Mama Mia, X, and Eyebags

Last night, I went out on my first date.

It wasn't a date-date thing, or I don't know. He just popped this question asking "You have anything to do tonight?" and I said I might just prop up in bed and finish another novel because my roomate has a chatdate to keep.

He actually asked the same question a week before and I told him that we were having drinks with the Filipino community here. And then during the week he asked if we would fancy watching Kung Fu Panda one night and I said that it would be fine.

So it was another Friday afternoon and we were e-mailing each other how we are looking forward to 5:30 already so that we can finally pack up and finish another week. Then he asked if I wanted to watch a movie. I said I doubt if Kung Fu Panda is still showing because movies change on Fridays. And he said Mama Mia is up, that he wanted to see it (only I shouldn't tell anyone else because it's kind of embarrassing)and that it would start at 9pm.

So I said yes. To see a movie with the guy I promised not to like in a more than a friendly way. And it scared the whole life of me.

I have never been out with anyone I barely knew. Let alone at night. Let alone with just the two of us. I mean, sure, I've known him for two weeks, talked to him for like two hours, and exchanged office e-mails for about ten minutes a day. But when you think about it, he's still a stranger.

I had jitters all afternoon. So that must be how it feels to see someone you somehow like. I told him I'd meet him at the Casemates around 8:30 in the evening because it would still be a long walk to the cinema. But I have made up and readied myself thirty minutes earlier. So you can imagine the butterflies on my stomach, crazy as it may seem.

He's this type of person who never seem to run out of anything to say and I am the type of person who asks, listens and shares as well. It wasn't a boring walk and it was kind of fun to hear the stories he shared about his family, his hometown, the places he's been to, the languages he taught himself and the experiences he's had. I've gotten confident with my own conversational English as well, but I was constantly afraid I would blurt out something in Tagalog although he asked to hear me say a phrase or two.

We actually had a nice time watching the movie. He laughed a lot. I laughed a lot, hollered at times. I don't think he minded. I loved the songs. He said that the reason he wanted to watch the movie is that it plays the Abba songs that sort of reminds him of his mom, who has this collection of their songs back home. It was also funny to see Pierce Brosnan in the movie. Somehow, I still couldn't dissociate him of his James Bond character. I told him so, he said he feels the same.

He asked me if I wanted him to walk me home. I said I lived nearby. At eleven in the evening the streets are just starting to fill with the Friday night crowd. I wasn't prepared to end the night yet but I wasn't hungry so we started to walk home. I didn't need to invite him inside the gate because he just followed me. I said I'd show him our backdoor view of the Marina and of the Spanish border on the other side which I often tell him about.

It was a pretty sight at night, I said. He agreed. Then he sat himself along the embankment in front of all the docked yachts and little boats to admire the view. I sat beside him with my legs crossed. And the rest of the night passed by with more stories shared.

We didn't leave until well past midnight when we felt the night getting colder. He asked me what I was planning to do the next day as I held the gate to see him off. I told him I really haven't planned for anything. He asked for my number so that he can text me if ever he would be at the beach.

That night he wished me sweet dreams with a little "x" in it. That night I had a hard time trying to sleep. This morning I woke up with heavier eyebags around my eyes.