Bailey Blog

pt 1.

If anyone has seen the show Nobody Wants This (2024) by Erin Foster with Kristen Bell, then you’ll have more of an understanding of what this relationship is like. I had recently broken up with my ex-boyfriend last year and I wasn’t looking for anything in particular or even looking for a new partner. My friend from work and her boyfriend wanted to set me up with their friend, and I thought it would be fun to get set up on a date.

According to them, he looked like ‘my type’, we were both single, and he was a nice guy. We started out by playing pool (billiards) a few times as a group the following weeks. I was more or less indifferent about this guy the first two times we met. He was very polite and had great manners, but seemed very shy and was quiet with me. Being that this was a set up, I didn’t want to seem too eager to pair up with him and come off as desperate. So naturally, I mostly ignored him (I’m terrible at flirting).

Eventually, we exchanged information and he asked me out on a formal date. I was still slightly nervous but he had been nothing short of a gentleman. Opening and closing my doors, escorting me to my destinations, buying all of my food and drinks. I figured it was time for me to break the ice and make this guy start laughing. I was curious what he was like when he relaxed a bit and got comfortable.

Our first date was so incredibly well thought out. He opted to pick me up from my apartment and took me to a beach front restaurant just in time to watch the sunset while we sipped margaritas and ate burgers. It was like a scene out of a movie with warm breezes, swaying palm trees, and skies the color of ‘Maui Waui’ sherbet. The sunset descended into glowing indigoes and violets before plunging to complete inky blackness.

When the stars finally blinked into view and the restaurant staff were trying to head home, we made our way back to his truck and drove to another beach location. We set out his zarape on the sand and laid back to take a look at the stars that night. I pointed out a few constellations and notable stars before I brought up the discussion of religion and politics.

There was a short conversation where I discovered he was a Jehovah’s Witness and asked him a few questions about how it works and what main beliefs they hold. I told him about my Catholic upbringing and subsequent baptism into Christianity and my now Pagan belief system. Suffice it to say, the intensity of the religious situation was not impressed upon me in the slightest. At this point, to me, it seemed like we just had a difference of opinion about faith and I was mostly just curious about the ritual and routine of the Witness community.

Our conversation was interrupted when I realized the waves around us were crashing into electric blue sprays of sea foam. I had never seen it in person, but the bioluminescent algae began rushing down the length of the beach clashing into other errant swells and the saturated sand of the shore. I shot up immediately and went to the edge of the surf. The algae wasn’t concentrated enough to activate with my splashing, but the particularly aggressive crashes lent the ocean waters to beautiful aqua and turquoise bursts.

We’ll call him J, met me at the waterline and we both marveled at the beauty of the luminous spectacle. A while after, we went to a local pool hall and spent the next few hours playing 8-ball until I realized he was never going to call off the date. I only did because the impending doom of my 9-5 was looming over my shoulder on a Sunday night. Somewhat begrudgingly, he drove me home after making sure I wasn’t hungry a few thousand times. Chatting and walking haltingly, we eventually made it up to my apartment. We didn’t kiss, though the tension of the moment was thick in the air. We briefly hugged and I deeply breathed in the smell of his cologne before he was out the door and walking down the stairs. I was curious about why he didn’t kiss me, but I liked it more that he didn’t try.