I'm not that kind of girl!!!

Love in the time of Covid Part 3

If you’re new here, as in, you’ve been here less than a year…

You may wish to check out part 1 Love in a time of COVID: The game that landed me a fiancé, and part 2 Love in a time of COVID: Part 2: "...come out for dinner with me...?" of this story…

We walked inside a tiny Thai restaurant in a back-alley of Byron Bay. It smelled of fresh noodles, and spices. It was warm. A stark contrast to the winter air I’d been standing in.

Even though I’d softened, I wasn’t all-relaxed.

“Would you like a drink?” he asked?

“I don’t really drink alcohol” I replied - totally lying. We wouldn’t even be here had it not been for the two cab sauv’s I’d consumed last night to get me onto the app in the first place! That being said, I don’t identify as a drinker-type, so it was kinda mostly true.

Regardless, having met this guy from the local campground only a mere few hours beforehand, over two lines in an app, and feeling rather vigilant about my safety after my past years dating hysterics, I wasn’t particularly willing to sacrifice my clarity of judgement yet.

“No worries! You know, I’ve actually never not had alcohol on a first date before. This will be different. I like it!”

He had kind eyes.

And a deliciously deep voice.

As we chatted over dinner I found out he was travelling on his own from the north, back south on his holidays. He worked in a big factory somewhere I’d never heard of. He did night shifts, and he loved the freedom four-on, four-off gave him to go exploring. He was building his own house in his spare time. A builder - like my Dad - I like that. He built his own campervan.

I watched him pick up his drink and noticed how strong his hands were. There was something kind of mysterious about him - because he was still wearing his beanie, and he had a dark, very well-manicured beard. All I could really see of him was his kind, brown eyes.

I noticed how relaxed I felt. No pressure.

After dinner, we walked to a local pub. We weren’t ready for the night to end, but it was the only warm place that was open. I ordered sparkling water like the most non-drinker human ever that I was, and on, and on, we talked.

He was young. Six years older than me, but younger than the men I typically found myself dating. I liked that too.

He showed me pictures of this shed-house thing he was building. An apartment at the back of a huge machinery shed which he lived in. Wild. It was so beautiful, and isolated. I love talking about buildings. A couple of hours into knowing this guy and I wondered…

…“I wonder if I’ll ever see that “shed-house?”

I’d never met someone like him. It wasn’t lust.

It wasn’t a dopamine high, I felt. It was… I felt secure in his presence. I felt seen. I felt like he was hugging me with his words even though we were speaking about how windy it was where he grew up. It took me by surprise.

The night drew to a close and I decided he wasn’t a psycho… for now. I mean you can never be too careful, those psycho’s, they’ll take you by surprise - but so far, so good. So I offered to drive him back to the campground. I had a twenty-minute drive home myself, and he had walked me all the way to my car.

As we rolled into the beachside campground driveway, that inevitable “end-of-the-night” moment was upon us.

“I’d like to kiss you” he said.

I said nothing, with a smile.

I’d never kissed a guy with a beard...

Stay Curious, Stay open. The life you crave is so much closer than you think.

LOVE

Hayley xx

P.S - This is a series I’ve been drip-feeding you for a while now. I hope you’re enjoying it, bite by bite

P.P.S - If you enjoyed reading this, and you’d love to know what on Earth it has to do with anything, well, you might find it fun to know that sometimes, telling a simple story is the most effective way to connect with others.

Whether just for fun, or to help someone completely shift their perspective on something they’ve been stuck around forever. Believe in something new. Hang off every word and take inspired action. Or even just laugh their head off, or feel something. Words bring us together.

Storytelling is an art, and something I teach in Penned for Prosperity - my copywriting, journaling, and storytelling course for writing words that sell.