FIRST DATE

Late April 2014

Washington, DC

Bodega

It was the first time he had used the word “date” when asking me to meet up with him, but even as I walked up to meet him near Library Park in Georgetown, I was not quite sure how to define our meeting. Wasn’t he still in a relationship? If not, was it possible for us to break down the mental barrier of past associations? Were we daring enough to go in that direction knowing what may come? This was a date full of weighty questions and the adrenaline-pumping, sparkling anxiety that is the foundation of all fated beginnings. As we meandered through the French Market enjoying our decadent Dolcezza caramel gelato and playfully bantering about nonsensical things, I knew that in fact, we had no choice.

After an hour or so of timidly testing the waters between us, neither of us confident in what the other was thinking, we walked as separate entities into Bodega, a moody, dark, quaint tapas restaurant near the waterfront. Over a seafood paella as large as a coffee table and fruity, cinnamon sangria, we sank deeply into the conversation. With growing assurance, we became bolder, allowing the tension between us to mount but not to peak. We left Bodega hours later together, knowing resolutely that something had changed between us. This “something” would be defined over the course of the next few months. Phil was definitely no longer simply “showing me around town” any longer.

REA