I lied to her.
We had been dating for a few weeks and it was very exciting for me. I was nineteen, awkward, inexperienced — so much so that I had never even kissed someone before. I don’t know where I found the courage to ask her out in the first place. She was a beautiful red head; had thick muscles from years of playing soccer; smart as a whip; and incredibly social and funny. I met her at work, a restaurant chain, and she was the new girl. Something in me found the confidence to ask her out and she accepted right away. I was shocked, but also completely unaware of how people perceived me. I’m 6’2”; dark hair; green eyes; athletic build. I thought that my awkwardness was my defining characteristic, but she only saw a funny guy with a cute smile.
I had organized a night of dancing with my friends — nerds that we were, we had gotten big into swing dancing at the time and made big events out of it. She was my date and the whole experience blew her away. What I saw as a nerdy night out to her was a night of dinner, dancing and laughs. She was hooked and I knew it.