Cadavers, Blogs, and Bad Luck: A study on love and lack thereof

Part 3.
September 2005

My phone rang at 6:45pm.

We finally, made it to Provo! We're staying at the Super 8 Motel on Canyon.
Great, how was Southern Utah?
Absolutely wonderful! Arches s so beautiful. It was really nice to spend some time there. I spent way too much time in the sun...
So are we still good for dinner at 7:00? There is a Thai restaurant close by that's pretty good.
That sounds great. I'll see you soon...tee hee.
Did she just involuntarily giggle...? Awesome.

As I finished my preparations, my roommate's buddy, who came to return a borrowed pair of jeans (don't ask), was quickly updated on the event.

So what are you going to do? Where are you going to take her?
Oh I don't know. I always have ideas. I think we'll go to dinner, and depending on how things go, maybe we'll walk around campus for a while. I'll show her what's happened here since she left.
Fabulous. What restaurant?
I was thinking of a Thai place I like or maybe tha...
NOOOOO! You can't do Thai on a first date. It's too sensual. SEN-SHUE-AL!! Do Mexican; it's much more appropriate for a first date.
Um. Ok.

I was ready to go out the door but decided I should change shirts at least one more time to be safe. I was ready. Heck, I'd even washed my car earlier. The last time I'd done that for a date was the senior prom.

Remember Mike, Thai is SENNNNSUAL!!!

I drove up University Parkway and turned onto North Canyon - knees shaking as I pulled into the motel parking lot.

What is going on with you? It's just a silly date. Remember, you are not a brick. It's okay to let her get within your 3 foot safety barrier. Touch is not bad. Goal: Make her laugh and not think you're a freak. Got it? Not freak. Not. a. freak.

I found her waiting in the lobby; she didn't recognize me.

I'm just going to assume she was expecting someone less attractive.
AHG?
Mike!? HI! I didn't recognize you with the short hair.
It's nice to finally meet you.
Remember you're not a brick!
I gave her a quick hug. It was a awkward.
Yeah you too!

We walked out to my car.

Thai still sounds good, but I was wondering if we could go to Cafe Rio instead. I haven't been there since I left Provo...I know it's lame.
Yeah, pretty much... It's cool though. There's one close by.

We talked about my haircut and the 2005 Spudman triathlon while we waited in line. The conversation flowed well, and she laughed as I told her about my inability to swim in a straight line or make a u-turn on a bicycle.

I'd never actually been to Cafe Rio, so rather than look like a newbie, I let her go first and quickly said, I'll have the same after she ordered (the tortilla soup...who misses that?). Smooth criminal I was.

For the rest of the evening we chatted. She wanted to know why I was spending an extra year at BYU and what I hoped to do next. She wanted to know about my family and more about why certain movies were my favorites. She wanted to know why I liked competitive distance running and how I felt about the Provo scene and all kinds of other topics. I answered most of her question in the form of stories, and she laughed for most of the night. I had intended to ask her questions of my own, but every single time I'd almost finished my response to her previous set of inquiries, she would nail me with another question and another and another.

I'd never been out with such a charmingly curious person. Naturally, I was too hopelessly enamored to put up a fight.

We walked around the new buildings on campus and strolled over to the bell tower. The night was warm and peaceful. Around 10:30 her dad called to see how things were going. We seemed to be at a good breaking point, so I took her back to the motel and walked her to the lobby.

She hugged me, thanked me for the fun evening, and disappeared.