What Was Your First Date Like?

I used to be 15 once I met Brandon, a blue-eyed highschool junior, who performed bass in a punk band. After just a few weeks of flirting over MySpace and avoiding one another in individual, I used to be smitten.

The night he requested me out over textual content — “I such as you, do you need to go to the flicks?” — my coronary heart pitter-pattered like by no means earlier than. I waited two seconds earlier than responding “Sure!!” and throwing myself onto my mattress in a love-size haze.

The one catch? I labored that Saturday. Oh, and I wasn’t allowed so far. My mother and father had a strict “no relationship till 16” rule, and regardless that I used to be only a yr away, my mom wouldn’t budge.

By the morning of the massive day, nonetheless, I had a plan and an confederate. My buddy Andrea agreed to drive me to the theater, then decide me up and take me to work. That approach, Brandon wouldn’t should go wherever close to my home, and my mother would suppose I used to be hanging with buddies.

An hour earlier than the film began, I used to be in my bed room, flat-ironing my hair right into a silky sheet and making use of a 3rd coat of mascara (pricey god why). My flip telephone buzzed with a textual content from Andrea: “Working 20 minutes late. Sorry!”

I shot Brandon a textual content, explaining I’d be late however was nonetheless excited. Cue the subsequent 20 minutes of obsessively checking my telephone for updates from Andrea. Then I bought her second textual content: “Sorry! My mother and father are preserving me right here endlessly. I’ll be there in one other 20 I swear!” At that time, I felt queasy — what if Brandon thought I used to be blowing him off? Or what if he determined to cancel? When Andrea’s automotive pulled into the driveway, I dashed out the entrance door.

Driving as much as the entrance of the theater, we noticed Brandon, sitting awkwardly on a bench close to the doorway, the place moviegoers filed out and in, unaware of the tiny teenage melodrama unfolding earlier than them. I jumped out of the automotive, prepared to begin my apology speech. However to my aid, he minimize me off, grinned, and mentioned, “Come on, let’s get popcorn and watch that film.”

For the reason that movie we’d deliberate to look at was virtually over, we ducked right into a 3:15 p.m. displaying of Child Mama. As I settled into my seat, the nerves hit and my cheeks have been on fireplace. I, Jannelle Sanchez, was on an actual reside date! I compelled myself to seize a handful of popcorn, and Brandon wrapped his arm round my shoulders. For the subsequent half-hour, we have been enshrouded in teenage bliss.

Not even midway into the film, my telephone vibrated with a textual content from Andrea saying “I’m right here,” and similar to that my first date was up. Earlier than tiptoeing out the theater, I gave Brandon a facet hug and whispered “thanks.”

Throughout that hectic, fantastic half hour, I discovered one thing: the right date doesn’t must occur in an ideal setting. Essentially the most romantic moments usually occur in unplanned or unpredictable methods. Right this moment, every time my husband and I get an evening off from parenting and a hiccup pops up — like a cancelled dinner reservation or sold-out comedy present — I’m as cool as a cucumber and even somewhat giddy. As a result of I do know one thing magical is likely to be proper across the nook.

What was your first date like? Was it embarrassing, wonderful, or each? I’d love to listen to.

P.S. Awkward relationship tales and what’s your relationship standing?