Monday, April 19, 2010

She Started It

We went on a group date last Friday. Just the roomies (I guess Nick still counts even though he moved out and still owes us money). I totally spaced it for some reason and didn't remember until Jake reminded me at about three o'clock Friday afternoon. I told Jake that I had forgotten. Jake, of course, said, "It's not too late, dude. Man up and call somebody." This command was particularly humorous because Jake was telling me to do something that he would never do himself... and attempting to mock me for my lack of testicular fortitude. I told Jake and Aaron (Nick was there, but I'm giving him the silent treatment) that it was too late to find a date and no girl in her right mind would accept a date invitation on such short notice, because that would mean she'd be admitting to having no plans on a Friday night and must therefore be a loser.

Then Aaron suggested I ask out Kristen. I realize I haven't mentioned Kristen before. Jake and I were talking the other day about how many people play huge parts in our lives, but never make it into our blog. Kristen is one of these people. She's been my friend since high school and she still makes a special effort to keep in touch with me. I'm glad she goes out of her way because if she didn't, I'm sure we'd have lost touch by now. I'm lazy and luckily, Kristen knows that, so she assumes most of the responsibility in keeping our friendship alive. I love her for that.

In high school, Kristen and I purposely went to registration together just before our senior year started. We wanted our lockers next to each other because we were such good friends. We'd hang out all the time. I'd talk to her about the girls I happen to be dating and she'd talk to me about the guys she was dating. We'd even discuss physical intimacy with each other. I've always been secretly jealous of the guys she was involved with. She'd tell me about her horizontal make-outs. We'd laugh and compare notes. Interestingly enough, I credit her for most of my sexual prowess even though our relationship has always been strictly platonic. She taught me so much about women and kissing and flirting... it was awesome.

She used to come over to my house at night during the summer. I'd answer the door and see her standing there wearing a tank top and shorts. She's adorable. I knew why she was there, but I'd always wait for her to ask, "Hey, Calvin. Wanna go for a walk?" We'd walk around for a long time, just talking and laughing. She always smelled like a tanning bed. A lot of people don't like that smell. I loved it. We hugged a lot. At school. At home. At church. She was (and still is) my only real female friend. I don't do well with female friends. I don't think very many (straight) guys do. It just seems like no matter how innocent the relationship is, the guy always ruins it cause he's horny. I've always been able to control myself around Kristen. I'm not sure how, but I've always been nervous to make any kind of move and risk destroying our friendship. But every time Kristen tells me a story about a guy she's dating, I get a little bit jealous, but I would never ever tell her that. I just listen to her laugh and I admire her tan legs and flip flops and think, "I'll bet she's such an amazing kisser. How could she NOT be?"

So on Friday night Aaron suggested I ask Kristen to come on the date that I had forgotten about. It was a pretty good plan. If she didn't have anything else to do, she wouldn't be ashamed to admit it. I was sure we'd have a blast. We always had fun together. So I called her. I had no idea if she was even dating anyone. It had been about a month since we'd last spoken. "Of course, Calvin. I'd love to go out with you." I didn't even feel like I needed to say, "you know... just as friends." She knew it and I knew it.

The date went really well. Kristen and I were talking and laughing like we always do. Something felt a little different, though, and I still can't put my finger on it. It's possible that the fact that we were on an official "date" had some sort of effect on our attitudes, but that seems so unlikely. I just noticed that we were looking at each other differently. Not uncomfortable at all... just different. It didn't affect our chemistry or our behavior. Something was just... not the same. Not good or bad. Just different.

While we were sitting and waiting for the show to start, I glanced over at Kristen's legs. She was wearing shorts (since it was over 50 degrees) and her feet were on the seat in front of her. Her smooth, tan legs were propped up at a very attractive angle and we continued to talk about anything and everything. As we bantered, I remembered her saying several times about how her legs were her "weakness". Like, it turned her on... a lot... if a guy touched her legs. During one of our many topics of conversation, I reached over and said, "So does it still drive you crazy if a guy touches your leg?" and I gently placed my hand just above her knee. Kristen started laughing like I was tickling her. She grabbed my hand and moved it off of her leg as she laughed, "Yes, it does. A lot." I started laughing as I looked down at her leg and said, "Oh, Kristen, you have a hair or something on your leg right there. Let me brush it off." I reached over and rubbed her leg gently as though I was brushing a hair off of her leg. She still laughed, but it was more of a giggle. She made no effort to remove my hand from her leg. She just giggle quietly and watched my hand brush her leg. Then I started feeling pretty uncomfortable. Mostly because I was expecting her to hit my hand away again. Then the show started.

