date 2: mr. berkeley phd

it was one of those sundays... to go on the date, to not go on the date. i was beginning to feel a little tired of all of this dating madness.

i went on a run to clear my head. somewhere in between crissy field and union st (probably after i got a wink from the h.b.m. coming out of the 24 hour fitness), i decided the date was still a go. i was not ready to take myself out of the game.

so, upon arriving home, i returned his text and we decided to meet at the ferry building. i walked through the crowded center aisle, looking left and right to identify him. i was pretty sure i could recognize him from his pictures. as there are not many black men in the city (actually maybe more in the ferry building because of all of the tourist), i was shocked when i could not find him. i finally decided to call him and through a series of really bad directions, he led me through the labrynth of people. around one corner and another, i finally saw him. he was wearing a grape colored shirt and black shoes. i would not have worn it but he was super cute in all other ways. definite denzel smile, good skin, a little on the shorter side but a total darling. and believe it or not, i could totally look past the height for the first time in my life. i thought to myself... i practically live in flats and sandals now anyway (at least on the weekdays that is).

so, he let me decide what we did first. i thought gelato outside sounded amazing as it was the sunniest day in the city that we have had in awhile. we talked and laughed over our melting cups of gelato. a couple of jokes here and there about being hot and it being hot outside. a few witty banters about being nerdy but still having a lot of fun. he had an easy way about him that was neither conceited nor pretentious. with a resume like his, that's extremely hard to find. he then thought we should continue the date inside by getting a glass of wine and watching the game. love him! he must have seen the wine-o in my eyes. we debated over the bottle. i kind of put him on the spot with making him choose. he totally took it in stride and we tasted a couple of glasses to make our final decision.

after grabbing a bottle, we talked about life, family, exes, future hopes--anything and everything. we totally seemed to be on the same page. this was a definite winner first date. as we wrapped up the bottle of wine, i imagined the date was about to end. however, as with every other date that i have been on, he wanted to continue hanging out. this time, however, was different. i actually wanted to spend more time with him, get to know him a little more. he seemed very sweet. even despite the fact that i was supposed to hang out with mr. pancakes this afternoon.

we decided to grab dinner at the burger place down the street. and the conversation just seemed to flow. we talked about our family lives and how they have shaped us (weird for a first date, right?) his brother was autistic growing up and i nannied for a family with an autistic son the summer of my freshmen year of college. he grew up in a conservative household with strict parents, which is in direct parallel to my southern baptist, sheltered upbringing. we seemed to have something in common. could this be love in the making on match... and a short guy at that?

we parted ways with a hug (and i didn't feel like i was towering over him). no complaints here. i was totally dumbfounded how well a date with a perfect stranger went. i had never met him but in 4 hours, i felt like we'd known each other forever. as i looked down at my vibrating phone, while walking back to my apartment, i saw a text from mr. berkeley. definitely, a perfect date... sealed with a text.

ADH