The Story of HIM

Now seems like as good a time as any to write about how I got to this point with him. I know that it will be too hard to write about come next week.

We have only had the type of relationship we have now since late December. September-late December were rocky months. I first met him about a week after I moved in to my apartment. I didn't know anyone here yet. Orientation was set to start the next morning, and I was just laying in bed reading a novel, wearing "staying in" clothes (ie gray track shorts and a baggy gray tank top, hair in a ponytail, no makeup). I heard a knock on my door, which was actually a welcome sound. I had spent the past few days alone and was ready for some human contact. I walked to the door and looked through the peephole to see a guy--good-looking with dark hair (that was all I could tell through the distorted view offered by the peephole). I looked down at my outfit, but decided that it would be ridiculous to make him stand out there while I changed. I opened the door and saw that the guy standing there was definitely attractive. He also had a nice body. He was smiling and holding a six-pack of Corona. This is how the conversation went:

HIM: Hi, my name is ____. I live next door in 315. I just moved in.
ME: Hi! I'm BG. I moved in about a week ago.

We discovered that we were in the same MA program.

ME: Wow, that is a coincidence... hey, do you play the guitar? I have been hearing someone play at night. And I am not complaining. It has actually made it easier for me to sleep. I am not used to living alone, so the sound is comforting.
HIM: Actually, I do. But I haven't played since I got here.
ME: Oh. Well, hey, are you going to the orientation breakfast tomorrow? We could walk down together.
HIM: Nah, I think I am going to sleep in. It was nice to meet you. If you ever need a cup of sugar or anything, feel free to knock. And I just bought a six-pack, if you feel like coming over.
ME: Nice to meet you too. See you around.

I went back to reading in bed. I never really considered accepting his offer of going over his apartment for a beer. I am not sure why. I guess I didn't realize it was a sincere invitation (knowing him now, I know that it was). I had just picked up my book when I got another knock on my door. Him again.

HIM: Hey. I think I will go to that breakfast tomorrow. What time should we plan to leave?

We picked a time, and the next morning he knocked on my door and we walked down. As we stepped out of our apartment building, he lit a cigarette. Apparently I gave him a look, because he said, "Does the smoke bother you?" I said no, and we kept walking and talking. The truth is, I had never dated a smoker before. Although I was not yet thinking that we would end up like we are now, I was momentarily surprised by the smoke. But I got used to it very quickly, and he tells me that I stopped looked at him funny when he lit up a cigarette after about a week. On the walk, I learned that he studied archeology, and I told him about what types of history I studied. We talked about where we had been before moving here, and all of the other usual things you talk about with someone you've just met. We sat near each other at the breakfast, but after that, lost each other in the chaos of orientation activities.

The next evening, our program was having an outdoor cocktail party as a final orientation activity. I got dressed and ready to go and then decided to knock on his door to see if he wanted to walk down with me. He told me that he was going to stay in and play his guitar, but said that I should stop by after the party. I told him I would and headed out.

After the party, I was a bit tipsy from too much wine. But that only emboldened me to knock on his door. He seemed a little surprised to see me, but welcomed me in. We sat and talked for several hours until he told me that it was probably time for him to think about sleeping. Since the next day was Saturday, and we didn't have any orientation activities, we decided that we should head downtown together to check out the city. We picked a time and said goodnight. The next day, we were both tired and neither of us were feeling very well, me from the wine, and him from the beer in his apartment I think. We decided to postpone our trip to Sunday, and both spent our Saturdays doing our own thing.

When Sunday came around, we were both ready to go. We hopped on the train, went downtown, and took pictures with various famous sites in the city. We decided to get a drink at a nice restaurant by the water. We each wound up having two. That day at the restaurant, we got past all of the initial "getting-to-know-you" conversations and really got into the grittier aspects of our pasts. For some reason, I felt very comfortable telling him all about the different things I've been through. He confided in me that he had recently had his heart broken by his breakup with his ex. Although he'd broken up with her it had been very hard on him. We talked for awhile and then decided to head to a bar that I had been to with my parents when they dropped me off. It was just down the street, so the walk over was short. We sat and talked at the bar for several more hours. Conversation with him was easy. I was really enjoying his company. Eventually, we decided that we should head back to our apartment building.

When we got back, he came to my apartment with me. We sat on the couch and talked more. My cable was scheduled to be hooked up the next day, so we really had nothing to do but talk. We were both pretty tipsy, and started getting flirty before long. Our heads were on opposite ends of the couch, with our feet in the middle. He picked up one of my feet and started rubbing it. It was a smooth move, let me tell you. Before long we were making out. That is all we did that night.

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I need to shower and get back to packing. This one will have to be a multi-parter!