Third Date

When Brock called me for our third date, I was surprised...thrilled, but surprised. I didn't think any guy would ask a girl out after she had told him not to touch her. I was very pleased to go out with him again, especially when he told me he wanted to go to the circus! (Really, how can you say no when every date is so cleverly planned?)

We drove out to a mall parking lot in the middle of nowhere and there was a giant tent set up for a traveling circus. It was a very good circus. The animals were well trained, the acrobats were wonderful, and the food was expensive. We didn't get any snacks, but Brock kept asking me if I wanted any of the little toys or balloons they were selling. I said no, but then this man walked by with the most alluring little toy and I gave in.

Gordon calls it the seizure wand. It was a clear plastic ball on a shiny red stem. If you pushed a tiny button little lights inside lit up and spun so fast that it looked like a miniature light show. We got endless fun out of that toy and the children in the row in front of us were so jealous! One boy in particular demanded one from his mother, and when she said no he sent us dagger-looks for the rest of the night. It was a wonderful toy. I still have it, actually.

After the show we walked over to Red Robin for burgers. Brock says he watched me take down a massive bacon burger and thought he'd never seen anything so sexy. Hmm. They were very good burgers. Then we drove home. I remember sitting in the car listening to him sing to the radio and thinking, "Well, I wouldn't mind if he kissed me after all!" I even looked at his hand, resting on the seat next to him and had to subdue the impulse to hold it.

When we got to my door, I gave him a kiss on the cheek, as well as a hug. He had definitely earned it and I hoped he would call me at least one more time before I had to leave for school in a few weeks.

Second Date

I had decided not to go out with Brock again, but when he called I wanted to go. (He actually left a message saying, "I promised to teach you how to golf, so which is better? Tuesday or Wednesday?" There's no room for "no" in that.) So I said I'd go, but I made up my mind that if he tried to take my hand or put his arm around me I would tell him not to do it.

We went out for Indian food at this tiny little place in Los Gatos. It was very good, but that's all I remember about it. From there we went to a driving range, I think it was called Pruneridge, in Campbell. Brock was very pleased with my progress in the end. He admired my "kill the ball" technique, saying that most girls he knew held back, afraid of hurting the grass. I had no such reservations (sorry grass) and whacked the living daylights out of every ball. Brock did help me adjust my hip movement, but that was all in the name of "teaching" and I actually liked it a lot (though I was furious with myself for it).

When we had run out of golf balls we decided to spend the rest of the evening at the park near my house. They have a nice set of swings and we played around for about fifteen minutes. And then...Brock put his arms around me and I knew it was time to let him know how I felt about that.

I basically told him, "no hand-holding, no kissing, no arm around me, only hugs are okay." He took it very well, saying it made dating very easy, since he didn't have to try and guess when it was time to kiss. He also said he was dating about ten girls and he wasn't looking for a girlfriend either. And that was when the jealousy began. I should have known how much I liked him when I felt that green monster eating at me, but I ignored it. We had a good long talk and then he took me home.

We hugged and as he walked away I thought, "Drat! Now he'll never call me again!" He was thinking, "I wonder what she'd like to do next time?"