So, I left off on the first date. A very nervous and late Antoine had just picked me up. He was quite the gentleman though, apologizing for being late, telling me how nice I looked, and opening the car door for me (which he still does to this day...even if we're just going to the grocery store). I knew we were having dinner, what I didn't know was where. We began driving to this mystery location and surprisingly I was a regular chatterbox in the car. I wasn't really nervous...astonishing, I know! We proceeded to pull into the parking lot of one of my favorite restaurants, the Melting Pot. I stated, "I love this place, it's one of my favorites". Antoine told me that he'd never been there, but he knew I loved cheese so he figured I might like it! I was admittedly surprised that we were going to such a nice restaurant on a first date, and a blind date at that! I did try to make the bill as small as I could, getting water (which is the norm for me anyway) and suggesting that we just get cheese and chocolate (instead of a full entree, also another norm for me at Melting Pot).
Dinner was great, as usual, and the date was progressing just fine. I can't really remember what we talked about, probably jobs and where we're from and all that, but I do remember me continuing to be fairly calm and talkative and he remained nervous and slightly quiet. We ate our dinner, which at the Melting Pot takes some time, and then left the restaurant. Antoine then suggested that we go to a movie, which I agreed to. However, instead of going to one of the nearby theaters we went to one in Northern KY, nearly 30 minutes away (not his fault, it is one of the main theaters in the Cincinnati area). So, by this time it was probably close to 10 o'clock or so, I was starting to get sleepy, as I usually do around that time when I have work the next morning, but onward we went to the theater.
I must admit, I have a horrible memory. So, sadly, I'm not exactly sure what movie we saw on our first date. It was either Iron Man or Get Smart; one we saw on our first date, the other on our 3rd or 4th. Let me also admit, prior to the date I was hoping he wouldn't take me to a movie. I love movies, most everyone knows that about me, but I don't feel movies are conducive to what dating is all about (at least in the beginning)...talking. Here are the reasons why I don't think movies work on the first couple dates...
1.) Do you get popcorn and a drink or not?: When a guy takes you out for dinner it's assumed that you'll order an entree, but when you go to a movie I don't think it should be necessarily assumed that popcorn is included, especially if it's a dinner/movie combo date. With the combo date, the guy has already shelled out a decent amount of money on dinner for both you and him, by the time you get to the theater he's unloading an additional $6 to $10 each on the ticket alone (that's nearly as much as an entree at a normal restaurant). I don't think it's fair to add the overpriced theater popcorn/drink/candy into the mix. But let's face it, any decent guy will offer the option to you, that's what Antoine did and I refused it.
2.) Pre-movie chatting: I feel that side-by-side talking is uncomfortable and generally strained (unless you're further along in dating...you know, the stage where you're all snuggling and thigh grabbing). While sitting so close to your date might be an added bonus, it really doesn't allow for any good conversation. Instead you wind up twisting your neck so much that you end up with a cramp.
3.) Do you have a talker on your hands? (This only pertains to people with pet peeves similar to mine.) One of my biggest pet peeves is when people talk during movies. For me, this applies to ALL movies, but I think talking in the theater is by far the worst. Unfortunately for Antoine, he was not aware of this. So when he leaned in to talk to me during the movie, he got a very slight nod and a cold shoulder every time.
4.) Arm around the shoulder: Now I know this depends on the people, their body types, their preferences, etc, but for me, those initial arm-around-my-shoulder moves, while romantic and sweet, were horribly uncomfortable and left my neck craned and cramped. In our case though, Antoine is slightly shorter than me, leaving his "arm around my shoulder move" more like an "arm around the upper back move". Sometimes I think things like that need to be finessed once you get to know someone better (you know, through practice). Now we've got it perfected, but we'll both admit that that first move was a bit awkward and uncomfortable.
5.) The post-movie discussion: While we didn't experience any difficulty in this department (even though I'm usually quiet and resistant to discussing movies right after I see them...I'm weird like that). In general, I think this has the potential to make a date go little sour, depending on the subject of the film and how different people respond to it.
But, I guess all those awkward moments are just part of the first date though and without them it might be a tad boring.
After the movie, Antoine took a very sleepy me back to my apartment. We said goodnight with a hug at my porch, which was nice since he knew I wanted to move slow. All in all, not the best first date in the world, but not the worst. It left me interested for another date.
Spoiler: Our second date was by far one of my favorite dates in that first month of dating Antoine! It's one we still talk about all the time.
