impressed me before, I was impressed now. I think I thanked him about five times. He danced and sang the rest of the way to my car and I just sat there and laughed.
We said goodbye at my car, I had a great time, be careful, text me when you're home, and all that good stuff. He kissed me and I got in my car. I had already buckled up and was about to crank it when my door flew open, almost scaring me to death, and I turned to see Sean. He got in one more kiss before we left. With us living about 1.5 hours apart, maybe he thought he wouldn't be getting another one anytime soon. :)
His birthday is next week, but he'll be out of town for work. He should be back on the weekend, so I'm planning on going down again to see him for a belated birthday dinner. I guess it goes without saying that last night was great. Hopefully we'll have many more dates like that. For now, I've got a date with a huge piece of chocolate cake. :)
