Dinner ended up being quite nice and unexpectedly romantic. Kevin had suggested a new restaurant surrounded by vineyards and offered that we stay afterwards for their ‘Music by Moonlight’ concert. The place was on the outskirts of town surrounded by country, and ironically, had lots of acreage for a dog to play. I had to bite my cheek when I saw the “Dog Friendly Patio” sign prominently posted.
Kevin pulled up a few minutes later and seemed relieved when he spotted me. He’s got this boyish charm mixed with a boyish insecurity, but refreshingly does not hide his joy that the girl said yes. I notice he’s changed clothes and is looking quite dapper. He has beautiful green eyes and wears glasses which perfectly compliment a bookish handsomeness. His dark, curly hair is tousled just so, the kind of hair that makes you want to run your fingers through it, or pull it a bit. Ahem. He’s really good looking which I hadn’t fully noticed earlier since I was busy dodging and defending my privates from Herman the Dog.
He looks wistfully about and just can’t seem to help himself when he says, “Herman loves it here! I hope he wasn’t too upset being left alone at home. I’ll bring him out here soon.” He then tells me all about getting him as a puppy, that he’s a purebred Rhodesian Ridgeback without the ridge, he’s still a puppy even though he’s three, how naughty he is destroying the couch twice after two years of training, but what a great dog. I just kind of look at him blinkingly not sure what to make of this rapid fire second introduction. He then seems to catch himself and quickly compliments me on how nice I look.
A man walks up to us as we’re standing in the patio area and gives Kevin a big bear hug. I’m a bit relieved at the interruption and thought the man was going to do the actual hair tousling but maybe he restrained himself because I was there. He introduces himself, compliments me profusely as he chides Kevin, and I do the ‘oh stop, go on’ giggle. It’s the owner, he and Kevin are buddies, and insists we join him after dinner for the concert. We are then whisked off to a romantic table already topped with a cheese plate and bottle of chilled wine. Nice.
Kevin is all gentleman as he pulls out my chair, offers to send back the wine if I would prefer something else, and checks to make sure I like cheese. I joke that I would never send back wine and of course I like cheese! We laugh and his hesitancy falls away. He orders for us, with my permission of course, and keeps the wine flowing. We skip the dating HR interview and dive right into worldly affairs, politics, and philosophy. He’s doing most of the talking and I’m enjoying the intellectual conversation as he seems to know a lot of things about a lot of things. He’s entertaining, insightful, and funny. His sudden self assuredness and take charge attitude is refreshing. Is this the same Dog Boy, I mean guy I met at the coffee shop?
He tells me all about his family. Mother a Psychiatrist, dad a PhD, that he grew up privileged but had his struggles when they divorced. He wants me to meet his mother and predicts we will be best friends and how about I come to his house so he can cook for us. Wait, what? He suggests we can go for a hike on the trails behind his house, that he’s an amazing cook, sheepishly explains he’s been taking some time off, a sabbatical of sorts, and deciding on his next move. But don’t worry, he’s doing fine financially, has a great house, travels, plays soccer, that the love of his life is his amazing dog and that dogs never leave you unlike beautiful women like me. Wait, huh?
After dinner, he grabs the now second bottle of wine, grabs my hand, and we head over to the outdoor concert. We have two chairs being held for us in the front row and the waiter has followed with two fresh wine glasses. It’s good to have friends who own restaurants. It’s a beautiful night, the stars are out, and the small symphony begins to play Mozart. This guy is good. He jokingly goes to drink out of the bottle but instead pours us another glass which I politely refuse. He insists. I’m trying to be quiet during the lovely concert so I pour it into the grass when no one’s looking. I’ve had two which is plenty, I have to drive, and I’m now doing the math thinking he’s not even tipsy but still remind him he has to drive too. He instantly agrees, says he’s charmed by my sensibility, and orders waters for us. We enjoy the concert as he pulls me closer, and I let him.
A short while later, he suggests we stroll the grounds. I figure here comes the move and get a little nervous and hesitant, but Kevin continues to be a perfect gentleman as he shows me the restaurant’s small vegetable garden. He crushes up a few leaves from the different herbs for me to smell and again invites me to his house for dinner. He proudly says he’ll make rosemary chicken and reminds me what a great cook he is. The wine has me a bit swirly. I can’t help but think what a nice date this has been and was made even better because it was all so unexpected. Sure, it started off a bit odd and he’s a little quirky, but maybe it’s just nerves. What could go wrong on a second date? He says I have beautiful hair as he strokes back some strands that have fallen into my face and as I look up at him, he acknowledges the body language ‘come on in’ I’m giving and softly comes in for a kiss.