Not For Tourists.

I went on my third date with the rain date guy (who will be referred to as T from here on out...) from last week last night. It was kind of last minute, but I did end up asking him out, which I feel ok with. Late Thursday night, after my boring date at the Tea Lounge, I was trying to firm up plans for the weekend. There was the Brooklyn NFT (NFT = Not For Tourists guide book) release party on Friday night, and free copies of the new Brooklyn NFT? I was SO there. I thought it would be something that T would like as well, and I thought it would be nice to see him before I go to Connecticut for the remainder of the weekend. So, ignoring all advice from Debbie (which actually came after I had already done it), I emailed T to see if he was around to get together last night. He emailed me back in the morning that he was, and he would call me. We arranged to meet for dinner before going to the NFT event on 5th Ave in Park Slope. I walked over the 5 Aves and down the 10 or so blocks, but it was a nice crisp autumn night... I should have checked the weather though before I left. Turns out rain was in my forecast.

We ended up going to a really nice French-style restaurant for dinner, and having good 3rd date conversation. I feel like I still don't know enough about this guy, but I think it's nice to get to know someone on a gradual basis. But maybe I should find out his last name... after 3 dates it's probably ok for me to ask. We talked about our families some, I talked about school, we then had a slightly awkward conversation about marriage and babies (not about us having them... but a general discussion of that around our respective family's expectations.) Dinner was great, and even though it had started to rain lightly by the time we left, I hardly noticed. After dinner we went over to the NFT event at a bar on 4th Ave, where we met up with one of my friends. I knew my friend was going to be there, but I didn't know how T was going to react to meeting a friend of mine so soon. I mentioned that my friend was going to be there, but not necessarily that we were going specifically to meet up with him, which technically we weren't. We were going for the free NFTs! But after the loudness of Joya, and how quiet T is, I was concerned anyway. He is so shy that I didn't think he would be able to fare well in the bar atmosphere. I think he managed alright. The bar wasn't too crowded when we got there, and I managed to spot my friend easily. We chatted with my friend and his girlfriend for a little while, but as soon as the bar picked up a bit, we decided it was probably best to go somewhere a little quieter. The rain was picking up, but it still wasn't as bad as it had been on our first date. We tried the holding hands thing, but it was weird, and awkwardly placed. After he fixed his hood due to the increasing rain (and lack of umbrellas on both our part!), he put his arm around me, which was an easier way for us to walk. He stopped at one point, and kissed me in the middle of the street. I don't mind. We headed back over to 5th Ave and up multiple blocks to the Chocolate Room, which is just as delicious as it sounds. It's a cafe, but it specializes in chocolate everything. We each had a cup of the best hot chocolate I've had thus far in Brooklyn (even better than the hot chocolate at Jacques Torres!). It was still early, but he was tired from 2 late nights the previous nights, and I don't think he's as much of a night person as I am. He walked me back to my block, and then we stood on the corner, in the rain, kissing for at least 20 minutes. The rain wasn't heavy, but I was feeling slightly soaked. It was sweet and romantic, and a really nice end to overall a really nice evening. Neither of us made the move to leave, but eventually we parted ways. I was about 4 doors down from my apartment, but when he got home probably about half an hour later, he called me to ask me if I got home alright. He was obviously joking, but the fact that he called me, half an hour after our date... well it makes me think that this is going to turn into something completely different than the rest of my dating experiences thus far.