The First Date

Here’s one for the ages: a story of two soon-to-be lovers embarking on the first date with the person who will be their focus for the rest of their life!

In the weeks prior to our first “date,” we were talking about how much we love coffee and how much we hated our jobs. We decided that our only option was to go out for coffee and brainstorm different ways for us to quit our jobs and start our own businesses. The thought of it was exhilarating! Quitting our crummy jobs, being our own bosses, and working together in things that we were passionate about had us on cloud nine. So, we picked a date to plan our escape.

We agreed that we would start off our weekend with this little get adventure by grabbing coffee. She had been raving nonstop about this one little coffee joint that I’d never heard of called Dutch Bros. She was intensely frustrated that I hadn’t been there prior, so took it on herself to change my life for the better. After “Dutch,” we’d get to brainstorming.

Since we worked different shifts at the time, I went home to freshen up a bit and prepare, before going back to pick her. Once she was safely buckled in my car, we set out on our coffee expedition. As luck would have it, neither of us knew where the place was (this will be a recurring theme for us). We turned toward Google for help, fired up the Maps app and picked what I thought was the closest location (it wasn’t).

We drove for a solid twenty minutes before we finally made it to the Dutch Bros location. Flabbergasted. I was beside myself trying to figure out why I’d never heard of this place before, despite the fact that it had a line twenty or thirty cars deep! We got comfortable and settled into the long line. Thankfully, this girl was amazing and turned out to be someone I just couldn’t stop talking to! She took this silly, quiet guy, and turned him into a chatterbox in a matter of weeks. We were chatting away and before we knew, were ready to order.

We placed our order and I reached for my wallet so that I could pay for our drinks. It wasn’t in my pocket. I looked around the car. Couldn’t find it. I was sweating. This kind of thing NEVER happens to me! I never forget my wallet! She was in the passenger seat giggling, telling me that she had intended to pay from the start. She felt like she should treat me, since she chose the location and I drove us out there. I had no choice but to accept her offer. She paid. I was in heaven! This drink, this concoction, this whirlwind of flavor that they called a “Blended White Chocolate Mocha” was, at the time, the best thing I’d ever put to my lips.

We started the trek back to my house so I could retrieve my wallet, gushing over our drinks the entire way. By the time we made it back to my house, we had finished our drinks and I had devised a plan to repay my debt. Dinner! The night was young and our tummies were a-grumbling. She accepted and we decided to head on out to get some sushi.

The sushi place we picked out was near her home and had awesome reviews. Thankfully, there weren’t too busy and we got in without too much wait time. After perusing the menu for a bit, she decided to tell me she didn’t actually like sushi. Huh? What? Why would she agree to eat dinner at a place that serves food that she doesn’t like? Why not suggest something we’d both enjoy? (This would be another common theme for us, as our relationship grew.) I didn’t understand why she didn’t choose a different place! I pressed on trying to get her to explain herself. She said she was just happy to hang out with me and that they had some non-fishy foods that she’d enjoyed prior. (Isn’t she just a sweetheart?)

After stuffing ourselves full of amazing food, I slyly paid for our meals while she was distracted by an old teacher of hers who happened to be dining there, too. My date wasn’t too thrilled that I paid for dinner, but was gracious nonetheless. We made our way back to her apartment so that I could drop her off for the night, but not before realizing that we made zero progress on brainstorming businesses to help us quit our jobs (forgetting why we went out will be another trend for us). But that was all fine; it just meant that we’d have to go out again sooner, rather than later.

And thus concludes our first date. <3