#MyWorstDate Story...We're Closer Than You Think

I got a friend request on Instagram. When I noticed that we had a few mutual friends, I accepted him. I accepted him mainly because I thought he was cute, not because we have the same friends. Don’t you ever stalk new followers? I always do, and I did to this guy. The more I looked at his posts, the more I was attracted to him. He had this facial structure that was so chiseled, he made the Statue of David look like a phony. And he had these eyes that were a bit darker than mine. Wait, then I came across one of his shirtless posts—he accepted my requestand immediately DMed me. And that’s where everything sailed off.

We’d been messaging nonstop for days, asking what music we’re into, what Netflix series to watch next, how he recently returned from serving in the Marines, what great restaurants are out there—literally everything, and even though I never met this guy, we clicked so fast. Then he asked me for my number, and that’s where spending nights up until two AM began. We’d text during the days and spend the nights talking on the phone.

“I want to meet up. Is dinner good?”

Hell yeah, dinner is good.

The First Date

I was nervous...I was so damn nervous. I was actually shaking while trying to put makeup on. I knew so much about the guy, but I was still nervous to meet up with him. Talking over the phone and being in the presence of that person are two completely different things. It’s so easy to talk over the phone, but when it comes to human contact and having a genuine conversation face to face? It’s pretty nerve-racking. Even though I’ve gone through many dates in my life, I’ll always be nervous for the first one. And on the way to the sushi restaurant, all I kept thinking about is: what if he’s catfishing me? I usually agree to dates in person, but I’ve never agreed to a date over social media. What if he’s not who he said he is? What if he took someone’s identity on Instagram? Questions kept popping into my mind until I parked in the parking lot.

“I’m inside,” he texted me.

I simply took a deep breath, and walked in. Thank goodness he was the same person from Instagram. I was still charmed by his appearance, despite the many times I’d stared at his Instagram posts. When I sat down at our table, my anxiety completely melted away. We continued where we left off in our conversation about an hour ago, and from there on, our conversations never died down. We kept going on and on, talking about the media, what’s going on at work, and if I was into sashimi or not.

The dinner actually went way better than I imagined, and it didn’t even feel like it was the first date. It felt as though we’d been dating for months.

“Come back to my place, we’ll have wine.”

He knew I can never say no to wine, so it was an offer I just couldn’t refuse. We hopped into his car, leaving mine in the restaurant’s parking lot, and headed to his apartment. With one hand on the steering wheel and the other on my thigh, I had a feeling where we’d both end up, and I wasn’t thinking twice about it. Okay, I usually almost never have sex on the first date, but trust me on this—this first date didn’t feel like it was the first date. So, it’s safe to say that I didn’t mind having sex with him that night, because I couldn’t have been any more than ready for him at that moment.

Red Wine and a Punch

He opened his front door and flipped on the light switch. Allowing me in first, his apartment wasn’t even the slightest dirty. It was like he knew I’d come over that night or something. Shit, it was spotless; cleaner than my place.

“Make yourself comfortable. Red or white?”

Red. What caught my attention was the vinyl player sitting in the corner of his living room. He wasn’t joking around when he said he owns over a hundred records. Michael Jackson, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, and he’s even got Britney Spears. He popped open the wine bottle and began to pour two large glasses while I slid Armstrong into the player.

We swirled our glasses and sipped away on them while we cuddled on his couch. He was telling me stories back when he was in the Marines while Armstrong’s trumpet and raspy voice filled the atmosphere. And two glasses later, we ended up in his bed.

We were making out and everything started to get really heated really fast. The wine definitely helped set the mood, and we were feeling each other up, just eager to rip each other's clothes off. While he was kissing my neck, I turned my head to the left and caught something from the corner of my eye. There was a photo on his nightstand. A photo of him...and my aunt.

I immediately stopped him midway kissing my neck to ask him who the woman in the photo was to him.

“My mom.”

It felt as though someone punched me right in the gut and woke me up from my tipsy state. I literally couldn’t put thoughts into words. Everything came flooding into my mind all at once. He tried going for my lips again, but I pushed him back, loudly exclaiming that he was my cousin and his mother is my mother’s sister. Now the punch goes right into his gut and his eyes ripped right open.

My attraction to him completely vanished and I sat up to thoroughly understand what was happening. It made sense. Since I almost never see my uncles and aunts, I would have never known who he was. But my parents held a grand family gathering at my house this past August. I asked him where he was during the time.

“Serving.”

I quickly put my shoes back on while he awkwardly mentioned that he didn’t mind taking me back to my car at the restaurant. I refused and requested an Uber, and before I did, I told him that the first date is kept between the two of us and no one else.