My First Date with Kevin.
“No conversation, no Kevin.”
When I was 16 years old, I worked in the floral department of a grocery store. I hadn’t started dating yet, none of the boys at my school were interested in me and I didn’t have a crush on anyone. There were a couple of cute guys in high school, but I wasn’t part of their cliques so dating them was not an option. Working at the grocery store exposed me to more guys, different ages and varieties.
I noticed Kevin come into the store one day and he stopped at the floral counter to talk to me. We chatted for a little bit and talked about making plans, so we exchanged numbers, and I awaited his call. Kevin was older and went to my school. I assumed he had flunked a couple of grades because he was 18 and in my English class. He was from California, had a nice voice and kind of resembled Scott Weiland from the band Stone Temple Pilots.
This was the 90’s and I didn’t have a cell phone yet so couldn’t text or carry my phone with me. I anticipated him either calling me at work or my house and finally he called my house phone, and we made plans. I was excited to have my first date with Kevin. We didn’t make big plans, and I don’t recall him inviting me to a restaurant or movie, which should have been a clue for me. But I was young and eager to have plans with a guy.
Kevin gave me his address and I picked him up at the apartment he shared with his brother. No, Kevin didn’t drive and I’m not sure why. That should have been my second clue that something was off about the “date”. We got in my car, and I drove us around town. I mean hours of me driving and him in the passenger seat, leaned back and chilling.
Kevin didn’t mention stopping for coffee or grabbing a bite to eat and it didn’t really bother me because I didn’t know better. Then he mentioned that he was getting bored and wanted to go home. His words were, “no conversation, no Kevin”. Even though he wasn’t really making conversation with me. But I thought this was normal and dropped him off at home. We went into his apartment and his brother was there. He introduced me to his brother and his brother said, “Kevin talks about you all of the time. He really likes you.” I could tell his brother was lying and trying to set Kevin up. It was actually pretty mean for him to do that and even at 16, I could tell his brother was lying for kicks. Kevin looked uncomfortable and I went home hoping to hear from him again.
At least a week went by without hearing from Kevin and I felt desperate and wanted to see him again. I called him a couple of times and he did answer and asked how things were going, not making plans to see me again. I was excited to hear his voice, but my joy dwindled at not being invited out.
While I was working, Kevin came into my job and whizzed past my department on his way to the back of the store. Once I caught sight of him, I quickly followed him, calling his name in hopes he would turn around. He tried to ignore me, but once he knew I wouldn’t leave him alone, he turned around and said, “hi”. I asked how he was, and he said he had been busy and needed to head back to work.
It was disappointing and I again waited for him to call me or come by my department and visit with me. Kevin worked at a place that supplied car items like oil, filters, batteries, etc. So, I came up with a plan to buy oil for my car at his job. I gathered my courage, went inside and grabbed some oil then headed to the counter where Kevin was nowhere to be found. My plan sunk to the bottom of the ocean and after that I gave up on Kevin.
I thought for a long time that it was my fault, if only I had looked better or been way more interesting on our first date things would have been different. In reality, Kevn didn’t even plan a date. He thought a sixteen-year-old driving him around was just fine, not really talking to me, not feeding me or making sure I wasn’t thirsty. Then he thought it was ok for his brother to make a joke out of me, the sixteen-year-old girl that had driven him around town. Then he thought it was ok to ditch me and nearly race past my department knowing that I worked there and was interested in him.
Kevin was an ass and if he wasn’t really into me then he should have never made plans with me. Better yet he could have just lied to my young heart and said he was seeing someone. A couple of years later, I was working as a cashier in a plant nursery. I had lost weight, traded in my glasses for contacts, dyed my hair blonde and was wearing makeup. One day out of the blue, Kevin and his wife came into the store to buy plants. Apparently, he had gotten married in the time we hadn’t seen each other. I was really surprised by what his wife looked like and no; I’m not shaming anyone because I’m not a super model. I was just surprised. I said, “Hi Kevin.” He looked at me and did a double take, with a shocked face. I did look a lot different and, in my opinion, looked pretty damn hot. “Oh, hi Jaclyn!” He said surprised. I didn’t say anything else to him. Just scanned what he had purchased and went about my life.
That was the last time I saw Kevin. I truly don’t care what ever happened to him and his wife. That was a joke of a first date, and should I even count that? Is driving around town aimlessly really even a date? That my friends was the first of many disastrous dating incidents to come.
