First date

I was giddy all week for my date with Nathanial. To top off my good mood he had sent me flowers on Wednesday and we had been texting back and forth quite a bit.

As promised he picked me up on Saturday night at 6 o'clock. I had been antsy all day and was ready to go an hour before he even got to my house. But he was on time which I really liked. For once he didn't show up with his driver, instead pulling up in a sleek white sports car. I answered the door probably a little too quickly when he rang the bell but I didn't really care.

"You look amazing." Nathaniel said, taking in my navy blue jersey dress and heels.

I grinned. "Thanks, you're looking pretty handsome yourself." He really did look delish in dressy jeans and a simple white shirt. Let's skip the date and have sex? Just kidding (sort of).

"Want to bring your dog?" He asked taking me surprise.

"Really?" I had thought we were doing the standard dinner date but apparently not.

"Yup. I planned a some-what dog friendly date."

I was so touched and showed him by planting a kiss on his cheek. Koda was more than excited to come. I got his leash and carried him to the car. Like a gentleman, Nathanial opened the door for me. Chivalry was so not dead.

We took off towards an area I had never been before. I talked about Koda and my week at work while Nathanial mostly listened. Soon we slowed down to turn into the Shilshole Bay Marina.

"Are we going on a boat?" I asked, excited. Koda had his nose pressed up against the window and was leaving a nice little nose print on the glass but thankfully Nathanial didn't seem to care.

Nathanial grinned at me. "We are. Want to see Seattle at sunset from the water?"

I think I literally swooned. How perfect was this for a first date!  The boat (yacht? I don’t even know) was flawless. Everything was white and cream coloured, with the name 'Susanne' in beautiful writing on the side. We walked up a ramp onto the main deck that had stairs to go on the upper and lower decks. I was seriously excited.

The first thing I did was ditch my shoes, I didn't think I was going to be too steady in heels on the water. Nathanial led to me the upper deck and it was high enough to give me a good view of the marina. He came up behind me and placed his hands on either side of me on the railing. I had butterflies in my stomach and my heart was racing.

"Ready to go?" He asked, trailing kisses over my shoulder, giving me goose bumps.

I nodded my head and Nathanial signaled to someone. We started moving out of the marina and towards the water. It was still relatively light out but lots of boats were heading in already. Nathanial opened a bottle of champagne for us. We spent some time exploring the bay, Koda perched on a seat on the upper deck with us, his nose pointed in the air, clearly enjoying the ocean breeze. After about an hour of zigzagging through the water, Nathanial said dinner would be served on the main deck.

Fresh cooked crab, scallops, shrimp, lobster, and salmon had been prepared for us. The entire time I had been on Nathanial's boat I hadn't seen a person other than us around but apparently there wasn’t just someone manning the boat, but also a chef. I was a little overwhelmed with the fact that this was our first date when usually my first dates include movies and a burger. Koda even had his own side dish of chicken and vegetables. Hello, spoiled!

Dinner was fantastic and the conversation flowed easily. He asked me questions about myself and seemed genuinely interested in the answers I gave. Nathanial shared that his yacht (I checked) was named after his grandmother whom he had spent most of his time with growing up. I wanted to ask where his parent's were but didn’t want to intrude on something that was private. After dinner, we got a blanket, settled on the upper deck loveseat with a bottle of wine and dessert, and prepared to watch the sunset that would be casting it's magic on Seattle.

"Koda must have been on a boat before." I thought out loud. He was sitting on my lap, his nose in the air again enjoying the ride. "And he seems to like you, he hasn’t barked once at you."

"He's pretty cute." Nathanial tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "Have I told you that you look absolutely stunning tonight?"

I smiled and leaned in for a kiss that sent heat straight through me. "You did, but I don’t mind hearing it again." I felt like a princess who was getting swept off her feet. He had been nothing but charming all night and I was seriously starting to move from infatuation to really liking him. 

He wrapped his arm around me, pulled me close to him and kissed the top of my head. "Perfect."

I couldn't agree more. The captain of the yacht came up just as the sun was setting behind us, bathing the city in an orange glow that Nathanial and I almost missed because we couldn't seem to stop kissing.

"Excuse me, sir?" The man cleared his throat awkwardly and I reluctantly broke away from Nathanial. "Will you be wanting the same route as usual or will you be adding any detours?"

Nathanial answered that the normal route would be fine while I froze. Same route as usual? As in the same one as all the other time's he's taken girls on here?  And what happened when there was a detour added? The thought wouldn't leave my mind as the evening progressed. We spent another hour on the yacht once the sun had set, enjoying the Seattle skyline at night time. Nathanial dropped me off at home and walked me to the door like a gentleman, ending the night with a kiss that made me want to invite him in for more. I couldn't shake the feeling though that, while this date was totally out of the ordinary and very special to me, Nathanial had done this many times before. On that note I said good night quickly and carried Koda inside. The last thing I saw  before I closed the door was the slightly puzzled look on Nathanial's face.