There was no hand-holding or arm-over-shoulder action. It would have been extremely awkward since we were friends... and nothing else.

Dinner was normal. Conversation was shared with the rest of the group. I still sensed something was different with Kristen, but it was almost impossible to notice. It was there, though.

When I walked her up to her door, I felt like our parting hug should have been like the hundreds of other hugs we've shared. But it wasn't. It lasted longer than usual. We were talking to each other while hugging. I was pretty sure we hadn't done that before. I told her how much fun I'd had. Kristen agreed. But neither one of us were very quick to break away from the hug. I started to wonder if she was giving me a Greenlight. I decided I'd move out of the hug slowly and see how she reacted.

As I slowly pulled out of the hug, Kristen stayed close. So close, in fact, that I stopped moving out when I noticed we were cheek-to-cheek. I knew what was happening. I'm sure Kristen did, as well. We kept hugging for maybe 20 more seconds with our cheeks touching. No talking. No whispering. Just hugging and thinking. Thinking about what we were about ready to do. Thinking about whether or not it was a good idea. Thinking about how things were gonna change. Actually, I'm sure that's what Kristen was thinking. I was thinking, "I hope she's as good as I think she's gonna be."

She was.

Calvin

54 comments:

Jade said...

Wow sounds like she might just be into you, or she was needing some loving that night, but it kinda sounds like she might kinda like you! I'm excited to see if anything develops from this!

Julia Halls said...

Touche! That was an excellent post. Captivating even. Touche!

Vanessa said...

I love this post.

brooke said...

um.love it!!! pretty sure i was sitting at my desk reading with a smile on my face...an old friend turned possible love interest?!?! try not to muck it up too terribly bad...

Anne Katherine said...

I liked this cute simple sweet

I dated my best guy friend, it didn't work out but we're still amazing friends so this doesn't always ruin it.

Nikita A said...

Everything becomes easier when you're with a friend... and a lot more easier, if you've been friends for a long time. Seems like something very good might turn out of this. But you've got to be careful, because God forbid, if this doesn't work, you'd be losing a very very good friend.

All the best! :)

DCFresh said...

Loved how the last part of the post was written! Can't wait to see where this goes for you Calvin!

c a n d a c e said...

loved it...
Great post, C.

Valen Hunter said...

what? so she was as good as you thought? did you kiss her? how was it, what's going to happen now?

Romina Pastorini said...

adorable

nic said...

caaaayuuuute.

Jocelyn said...

ahh! I loved this post! SO cute.

Lauren said...

Flashback for me! Made me think when I was back in high school! I had a guy friend like this but I was completely in love with him but don't worry the whole school knew! He even knew but we were still just best friends! We kissed once but it just made everything completely awkward.. I hope it doesn't for you two! so cute!

Anonymous said...

Yeah... Congratulations on the girl, but really Calvin?? Grow up and stop acting like a girl by giving Nick the silent treatment. It's not going to solve anything and he's not going to pay you just because you're not talking to him. If anything he WON'T pay you just because he knows it's ticking you off.

Paula -- CutieFruity said...

BOO-YAH! The ones that you "grew up with" are the ones to watch out for. At least in the case of my husband and I!

ginger said...

Very romantic...don't screw it up! :)

Emily Zoe Hale said...

Oh my word. I LOVED this.

Anonymous1 said...

Oh the places you can go when you are "Friends with benefits"

KatOfDiamonds said...

oo la la?

~*~Katie Jo~*~ said...

cute cute cute CUUUTE!!

Anonymous said...

So what about Mikaela?

Anonymous said...

uh oh lol sounds like she thought it as more than friends! and now ya kissed...since you're mormon that probably means you're gna get married soon eh?

Kristen K said...

This was weird to read because MY name's Kristen... good job on the girl though, Calvin.

Anonymous said...

Um, no one reads this blog anymore. Awesome.

Anonymous said...

(sigh) I had a bad day and I think that may have just made up for all of it.

Autumn said...

I really liked this short, simple, cute post. Really really liked it Calvin. Go for it :) I wanna see how it goes.

christina said...

omg calvin theres a reason ur my fav. lol great post :)

Crystal said...

Cuteness. :)

Waited For a Sister Missionary said...

At least one of you has guts. Eventually you've just got to go for it.

I've always liked that you seem more capable of "reading the signs" than most.

