Soap Opera Sunday: Uh-oh!
September 21st, 2008 by Kateastrophe
SO, Heather at The Extraordinary Ordinary is hosting Soap Opera Sunday this month and she also suggested our theme of “Three’s Company.” Now, I have plenty of those kinds of stories, but I think the Richard saga has been dragging on long enough that I should dedicate some time to finishing that up. And off I go.
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The evening I spent with Matt was fun. We talked through most of dinner and then went to play pool with our group. We talked college football and whatnot. We had a good time, but at the end of the evening, we just said good-bye. I knew I was way to messed up to get involved with anyone. Besides, Matt had just moved to Arizona and I had a great job, a free place to live and a dysfunctional relationship that was coming up on it’s two year anniversary. Life was grand.
I continued down the path of dysfunction and drama with Richard. We were seeing each other a little more often now, but it was on weird nights and, as usual, never planned. I had a feeling he was, once again, seeing someone else, but I had no proof of this and I was so done caring enough to ask. I had just sort of accepted that it was what it was. I didn’t talk about him with anyone else and I was alone a lot. I was in great shape because instead of a real social life, I had a gym life. I was working out like six days a week and spending a lot of time with my Mom.
See? Life was fun.
About three weeks after the football game where I met Matt, I got a phone call from my girlfriend Rhonda, who lived in Arizona. She said that a big group of her friends (who lived in both Utah and Arizona) were meeting in Las Vegas to go to the BYU vs. UNLV game there that weekend. Then she said Matt had been asking about me and she had given him my phone number so he could invite me to go along — and he was calling that night.
I was flattered, of course, and happy to talk to him when he called. I agreed to come to Vegas and then we chatted (ok I chatted) for another half an hour or so. I still wasn’t really thinking it was going to go anywhere because . . . well, you know. RICHARD.
So, on to Vegas. A bunch of Matt’s friends came from Utah (one of whom hitched a ride to Vegas with me and was very cool.) and we all crashed in a hotel in Boulder City. Like, ten of us. In one hotel room. Yeah. Somehow, in the hub-ub, Matt and I ended up in the same bed. Yeah, don’t ask me how, but it happened. I think it was sort of a . . . watching movies late, no one paying any attention to sleeping arrangements and then POOF, we’re all asleep. We stayed on COMPLETELY opposite sides of the bed, not touching at all. I woke up and laughed because I was hugging the wall and he was hugging the coffee table. Other than that, the weekend was uneventful. I didn’t sit with him at the BYU game, we chatted a bit, but we chatted with others too . . . and then the weekend was over. I had learned not much more than the fact that Matt was horribly shy. I must have caught him on a good night when we met, because this boy was SHY SHY SHY. He’d blush easily, he was quiet. He’d hide in a corner and draw no attention to himself. I will be honest and say that I have no idea what to DO with shy people. I’m the opposite of shy. Shy people scare me. Seriously.
I drove home (got a ticket for speeding) and went on with my dysfunctional (have I mentioned DYSFUNCTIONAL) relationship. I didn’t hear from Matt, he didn’t hear from me. In fact the report from Rhonda was that Matt thought I was “a talker.” While I am a talker, I was offended. How dare he!
Two weeks later I had plans to be in Phoenix for Halloween. I had been promising Rhonda that I would come visit her for a long time, so I finally decided that weekend would be a fun time. I showed up late in the evening and a bunch of her friends were going to a bunch of parties. Matt happened to be among the group of friends and showed up sans costume, so I kindly provided him with my fleece Viking hat (yes, fleece Viking hat. Complete with horns and braids. IN FLEECE.) which he wore for the whole evening. Once again, I was seeing a non-shy side of Matt. He was so shy in Vegas and here he was wearing a hilarious, attention grabbing Viking hat. I was starting to question the shyness.
After the parties were over we went our seperate ways and, once again, I figured I’d never see him again.
Haha, wrong again. The next morning Rhonda and I decided to get in some shopping and a movie. Then she asked if she could invite Matt. I didn’t really have a problem with that, so along he came. We went and picked him up at his house and spent the whole day at the mall where we saw a movie, did some shopping, ate some food . . . and I realized that I really liked this guy. Like, a lot. I realized this right about the time we walked into the movie theatre. At that point I had no idea what to do next. It was like I was twelve years old again.
After the movie we ended up at Rhonda’s house, all hanging out until the wee hours of the morning. As the night progressed the roommates and Rhonda all went to bed and Matt and I were still out on the couch talking and laughing. We weren’t tired at all so we decided to watch a move. Glitter, as a matter of fact (and it was bad. Bad bad bad). I watched the whole thing and I think Matt drifted in and out of conciousness. After the movie we were both wide awake and the next logical thing to do seemed obvious. It took a little while because I sure wasn’t going to make the first move and Matt was shy, but eventually it happened. He leaned in and gently kissed me. It was the best kiss I’ve ever had (and I’d kissed a LOT of people at this point). I can’t even find words to describe it. It was soft and sweet and gentle and AMAZING — and it lasted a very, very, very long time.
The next morning I was sort of swimming in joy. Matt went home to get ready for church and Rhonda and I did the same. We all went to church together and Matt sat next to me and held my hand the entire time. After church we went and got some food and then I had to leave for the airport. Matt went with us and when they dropped me off at the curb he hugged me, kissed me and told me he’d talk to me soon.
And then I got on a plane, flew the hour and a half to Utah and walked to the curb where Richard was waiting for me.
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