Date #6: Unexpected Encounters

Aug. 27th, 2021

I don’t think I’ve ever stepped foot in a Trader Joes before this day. I’m walking around Eastern Market and decided to pop in and see what all the hype was about. As I’m aimlessly walking through the aisles, I see one of the workers (nicknamed TJ for this story) singing as loud as he possibly could, but it didn’t seem to bother anybody so why should it bother me? As he passed me he looked me dead in my eyes asking how I was. It didn’t feel like the typical social cue that you ask when someone walks by; he asked as if he genuinely wanted to know. I still kept it light answering ‘good’ and continued my stroll. I did recall looking for something in particular, something someone probably told me to get. I remember how friendly this employee seemed so I went out of my way to go look specifically for him. As he helped me look he made friendly conversation, asking where I go to school and started signing whatever small words he learned in ASL, as everyone does when they find out you know sign language yourself. I was debating in my head whether this man was interested in me or if he was just an overly nice employee… after going to Trader Joes a few times since, I quickly concluded that it must be a requirement for all employees to adopt this same work personality.

When it was time to check out my items I started walking towards the next cashier until another cashier cut me off and brought me to his station. More polite conversation while he bagged my items, which led me to inform him that I had to take the bus back home. He then took everything out and rearranged it so that it was easier for me to carry – more of that superb attitude. As I was headed out, TJ came back around with flowers and a business card telling me to contact him if I needed anything else. On the card was his name and phone number written on it.

TJ was not bad looking at all so I was excited to text him. It’s typically me writing my name and number on a receipt or napkin and handing it to a guy before I leave an establishment, so it was nice for it to be done to me this time around… well, from someone I was equally attracted to.

Our first date was to Bedrock Billiards, an underground pool hall in NW DC. The vibes in there were pretty chill but this man was a talker! Which I appreciated until I noticed he would cut me off a lot. I would ask a question, and after him answering, I would answer the question myself or make a comment but he would interrupt whatever I was saying to add further comments. It was a bit of a turn off. I don’t like talking about myself in general on a first date so the times I did want to say something and just be cut off was a bit annoying.

We left the pool hall and walked up the streets of Adams Morgan. My first time in this area, and the streets were lively! We got two slices of pizza that were so huge I told him I didn’t need my own but he insisted. I don’t think I even ate half of it. I felt bad for throwing it away but they really should have some to-go boxes for how big those slices are. After the pizzas we went to this rooftop bar and enjoyed a few drinks. Surprisingly there was no one else there so I didn’t mind how loud he was talking and it felt like we could really just enjoy each other. At this point, it was my favorite first date so far. An activity, food, drinks… you really can’t beat it! He was also the first guy to get a second date outta me. We did, however, see each other two other times in between the first and second date.

I told him how that was my first time at Trader Joes and the cashier who cut me off, TJ told me that he told him to do that so that he had time to give me the card and flowers. He also raved about how Trader Joes had the best snacks so at one point he brought two full bags of snacks for me to try. He was honestly really sweet.

September 4th, 2021

The next time I saw him, my friends and I were going bar hopping on U St., one of the more popular areas in DC for drinking and dancing. He said that he and his friends will also be on U St. and he would meet me wherever I was for the night. He did just that. He left his friends and met me and my friends at Nellie's Sports Bar, even hopped to the next bar with us and all. Ironically while there, I saw another guy who I matched with on Hinge who ended up becoming a future date (check out Date #9).

Anywho, I was a bit into TJ by this time so I told my friends I was leaving with him. This probably wasn’t the best idea since it hadn’t even been a full month since I moved and I did not know the area at all. I had too much drink in my system and if I had gotten lost I wouldn't know which way was up. He said it was better to walk a few blocks away from U St., a heavily populated party spot, to then catch an uber from there to his place. I know this is the point where you guys are hoping to hear that something happened between us, but sorry to disappoint. The second we got to his place, we smashed a bowl of spinach artichoke dip (from Trader Joes of course), which ended up being the best tasting thing in the world at the time, and knocked out. The next morning he kindly got me a lyft back to campus.

September 25th, 2021

Our second date (and fourth time seeing each other) was at this Tex-Mex spot called Lauriol Plaza (also in Adams Morgan), which was surprisingly good. By this time, I was starting to get a little turned off by TJ. Besides him cutting me off mid sentence, he talked uncomfortably loud and I absolutely hated his laugh. Very minor issues so I was trying to overlook them but I felt uneasy when we did hang out, like people were going to shush us at any point, even with us being outside. Not everybody needed to hear our conversation.

After the Mexican food, we walked around Dupont Circle and stumbled upon what looked to be some type of fire show: a man juggling fire on sticks. It was random but I liked the unexpectedness of it. You never know what you’re going to stumble upon in the streets of DC. Walking away from the fire show, we ended up at this underground market which was my favorite part of the night. I love me a good market idc what they’re selling. Of course I had to get myself a candle. When we left we started walking away from the crowd to find a good spot to order an uber. As we were walking, we passed this club that seemed to have pretty good vibes – Tokyo Pearl. I was really feeling it. It was still kind of early to be at the club so it wasn’t that many people in there at first, but we were standing in one spot for so long they ended up bringing out the red rope and put it in front of us. We basically had our own “section” when the club got more crowded. It was pretty small but we still had a good time. Despite me knowing this would be the last time I saw him, I really enjoyed the date. He did not let him not having a car stop us from going places; we actually went more places in one night than I did with guys who did have a car. This further proves how walkable DC is and how much fun you can have in a single night. I felt like I was truly living the DC life – one activity after another, walking from one spot to the next, not knowing where the night would take us. The city at night was definitely my vibe.

We had the uber stop by campus to drop me off first. He walked me to my dorm, then we kissed goodbye. He probably had a feeling that I was going to end it soon because we didn't talk much after that. I do hate that there were very minor issues that led to me not being interested because although we only had two dates, they were some really good ones! I loved his energy and he seemed to be really interested in me so it sucks that it was petty concerns that was cause for our demise but… it sometimes be those little things that can really make or break something.

After dating in DC for almost 3 years (and yall will hear about way worse things I’ve had to endure), you might ask if I wish I would have continued dating this guy and the answer is: no. Again he was great, our personalities matched, energy, laughs, conversation, he was thoughtful… but if we were to have been together, I would have continued to overlook the small things. I believe there is someone out there that is better suited for the both of us.