Date 186

"It's so lonely on a limb."

This was my second date since the lockdown restrictions had been relaxed and we met after a short exchange of messages on Bumble. I think pubs had just opened again but we chose to meet at an outside bar area along the seafront in which some beach huts had been turned into serving areas. However, we took our own drinks and sat on some outside tables until she'd run out of beer and, with initial trepidation, bought a can from one of the serving huts.

It was a really nice evening and it was the first time I'd been out at night since March, so it felt completely alien walking home when it was dark. We laughed a lot and it was also good to have some company after months of solitude.

She messaged me a few days later and said that she'd had a good time with me but that she felt there wasn't a spark, however, she asked whether I was free the following week to go out for drinks as friends. And since then I've actually met up with her virtually every week. Weird, huh?

We've been to a few beer gardens and even attended an outdoor comedy event at Brighton Open Air Theatre, which, despite getting drenched, was the most wonderful experience after months of not being able to go anywhere.

We're actually sat together in this picture, but I'm obviously not going to say which ones are us. As an aside to this, she was running very late so only turned up just before it had started. She'd been so stressed that when we got to her car she couldn't find her keys anywhere and even tipped the contents of her handbag onto the ground. After searching everywhere, we were just about to retrace her steps when she tried her door and it opened...and her keys were still in the ignition!

So, although I didn't find romance, I have made a good friend and meeting her has definitely made my lockdown less lonely. She has acquired a boyfriend now though, so I imagine I'll be seeing less of her; if only I could find someone now...