I met New Jersey on Bumble. His job peaked my interest: tech writer. I skimmed the material and scrolled down. Then I read, "The quickest way to my heart is...talking about books." After a cursory final glance to make sure there were no shirtless bathroom selfies, I swiped right.
After the shock of being notified that we were a match subsided, I wrote, "We should go on a date and talk about books."
The next morning I saw his reply, "Well, my previous record for being invited on a date was six messages into the conversation. Looks like you not only handily take the record, but it's a record that'll be hard to beat unless there's a way to invite people on a date without conversation."
I laughed. His reply was funny, and he used full sentences and correct grammar. His reply was much longer than my initial query, which was a good sign.
He offered a suggestion for his usual book date gimmick: a trip to Big Island Bookbuyers followed by drinks at the Pineapple Shack. I counter-offered with a suggestion of a trip to Turn the Page and drinks at Nector Cafe. He accepted, and we made plans to meet last Saturday at 1:00.
As I strolled up to the bookstore, I got my first glance of New Jersey. He was tall. He has long hair. He had dressed up in a nice button down shirt and khaki shorts.
We greeted and then donned our masks to head into the bookstore (Hawaii still has a mask mandate). New Jersey had never been to Turn the Page, so I gave him a tour. I showed him the fiction, book-to-movie, historical fiction, and thriller sections. "Where's the sci-fi section?" he asked.
I am not a sci-fi fan, so I laughed and told him, "I have no idea."
We browsed through the store and talked about authors and books and ourselves. I could hear the New Jersey accent in his voice. It wasn't strong, but it was there. He asked good questions and carried his end of the conversation. He was smart.
I invited him to join the book club I attend, because all the other readers like sci-fi. He bought a book. He said he felt like he had to. I noted his thoughtfulness.
We walked down to Nector Cafe. I warned him that the place was a little... California hippie, but their drinks were very good. I ordered the dirty chai tea and he tried the same. We headed across the highway to sit at the bandstand and visit while staring at the ocean.
New Jersey told me in 2019 he lived in Air Bnb's for a year, traveling to different places. In 2020 when the pandemic hit, he literally didn't have an apartment, because he'd been travelling, and the Air Bnb's all got shut down. He went home to New Jersey while he made a plan of where to move. His green eyes glittered as he said, "I made a spreadsheet of my top 5 choices of places to live and assigned a point system to different categories (taxes, crime, cost of living, public transportation, etc)." He looked up at me and smiled, "Yes, I'm a nerd," he said.
I laughed. I didn't think it was that nerdy. It actually sounded like a smart plan. He told me Hilo ended up fourth on his spreadsheet's calculation, but he chose it anyway, because in his heart it's where he wanted to move. I'm a romantic at core, so hearing about someone following their heart made me like the guy.
New Jersey also told me he enjoys cycling and has ridden his bike up the Hamakua Coast past the 3 gulches. I said, "Well, I will never do that, but I do ride my bike to Bayfront."
I told New Jersey my office Christmas Party would be kicking off soon. We stood up, and I walked with him back toward the parking lot. I thanked him again for meeting me and for my drink. We waved goodbye and headed our separate ways.
That night at the Christmas Party everyone wanted to know how the date went. I said, "It was fun. He was nice."
I texted New Jersey and thanked him for the date. I listed the things I liked about him including his kindness, maturity, and thoughtfulness. I told him I had a fun time.
New Jersey messaged me back with his own list of things he liked about me. He invited me to join him on a bike ride down Stainback Highway. I was too terrified of the thought of riding downhill at 25 miles an hour that I avoided the invitation all together. I had visions of crashing my bike and damaging my already addled brain or worse getting road rash.
On Monday New Jersey invited me over to his place for dinner on his lanai (porch)...Stay Tuned...
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