It's ah me...Mario!

The Prologue

It’s been a while…

Now, where were we?

Oh yes...I was tragically falling in love with my situationship.

We still hadn’t decided to be monogamous, so naturally, I felt the butterflies in my stomach, the heat in my cheeks, and all I saw were danger signs.

Maybe it’s time to get back on those dating apps.

After all, you can’t fall in love with Book Boyfriend. It won’t work. You just need a distraction, a reminder that there are other good guys out there. Yeah, put yourself back out there.

...Enter Mario.

Another First Date

I can’t decide if I think first dates are fun or if I dread them. The only good first date I’ve had so far was with Book Boyfriend, and absolutely no one has compared to him. His smile, his wit, his laugh. Good God Girl, focus!!!

I placed the final curl in my hair and sighed at the mirror.

“This is going to be another massive waste of time, isn’t it?”

Too late to turn back now. The glittery eye shadow was placed perfectly on the inner corners of my eyes, highlighting their green color. The heels were on. The lip gloss was shiny.

“Let’s get this over with.”

One of the first things we’d talked about on the app was our mutual love for video games Zelda and Mario, to be exact. Hmm Mario… yeah, I’ll call him Mario.

I rolled up to the bar in my minivan ready to meet Mario. The windows covered in stickers from my son, the seats marked with coffee stains from me. Cool girl vibes only. I found a parking spot quickly and hopped out, taking a deep breath as soon as my feet hit the pavement. Before I could even reach the door to the bar, I heard someone calling my name.

“Amber?”

“Yes. Nice to meet you.”

Bracelets and Lips

We exchanged an awkward hug, and he guided me inside.

Mario was handsome. It had been so dark outside the bar that I hadn’t noticed how attractive he was until we sat down at a dimly lit table in the corner. He had tan skin, dark curly hair, and one of the most endearing smiles, the kind of smile that traveled all the way into his eyes. He looked kind. (And not to be weird or anything, but he had nice lips too.)

The conversation started out like most first dates, small talk and pleasantries. At one point, he even put on his “teacher hat” and attempted to educate me on dating in the age of apps: “Tinder is for hookups, Hinge is for dating, Bumble is stressful.”

Oh… (takes mental notes.)

He wore a bracelet on his wrist from an ex-girlfriend. The way he told the story was charming. Not in a threatening, this man isn’t over his ex way, but in a way that showed emotional maturity. He could reconcile with his feelings and acknowledge that something can be over and still be worth remembering. I liked that.

(That's kind of this whole blog isn't it?)

Still, the conversations were leading me into a more platonic friend zone with Mario. (Even with the nice lips.)

That is, until I was in the middle of telling a story and he did something that surprised me: he reached for my hand mid-sentence and leaned in closer. I stopped talking and looked at him. He was staring directly into my eyes, rubbing my wrist with his thumb.

“Go on.” He encouraged me, his eyes never leaving mine once.

Oh… this is interesting.

I continued my story, but now I was leaning in too. He listened to every word I said laughing at the right moments, asking thoughtful questions, nodding when it was appropriate. Somehow, when he grabbed my hand and really listened, the entire atmosphere of the date changed. This wasn’t platonic. This was a date. This wasn’t small talk. This was intimate.

We’d said we wouldn’t get food, but we talked so long that we ended up ordering two rounds of appetizers and dessert. When the brooms came out and chairs started getting lifted onto tables, we knew that was our cue to leave. He held my hand on the walk back to my car. He hugged me again, this time not awkward or uncomfortable, but sweet.

During dinner, we’d talked about ghosting and how frustrating it was that people couldn’t just communicate when they weren’t interested. Instead, they disappeared. He gave me a kiss on the forehead, told me he’d like to see me again, he added,

“Don’t disappear on me.”

Then he was gone, and I was back in my minivan.

I texted my sister: I like him.

Does Book Boyfriend have some competition?