It's Never Too Soon

Needless to say, Ron was right about "surprising" me. Around midnight, Ron showed up at my job with a huge grin on his face as if we'd been friends forever. This was unexpected, but I tried to be as cordial as possible without deterring from my work at hand. He lingered around for the better part of half the night, before I finally convinced him that he needed to go home and get some sleep so he could be at max capacity mentally for whatever surprise he had for me later that morning. He was avid about taunting me pertaining to what it was. I was also wondering how the heck he could be awake a second night in a row with no sleep, because, according to him, he'd only taken a nap during the day.

Like clockwork, right as I was clocking out, my phone rang.

Ron: Good morning, gorgeous!
Me: (laughing) I don't know about all that, but good morning to you, too
Ron: Ah, don't be so modest. You're beautiful 365!
Me: Whatever you're trying to butter me up for, you can save the flattery. What's going on, and where are we meeting?

Just as I asked that question, I walked outside, and there he was, in the parkinglot holding the passenger's side door of his van open, with that huge grin, again. We hung up the phone, I walked over to his van, where Fox was jumping around in the passenger's seat waiting for me to acknowledge her. I greeted her in my little "doggy greeting" way, and looked at him.

Me: Okay, Mister. What is this all about?
Ron: (grinning from ear to ear) Why don't you get in and find out?
Me: (looking at him suspiciously) Uhm, care to elaborate a bit more? I mean, really?
Ron: If I tell you, it will spoil the surprise
Me: Look, I appreciate you trying to be all top-secret and spontaneous and stuff, but we just met yesterday, and you just telling me to get in your van for a surprise without anymore info isn't necessarily something I'm warm on doing
Ron: Oh, okay. If I give you a hint, will you get in then?
Me: Maybe
Ron: It has to do with your version of a romantic breakfast
Me: That's not telling me much
Ron: R, look, you trusted me enough to ride with me yesterday, so can you have the same faith today? I mean, if push comes to shove, they've got you out here on video getting in my van, and video of me in your store, and your employee can describe me. Feeling safe enough yet?

I eyed him suspiciously for a second, then picked Fox up, and got in the van. He closed the door and ran to the driver's side and got in. I really had no idea what to expect, here I am, leaving my vehicle at my job, and riding to God only knows where with this man that I'd just met the previous day, who says he has a romantic surprise for me. As we rode, the smile never left his face, and he just kept saying over and over how much I'd like his surprise. I wasn't so sure, but what choice did I really have at that point. I tried to pay attention to every turn we made, and every street we went down just in case I had to call someone to come and get me. When we finally turned into a residential neighborhood, I told him I immediately needed to know what was going on, otherwise he could stop and let me out right then. He told me to relax, and just know that it's definitely a good surprise. Good for who? I hoped this man didn't think he was going to get "lucky" with me or anything.

He finally turned into a driveway, at what I assumed to be his house. When he turned the van off, I hesitated and asked if that was his house, which he confirmed, then hopped out and ran over to my side to open my door.

Me: Ron, look, I don't make it a habit of going to people's houses like this. I really wish you'd tell me what's going on before I get out
Ron: (sighs) Okay, yesterday you mentioned that one of your ideas of romantic is a man that surprises you by cooking breakfast and you waking up to it. Well, I don't figure you'd be spending the night anytime soon, so my next best idea was to surprise you with cooked breakfast when you're getting off of work
Me: (shocked) You cooked breakfast for me?
Ron: (proud) I'm cooking breakfast for you. Steaks are already on the pit, and I'll start on the omelettes as soon as we get inside

I was at a total loss for words. This had never happened to me before. This man had known me for all of a day, and he's already trying to do something "romantic" for me? I can't really use the term that I was "pleasantly" surprised, because I wasn't sure I even liked him. I mean, he seemed like a decent person, and from what little time we'd spent together, I liked what I knew of him, but I wasn't sure about the whole "romantic" thing. I asked him if he thought it might be a bit soon for him to be doing things like that, and he replied that it's never to soon for a man to woo a woman that he's interested in. I'm guessing he drew the conclusion of being interested in me far sooner than I'd even thought of him.

Okay, he'd just mentioned having a fight with a female friend the other day, and not only was I clueless about what they fought so bad about that it kept him awake all that night, but what's his current M.O.? Again, I had nothing to lose by raising these questions to him. He told me we'd discuss it while we're eating.
I walked into a house that smelled so delicious. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, but something smelled like fresh baked something.