Amanda Jenkins said...

aw, I loved this post. My best guy friend from high school and I ended up dating for a few months in college. We did end up breaking up, and it was awkward for a while, but after we talked about it and realized that we were being pansies, are back to best friend status.
Definitely mention this girl again!

Anonymous said...

I like how it's titled "she started it." When you were the one rubbing her leg, and you were the one that asked her out on a date. Calvin, you started it. Take credit where it's due! Hope you didn't ruin it by getting hormonal. I am hopin this will go somewhere good. Cause this is a cute post. :D

{Jesica Huffaker} said...

That's so cute. I have always said you want to marry your best friend.

this blog is so fake! said...

maybe the reason you haven't mentioned kristen before is because...

you just made her up!

about to barf said...

Why does everyone keep saying this post is cute?

There is nothing cute about some idiot acting like an immature 4 year old on a date.

Heather Guymon said...

DUDE that is the kind of girl you want to marry Cal. Seriously you had a solid friendship and it just COULD end up being something more. That was an awesome story...it totally gave me butterflies.

Anonymous said...

Goodbye friend......hello lover! hahaha
Yeah, please don't make this akward

Anonymous said...

So why are we anonymous people saying it is fake?

If you allow for the suspension of disbelief, then there are dates Calvin has gone on that he hasn't told us about, there are people at work and at church that we are not told about. If we allow for the suspension of disbelief, then Jake and Calvin only reveal a fraction of their bachelor pad lives to us.

Is it that hard to imagine that they don't tell us every little detail that has happened to them?

Jenny Strickland said...

I am going private on my blog! So if you want to keep reading send me your email.... sphjenny@gmail.com

this blog is so fake! said...

"we anonymous people" are saying it is fake because think about it...

remember when Calvin said he only has one best friend at a time? some kid in school and then jake.

he never mentioned some girl named kristen that was his best friend his entire life until now.

and if he did have 2 best friends then he lied.

which wouldn't be the first time.

I would explain more about why this blog is fake, but then they won't publish my comment, so that's all you get for now.

Liz said...

I love your blog ! I found it yesterday through another LDS blog and although I'm only 15 I find your blog hilarious.
I stayed up till midnight last night reading your blog posts and supplements.
Jake your my favorite ! And I like Harper.
I do think you should be carefull what you post on here-its funny and entertaining however to a non-member they probably misinterpreted a few things. And although you say your a Peter Priesthood I think you should think about saving your kisses and avoid your horizontal make out sessions.
And you guys occasional swear in your blogs..which I don't see the point of. You could use another word and gain more respect....

Julianne Howes said...

Okay, not gonna lie. This is the FIRST post I have EVER liked. I had a good guy-friend and we were way good friends like you and Kristen. We have now been married 2 1/2 years and have a baby. Good luck. :)

Anonymous said...

Dear Jake and Calvin,
If someone sends you a package will you make a blog about it ? Cause i'm sending you a package !!

Love,
Me :) <3

Anonymous said...

So. Freakin'. Cute. :]

Anonymous said...

Dear Jake and Calvin,
I have decided that both of you are addicted to the computer. You seem to accept a comment the minute its submitted...so how do you have time to woo all these girls ?

Love,
Me :)

Anonymous said...

oohh. okay. Which brings me to the question
- Do you make a blog about all packages you get ?
And is this Calvin or Jake?

Love,
Liz :)

explain this one said...

if you are a one best friend kind of guy then why do you not mention kristen until now?

remember this?

http://mormonbachelorpad.blogspot.com/2010/03/death-pact.html

Anonymous said...

Dear post-above-me-person and other haters,
Calvin dosen't have time to post every friend or singe bit of his life on here. Get over it.

:P

Anonymous said...

Good heavens people, everyone knows that the things mentioned in this blog aren't actually happening right now! Just stop reading it if you don't care anymore.

It's that simple.

WilWheaton said...

Good work!

I can't wait for your next post when you are contemplating whether that was a mistake or not, and what happens the next time you're together.

That of course depends on how important this friendship actually is to you.

ashley.warner said...

You boys sure do have a way with words...and horizontal makeouts....

Anonymous said...

I loved it. And for Ms. 15 yr old. Keep your dumb "advice" to yourself. I like how these boys write. Welcome to the real world.

Hailey Jones said...

best post ever.

The Denham Family said...

Aaaaaahhh!!!!! YAYYYY!!!! So cute!

Ashley Jane said...

AAAGHH! This had me hollering, giggling and squealing the whole way through and I wouldn't scroll down far enough for a spoiler- glad I didn't! The end was funny although- not good enough. I need details! Oh well. Hope this turns into something cool or at least alright.