Blogtober Day 16: Date Stories

I’ve not been on many proper dates in my life, in fact from memory I’ve only been on four in total, with three different people. Even then, one of those wasn’t really a date! It was more of a spontaneous meet-up at the local pub. I suppose it depends on what you class as a date, but to me it had to be pre-planned with the specific aim of meeting with someone who you consider to be a potential romance of some kind. 

Of course you get friend dates and self dates, but that’s a different thing altogether. I’ve been on hundreds of friend dates! So it’s not that I’m a hermit or anything. I’ve only been single for two years of my adult life, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Every time someone mentioned the word “date” I’d flee, even though one guy even wanted to take me to the zoo! I liked that guy and I love the zoo, but at the time I knew I wasn’t anywhere near ready to commit, and that’s exactly what he was looking for – a commitment. No idea what happened to him in the end, but I hope some other girl enjoyed an epic day at the zoo!

It’s not hard to choose the best and the worst of my four dates. There are only four to choose from, after all! And I suppose I’d be doing my current boyfriend a disservice if his wasn’t the best, purely from the outcome! 

The Worst Date

In the spirit of saving the best fort last, I’ll start with the worst date. It was with a guy from an online dating site, and we’d been talking a bit, had a lot in common, and lived fairly close to each other. We already drank in all the same places, so we’d probably crossed paths before without even knowing. 

It seemed logical to go to one of the places we both frequented, then at least we’d both feel comfortable with the surroundings. This was the first time I’d been on a date with someone I didn’t already know pretty well, and I was quite nervous. However after a year of being single I was pretty comfortable with who I was as an individual, and also not really desperate for a boyfriend, so there was a weird amount of confidence thrown in with my nerves.

We met at a local pub and it was alright. We chatted without it being too awkward, and we drank together which made it even easier. Fuelled by drink we went to the Dungeon, an alternative club a few doors down from the pub. Another place we both frequented, it was the only proper alternative club in town, after all. It has since been replaced by a sports bar which is very, very sad. 

Well, going to the Dungeon was a MISTAKE. I think it was a Wednesday, which is partly why we went there. You see, Wednesdays at the Dungeon were cheap nights. You could get a single spirit and mixer for 80p, and their signature “get pissed” drink, the Dungeon Delight, was only £1.50. Needless to say we got wrecked. 

On this date, I was the nightmare. I got SO drunk, like MESSY drunk. The guy was nice enough, but I was wrecko. I vaguely remember some of the conversation, and it got pretty deep at one point. The kind of deep conversation you have with either your best mates or with complete drunken strangers. Not the kind you have on a first date. Oh, and there were other people I knew there, who I remember latching onto quite heavily.

This is honestly one of those things I think about in the night time sometimes haha. The date ended with me just….leaving. I knew I was too drunk so I just left. Didn’t tell the guy I was leaving, just totally bailed. Not because of him, but because of me. What a nightmare. Never again!

The Best Date

This date was at the end of an already awesome day. Me and my best friend had been in London for the day. We were there for Sea Life After Dark, which is exactly what it sounds like – you go to the Sea Life Centre in the night time. We’d had a lovely Wetherspoons dinner which consisted mostly of wine before going to hang out with the fishies. 

During this wonderful experience I’d also been periodically messaging a guy I’d been chatting to online. We were getting on really well, and had bonded successfully over out shared love of cats. The first message he ever sent me was “hell fellow cat person” and I already knew I liked him. Plus he was good looking in his photos!

We were on the train home with more wine, buzzing from our awesome day, when this guy messages me asking if I want to meet up for a drink. I’d already done the test where I asked him id he’d ever drunk Bailey’s from a shoe, and he passed. So I considered it. We were getting home late so I was a bit tentative at first. I said I’d see how I felt when I got hone. Then I thought “eff it, YOLO” and go changed and went to the pub.

He was at the bar when I got there, looking as handsome as his pictures. I was surprised he was out, as he’d just got back from America that morning. To this day I love that in his tired and jet-lagged state he made the effort to come and meet me, and stay up super late chatting about anything and everything. 

Almost three years later and we’re still together. It wasn’t a planned date or anything spectacular on paper, but it’s how I met my amazing boyfriend. The way we clicked made it awesome, and that’s all you need really.

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