Continued

I remember feeling totally dehydrated as I tried to move my stiff body off of the couch. I guess I wasn't too quiet because everyone else woke up right after. We discussed what was up for the day and decided to join Kenny at his house the next day to watch a football game. Kenny and Slade left and I think I must have drank a gallon of water and got ready for the day. I ran a few errands, started the laundry and tried to move my mind to the tasks at hand, the only problem was that I couldn't get the funny, fun to be with, adorable Slade out of my head. I had recently made a conscious decision to not date for awhile. A string of uneventful losers had made me realize that I needed some time to myself. Later that day I noticed that Slades car was back at Kennys. No sooner did I realize that Slade was next door when the phone rang. It was Kenny calling to see if we wanted to come over and hang out. Sure...any excuse to not do laundry was a feasible excuse for me. We ended up going to a Chinese place and picking up some food. I remember the sesame chicken that I got. MMMMMmmm Yummy. My Favorite! As Saturday night turned into Sunday morning I was dreading the time that was approaching...the time for me to go back home. I said bye to everyone and as I went to sleep that night I was trying to shake the feeling that I was falling for this guy. He had given me some signals that he was into me but he hadn't said anything so maybe he would just be a great friend to hang out with. I wondered if he would show up at Kennys for the football game the next day. I was hoping that he would and at the same time wondering why I was letting myself feel like that because I WAS NOT DATING ANYONE FOR AWHILE.....at least that's what I was trying to tell myself.

As I sat on my couch Sunday watching TV and folding laundry, I saw that My Girl II would be on later that night. I loved the first My Girl and wanted to see the the 2nd one badly so I made a note of what time it would start so I could leave Kennys and be home in time to pop some pop corn and grab a drink. Damn the Slade, why did he have to be so great and why cant I get him out of my mind.

Eventually I headed over to Kenny's. It was Kenny, Jay, Shalini, Slade, and I. I love to go to an actual football game, but it bores the piss out of me to have to watch it on TV. I need the excitement of the crowd and the cool night air to make my football experiences enjoyable. I was enjoying the ribbing going on because from what I can remember the fellas were divided on which team should win. I saw that the time was going faster than I would have liked. I really was starting to like this Slade character. Not only was he funny but he was polite and a lot of fun to boot. Anyway, as you can imagine I was getting picked at about My Girl II, to include a lovely rendition of the song. Thanks guys.....just what I needed a group of non-singing men to sing my girl to me. Anyway as I was headed for the door Slade asks if I wanted some company. Now I may not be the brightest bulb in the bunch but what red blooded man wants to watch My Girl II instead of a football game? I can feel the butterflies in my stomach as I say sure. Hmmmmm Maybe he feels something too....but never mind....I am going to be single for awhile.

We head over to my house and get ready for the movie. I don't remember exactly what we talked about but soon the movie was put to the back of my mind and the conversation to the front. We talked about everything and anything. We had a lot of things that were similar but so many that were different. We came from two very different sides of the track. We both loved many of the same things. He had a nephew whom he talked about like he was his own. He was polite and caring. His love for his family was strong. I told him about my family as well. How I had a 14 year old brother and how my parents meant so much to me. How we came to America from Sri Lanka and how my parents worked so very hard to build a great life for my brother and I and succeeded. I can't tell you how long we talked but before we knew it, it was late and he had to head back to the barracks. We decided to finish off the leftover Chinese food so off to the kitchen we went. I had a bad habit of sitting on my counter back then. I popped the food in the microwave and hopped on the counter. I sat there making small talk with Slade. I was wishing that I could turn back the hands of time to earlier...can't this day just last a little longer. Finally the time came for him to leave. As I sat there with my legs dangling over the counter, he walked straight up to me and kissed me. WOW...the whole I am not dating anyone went out of the window right then and there. "Good Night" Slade said. "Good Night" I replied. I went to bed that night with my heart all aflutter. Little did I know that he was the last man that I would ever kiss.