Sunday, February 21, 2010

Day Two: First Dates (Part 2)

That evening, I picked up Florence for our one-on-one date."You look great, Florence."
"Thanks." She smiled shyly.
"It must have been heaven to have the mansion to yourself this afternoon."
"It was certainly quiet without the other girls arguing, and it made it much easier for me to dream about our date this evening."
I blushed and squeezed her hand.
"I dressed warmly like you asked. Where are we going?"
"The Ice Cafe. Have you ever been there?"
"Is that the restaurant with the ice rink out back?"
I nodded. "That would be the place."
"Wow." She beamed. "That should be fun, but I have to warn you that I haven't ice skated in years."
 
Florence wasn't kidding. She fell as soon as she slipped on the ice. "I told you I was rusty!"
"Don't feel bad. It's like riding a bicycle." I reached down to help her up.


We skated towards the center of the ice.


I showed off a cool move on my own,


and landed on my butt. "I guess you're not the only one who's rusty, Florence." It was her turn to help me up.


Florence took my hands in hers. "Maybe if we hold on to each other, we'll have a better chance of staying upright."
"Sounds good to me." We twirled around together in a small circle.


I looked into her eyes which were gleaming in the moonlight. "This is really nice, Florence."
"Yes, it is."
We were in our own little solar system, revolving around each other like dual stars.Like gravity, the urge to kiss her was drawing my lips closer and closer to hers. I leaned in,


and knocked us both off balance. "Epic fail," I groaned into the ice.
Florence was laughing good-naturedly. "Maybe it's time for dessert?"
"Don't have to ask me twice." We headed inside the warm cafe and were quickly seated.


It didn't take long for our Baked Alaska and champagne to arrive. "Florence, I'd like to propose a toast to us, to a lovely evening, and to one of the best dates I've had in a long time." We clinked glasses.


"Garrett, this evening is turning out even better than I imagined. Being out there on the ice with you was magical. It felt natural and safe."
"You felt that too?" I was thrilled.


"Garrett, I'll be honest with you. I'm not the type of woman who falls easily, and certainly not for a man who's dating six other women. But my good friend Malcolm says I need to fight more for what I want."


"I think you're worth fighting for." 
This time, I reached for her hand.


"This friend of yours, Malcolm, sounds like a wise man. What other advice would he give you?"


"Take the skates off before you kiss." And with that, she gave me a soft, but passionate kiss.Any lingering cold from the ice quickly melted in her warmth.


"That Malcolm is a bloody genius." The rose ceremony was to start in a couple of hours, so we reluctantly had to make our way back to the mansion.


I gave her one more kiss before helping her into the car. There was no doubt in my mind who was getting the first rose.

I have to say that I *love* the twirl interaction on the ice rink! Florence and Garrett were so adorable twirling together. The Ice Cafe is going to be a permanent fixture in Bluewater Villages, so don't be surprised if it pops up in future updates.


I hope Florence wasn't behaving out of character. I see her as being a very passive person, and I would like to see her blossom (pun intended) into a more assertive woman during this process. With the likes of Jessica, Nina, Cassandra, and Chloe to contend with, she can't be a wallflower if she wants to capture Garrett's heart.

6 comments:

  1. I have such a soft spot for Florence, so I'm glad she and Garrett enjoyed their date.

    So how does this show work, because I don't watch it! Does he have a one-on-one date with each girl? How often?

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Carla,

    Not every girl is guaranteed to ever have a one-on-one date. The format of the show changes slightly from year to year. Here's how
    the current series is working: The Bachelor starts off with 25 ladies who he gets to spend a couple of hours
    mingling with at a cocktail party. That same night he has to cut it down to 15. The next week he goes on
    a couple of groups dates, and 1 one-on-one date. Then he has to cut the number down to 12. The third week
    there are 2 one-on-one dates and the rest group dates. Then he cuts the number to 9. Week 4 is where this current
    series veered away from the standard format. The Bachelor took the 9 ladies on an RV trip from Los Angeles to
    San Francisco. During the course of the trip he went on a three-on-one date, a two-on-one date, and a six-on-one date.
    I could have sworn there was a one-on-one in there, but this is what the tv.com episode guide said. At the end of
    road trip, he has to cut it down to 5. Week 5, they spent the time in San Francisco. He went on 3 one-on-ones and 1
    two-on-one dates. Then he had to cut it down to 4. Week 6 is where all the dates become one-on-one dates. The Bachelor
    flies to each lady's hometown and meets her family. At the end of the week, he has to cut the number down to 3. Week 7,
    he and the three remaining ladies flew to St. Lucia and there were 3 one-on-one romantic overnight dates. At the
    end of the trip, he has to cut it down to the final two. Now, the week before the finale, there is usually a special
    called "The Women Tell All" where the rejected ladies comes back and have their say. This is done in a studio
    format with the host of the show asking questions. Usually at the end, the Bachelor is brought out to be grilled
    a little. Then the finale... The Bachelor takes each of the ladies (one at a time) home to meet his family. Then
    he has one last one-on-one date with each lady and makes the final decision.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Carla,

    Since I didn't want to start with 25 ladies I had to improvise the first few days. I'll follow the actual show's format more closely when I get to
    the hometown dates. At this point, though, I'm not planning to do a "Women Tell All" segment. Doing this side
    project has helped me get back into the swing of things, and now I'm anxious to get back to the rest of the hood.

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Carla,

    I also feel the need to point out that Nervous is in no way a representation of the actual show's host, Chris Harrison.
    I made Nervous smarmy for comic relief. Chris is very respectful of the ladies. He's happily married and takes the
    show seriously.

    There has been one couple to actually marry as a result of the show. Trista (who was runner-up in season 1) became
    The Bachelorette in a later season and met a firefighter named Ryan. The chemistry between those two was apparent.
    They married and recently had their first child.

    ReplyDelete
  5. @jungfrun68, Aww, I'm glad you liked it!

    ReplyDelete