Me: Gosh, it smells good in here
Ron: (there's that damned smile again) You like? Fresh baked cinnamon rolls came out of the oven right before I came to get you
Me: How were you even sure I'd have gone along with all of this? What if I'd refused to have come with you?
Ron: Something told me that you would. I didn't have a back-up plan for if you didn't. But, hey, I'm a gambling man, and I'd put my money on it that you would
Me: Oh, so I'm that easy to figure out now, huh? I see I've got some things to change about myself
Ron: (laughing) No! That's not what I'm saying. Let me rephrase. Yesterday we had such a good time that I knew I wanted to get to know you better. I kinda got the feeling that you might be interested in doing the same, so, don't get me wrong, I'm glad you decided to take me up on this, but, I got the vibe that you would
Me: So, in other words you're saying that yesterday I gave you the feeling that I might be interested in you enough to go along with this?
Ron: Well, R, like I said, I'm a gambling man, and even if you weren't, just the little time we spent together yesterday let me know all I needed to know about you to know that I wanted more of you

He shut me up with that statement. Speechless is rarely a state you'll find me in. Not many things have the power to render me that way, but this was something that did. Observing from his actions and his words, this man was going to do what it took to draw me in, and I had to admit, it just might work. I sat at the kitchen table, where he lit a small single candle, he went out to get the steaks off the pit, came back in, fried up some omelettes, garnished the plates with fresh fruit, and served me one of the best "romantic" breakfasts I'd never had. A very impressive move was when he told me that we had to bless our food before we ate. THAT got my attention in a major way. I'm big on saying grace, and am used to being the one that always mentions it. Thank goodness I've never had a guy not go along with it. Hmm. Maybe....

As we ate, he clarified the situation with the friend, "Bonnie", that he'd had the argument with. He told me they'd met at church when he'd first moved to Oklahoma and briefly dated, but she didn't want any children, and being that he already has 3 and wants more, they determined that it was best to part as friends. They'd remained close over the years, but the argument happened because of a guy she'd started seeing that found out about their relationship-turned-friendship. Ron was accustomed to housesitting for Bonnie when she'd go out of town (she has 2 dogs), so he had his own key to her house. The guy that she was seeing wasn't happy about Ron having access to her house like that, so, she'd asked him for her key back, telling him she'd only leave it as a spare for him, but he couldn't keep it on him any longer. Here we go with this "close friend" bullshit. It sounded like all too familiar of a situation from me dealing with Allen and Jackie, but the difference being that Bonnie obviously respected her relationship enough to make her guy happy. I'd have never asked Allen to give up his "friendship" with Jackie (or any of them), just for them to respect me and our relationship. That was obviously too much. Anyway, Ron was having a hard time understanding why him having a key was such an issue. Perfect opportunity for two things in that matter: 1) for me to see that obviously there's still some feelings there for Bonnie for that to bother him so much, and 2) for me to explain to him how something like that can be viewed as a violation of privacy if the guy is ever there and Ron can just walk in anytime he wanted to. After some further talking, he did admit that he still cared for Bonnie, but knew it would never work because of the children thing, and eventually he understood what I explained to him. Great, now I know I don't want to let this go any further, because he's still got feelings for another woman. Nope. Never mind. Whatever "maybe...." that I was conjuring in my head got reeled back in. That would not end well. For me.

After we ate and he cleared the table, he invited me to stay and watch a few movies with him. I really needed to get back to my car so I could go home to check on my dogs and get some rest for work that night, but I agreed to watch one movie. I wound up dozing off on his couch before the movie even got started good. When I awoke, I was a bit delirious. I had no idea where I was, it was quiet, and I damn near freaked out. When I came to my right mind, I remembered where I was, and instantly jumped up looking for him. He'd turned off the TV, put some cover over me, and gone into the computer room to work on a paper for school. I thanked him for the hospitality, but told him that I really needed to get back to my car. He reluctantly took me back to my job where he asked when he could see me again. I told him that I'd let him know.

Not long before I arrived home, he called telling me that he'd like to do breakfast again. I laughed and told him that I would think about it, and let him know. Why on earth did this man show up at my job AGAIN that night? By that time, I was picking up a "stalker" vibe with him. I couldn't be mad about it, because that's something I identify with, but to be on the receiving end was a bit scary. Now I know how some of the guys I'd dealt with must have felt. Another night that he spent half of the night at my job. Damn, does he ever sleep? He told me that unless I agreed to go out with him, he'd keep showing up at my job until I did. Shit. Looks like I'm about to get my first experience with a restraining order. But, after the whole breakfast thing, I figured it probably couldn't hurt to see what Ron was all about. Obviously he was way more into me than I was him, but, it wouldn't hurt to let him convince me to be into him, either. Afterall, I'd always wanted a guy that pursued me more than I pursued him. The "maybe" started to creep back in.

They always say "be careful what you wish for"...that became my motto.