part 3

In case you missed the beginning of the story you can read part one and part two before reading this post. Trust me, it'll make a lot more sense.
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The next week was spring break, and Amber and I went with our parents to NYC to shop and see some plays. During that same week, Greg was in Florida at a cheer competition.

(Oops, I guess I neglected to mention that Greg was a cheerleader for WKU when I met him.)

I didn't think about him much that week. I had concluded that he didn't have much to say on our date, so he must not be interested in me, and since he hadn't said much, I really didn't have much to be thinking about. Matter-of-fact, he had probably found some cute cheerleader to date at that competition. So, I figured it would be awkward the next few weeks in class, but that we'd say our "hellos" and be cordial and never see each other again after that.

When I returned from spring break, I had barely gotten back into my dorm room and the phone was ringing. It was Greg, telling me how much he had thought about me over the past week, how much fun he had on our date, and how all he could think about was coming back to town to see me again.

Really? Were we on the same date that night?

I was completely taken off-guard. That was the last phone call I had expected to receive.

Apparently he was enamored with me, and although I didn't quite have the same feelings about him, I figured it couldn't hurt to have someone hanging on my every word, so I agreed to our second double-date.

This time, we went to Hops, another local place (which was later condemned and burned, but at the time, I thought they had great food). Again, most of the conversation was between my sister and I while Jason and Greg sat, ate, and used us as entertainment, until they started throwing baked potato back and forth at each other across the booth.

Amber and I were completely disgusted. And, most likely, I had the look of complete disgust all over my face, because almost as soon as they started, they stopped. I have a very difficult time not expressing my inner feelings, so if I'm not saying it, most likely, my face is doing the talking.

We wrapped up dinner, played some more cards, then called it a night. Still no kiss.

Later that week, he invited me to his apartment to study for our test, and while I still didn't know how I was feeling about him, he was a nice guy, he thought I hung the moon, and that I was hilariously funny, so I went. We studied for a while as I was convinced that he needed to make an "A" on the test to be date-worthy and visited with his roommates and their girlfriends. By then, I had learned that the red "sunburn" he had when I first saw him was actually face-burn from doing a back tuck, missing, then scraping his face along the gym floor. I had also learned that he was neat and clean, because his apartment was (for the most part) picked up and there weren't dirty dishes in the sink. That was a definite positive in my book, so before I left, when he asked if he could kiss me, of course I said, "Yes."

A test later and still no "A" from Greg, and still no real sign of thinking that I would want to date him long term, I agreed to go on a date with a turf-management major that I had met on campus. Well, I didn't know he was a turf-management major till our salads had been served and our meal was already ordered. Again, this first date was at Mariah's, so thoughts were already being formed comparing this date to my first date with Greg. He told me all about grass, all the different kinds, why it was a great major, how it had just become a major and what he planned to do with his degree. It seemed more like a job interview than a date and by the time my soup came (yes, I was kind and ordered a soup/salad at this date, too), I had a quesy feeling in my stomach.

All I could think about was how much more comfortable I had felt with Greg on our first date and how although he hadn't said much, how interested he was in me, despite the fact that I had been selfish and not asked many questions of him. He had never put me in a situation where I felt pressured to be anything other than myself. These thoughts permeated my date with grass-guy and I asked to be excused from our plans to go to a movie in exchange for an early drop-off at my dorm. He obliged, but I could tell he was totally put-off.

As soon as I entered my dorm room, I picked up the phone and dialed.

"Greg?"

"Yes."

"You free tonight?"

"I can be in about 10 minutes. Do you want to come over?"

"Absolutely. I'm on my way."

Many many months later I learned that he had a girl in his apartment at the time, and had to hurriedly shoo her away to make way for me to be there. I don't remember a discussion about being exclusive at that point, but after that, we didn't date anyone else. I guess it was just a mutual feeling that we both had.

I realize this story didn't really have a climax or anything THAT interesting, but it's our story and I hope you enjoyed it.