My First French Kiss

I mean...how do you beat this first date?!

We met at a coffee shop near the airport. My nerves were still rattled so I was blasting music in my car when he walked up to me. He had either unmatched us or deleted his profile before I got a screenshot of him. He didn't quite look like this picture I remembered, but it could have been a much older picture of him. Or maybe he seemed confident and at ease in the photo, because I saw him relax once over the last two days, and thought for a minute that it could be him. I've never been catfished before, and it seems unlikely that he would be the one to do it. Either way, he was still attractive, but was gaining the lines that make him look much older than the 35 that said on his profile. But everything added up between when he graduated college, moved here, his kids ages, etc.

I follow him to the airport, he drives a nice new luxury SUV, and we park alongside his airplane garage (!). He opens the door to reveal a beautifully maintained Mooney four-seater, and soon we're inside donning our headphones. He asks me several times if I want to change my mind. I absolutely don't. I trust him, and I am beyond excited for this. I'd taken a few lessons years ago when I was trying to win the Best Wife award with my now ex husband. I loved it. Just like shooting a gun, there is something empowering about knowing that you know more than most when handling something that could turn into a life or death situation.

It was a beautiful day, the Sierras were snowcapped and there were almost no clouds in the sky. He was a total gentleman, we talked the entire time, and when we didn't it wasn't awkward. I put my arm behind his chair so that I could see behind him, and gently grazed his shoulder. We landed in a small town northeast of where were departed from and had breakfast at a small cozy diner. We talked the entire time. Both of us had done fairly extensive traveling, him much more than me, and I really appreciated how easy conversation flowed with him.

We got back in the plane, and at one point he put his hand on my knee, and I put my hand on his. We landed and pared the plane outside of his garage, removed our headphones and both went in for a kiss at the same time And that my friends, was the first time that I made out with a French man.

Once the plane was in the garage we kissed again, and he remarked how good it was. I agreed. I wouldn't say sparks were flying to the point that I wanted him to take me in the hangar, but I was smitten. I knew he had to get into the city in a bit, and I didn't ask why in case it was another date, but he asked me if I wanted to grab a coffee. Both of us weren't ready for the date to end. More talking, nothing deep, but intelligent conversation that continued to flow easily.

By that night we were making plans to see each other the next day. I was really hoping that the next time we would meet that I would be off of this cleanse so that we could drink together, but I also wanted to see him again. We ended up hitting a bucket of balls together at a local range. He's pretty great, I'm slightly better than okay. He asked if I wanted to grab a drink, and I said sure. What was I supposed to say? I wanted to keep hanging out. It was there that I told him I had a day and a half to get through and then I would be able to drink like a normal person again. He seemed to take it well.

I think we're still sticking to our original plan to have drinks on Wednesday night, but he also said "Maybe Wednesday" in the last text. I can't say that sparks are flying, and come on, who doesn't want to have a boyfriend with a plane? We're incredibly compatible from what I can tell, but I'm not sure that he has a lot of what I'm looking for. But he is French, and he has a plane. So, we'll see.

#singleinoakland #FirstDate #single #Airport #Iminaplane #MrGris