Sleep-over at Dean’s
9am wake-up, shower. We walk to my facial appointment two blocks away from his apartment.
10am Catherine’s facial / Dean does laundry
11am meet at nearby diner for brunch. We have a running joke about always liking the same exact thing on the menu. We order two curry eggs n’ hash. We never share our meals because I’m too much of a food whore.
12pm Dean shows one of the studios in his building as the apartment manager. I get online, book our flights to Arizona, find a movie for us to see at night (Gomorrah), and snoop around because I’m a girl just like any other. No red-flag emails to girls named Krystal. No red thongs underneath his bed. No red lipstick stains on the pillow cases. My boyfriend’s in the clear.
I stop to think. What was I expecting to find? Am I hoping to find something just so I can ruin this wonderful relationship that I have? No guy is going to spend $1,000+ on a resort for our vacation to Arizona and introduce me to his family during Easter if he didn’t like me! No guy is going to blab on to his friends about me if he didn’t think I was going to be around the following month. No guy builds out his closet with shelving to make room for his girlfriend if he didn’t really care about me.
2pm R bar to meet his friends and watch March Madness. I felt extremely uncomfortable as they drank and did shots. My only saving grace is that I actually like watching basketball. My heart sank. Can I really do this? Can I go out with a guy who is a die-hard sports fanatic, who spends his Saturdays and Sundays at R bar socializing. I gave it my best shot. I stuck to my roots and ordered my favorite comfort drink: bloody mary. My biggest mistake? Watching the bartender make it as he loaded up the large glass 3/4 full of well vodka. I almost fainted right there. But I put my best face forward and gave it a gulp. Not so bad. Dean’s friends were good sports too as they tried to incorporate me into their ‘it’s Greek to Catherine’ sports conversations.
4:30pm I was such a good sport, I didn’t complain about leaving. I just sat there and tried to be social. I think if it had gone past the three hour mark, I would’ve bussed home on my own. Dean has been so sweet about meeting all my friends, but I do the civilized thing and setup brunches and dinners. Great way to get to meet people, right? Over food?! What better way to bond? Sports bars are not my style, but I love Dean so I’m willing to sacrifice.
Across from the bar is a pawn shop. “Oh baby,” I said, “do you want to see if there’s anything we can get from the pawn shop?”
He lit up. “Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. Let’s check it out.”
Jewelry, mainly diamond rings, lit up the left side of the store. The right side was full of instruments. I gazed intently at the cases of jewelry and found one I liked. “Ooh,” I squealed. “I found one. Baby, this can be my starter ring until the real one comes. Excuse me, can I see that black onyx one with the diamond in the middle. How much is that?”
“$2,250.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
“It’s probably a high quality diamond.” The pawn broker guessed.
“Baby, we can get a gorgeous diamond ring at Costco for a few hundred dollars.” I insisted.
5pm Bed Bath and Beyond
5:30pm Trader Joe’s
6pm Dinner at Koh Samui and the Monkey
6:50pm Gomorrah
9:30pm Dean drops me off at home. I send him packing with a goody bag of Nyquil and Sudafed for his cold.
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