love at half moon bay

he had been vague when speaking of an evening at beach, with dinner and a walk on the beach. it wasn't going to be a formal place, but we should dress formally.

that would mean a suit for him; something handsome. he would don a black suit with a deep blue shirt, but with no tie. very handsome, indeed.

i would wear a black cocktail dress which extended down not quite to mid-thigh. it featured thin straps extending across my shoulders. the ensemble would not have been complete without black leather boots, extending up over the calf.

the one thing he told me about this date was that there was a town on the coast named half moon bay. it actually sounded romantic, i thought. it would take us about an hour and a half to get there (and another hour and a half to get back).

we met up at about 3:45 outside our dorm hall. he was very dashing and his eyes seemed to explore my outfit. “truly incredible,” he said followed by a wide smile.

the drive to half moon bay winds through some mountains. i had not been aware of so many hills between the san francisco bay and the coast. it was a very beautiful drive, though there were spots where cell phone reception cut out. fortunately, he has sirius satellite installed in his car, so we were able to be entertained by the radio broadcast of the blazers-heat basketball game.

we arrived at half moon bay a little before 5:30 and decided to take a look at the beach before heading to the restaurant. our reservations were at seven o'clock. though it was cold and a little windy, the view shortly before sunset was breathtaking; certainly worth enjoying.

dinner was very nice; it was a seafood and steak house not too far from the beach. the restaurant seemed to fit its town. he had a steak and potatoes and i had white fish with steamed vegetables. it was all very good, and the service was very friendly.

we talked at the restaurant for quite a while; some of the things we haven't discussed before. we'd been dating for just about a month and seemed to have talked about everything. though it was just the second week in march, we're both concerned with what might happen to “us” after spring term and we each head back to our respective oregon and colorado homes for summer break.

he is lining up an internship with a newspaper or television station, while i will work at my family's business. he's dreamed of becoming a journalist for many years, and as a minority owner in the business, i feel i have a vested interest in helping build the company.

we left the restaurant at around 8:30, still unaware of whether we would drive back that evening and or early in the morning.

after grabbing my sweater from his car, we went on to the beach, deciding to take a walk under the dark sky. we must have gone about a mile when he took my hand and we slowly walked to the water. he stood behind me with his arms around my waist. he kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear.

“i love you, Kassandra,” he said to me; for the first time.

i had thought he was feeling the same things as i have been, but i was surprised to hear the words. i smiled and looked up at him. “i love you,” i told him, also for the first time.

we ended up staying up most of the night and staying in his car for a couple hours before taking off back to our dorm, as each of us had class at 9 a.m.

this was the most romantic dates i've ever had. emotionally and physically, i feel even closer to him than when we met for that drive to half moon bay.

~ Kassandra