E-A-T-I… I-N-G. Crap.
Multiple people have been asking to hear the racy details about our dinner together and lemme tell ya, there were a lot (at least until I woke up the next morning). When I was awake and we were actually having dinner, it was pretty relaxed and a lot more fun.
As a side note, I’d like to add that the producers called these dates amongst the cast a “dress rehearsal” for picking up phone numbers the next day and I have mixed feelings about that statement. It’s irritating because if you take out the coaching that Mindi provided (“What’s the worst that could happen if you asked for her phone number?”), dinner and the challenge were completely unrelated. However, considering how much I disliked the challenge, that complete unrelatedness was wonderful.
Back to the topic at hand: I double-checked with Mindi to see what she could remember about our date and it turns out neither of us can recall much of the conversation. (Get that smirk off your faces, you perverts…) There were a lot of things that happened, but aside from the “boosting confidence when going out with hot babes” and going out for late dinners at Perkins with our friends, I couldn’t tell you much more. Maybe it’s because we were both a little nervous.
Yes, that’s right, Mindi was nervous, too. I hadn’t the slightest idea until she wrote back, but in a way, it’s nice to know I wasn’t the only one on the verge of wetting my pants. (Okay, technically, I was the only one since she was wearing a dress, but you get the idea…) So I got to her room to pick her up and she complimented me on my outfit before I could compliment hers (Dammit!). I was a little disappointed that I didn’t say it first (and how often do you hear that the woman finished before the guy?), because she looked really nice in her dress. Makes sense since she was a “beauty” and all…
Then we headed to our dining room and it was a sweet setup. We had a trellis in the background with all the vines hanging from it in front of a glowing fireplace… lemme tell ya, it wasn’t Perkins. I remember I pulled out her chair, though I don’t recall whether I poured her wine or just handed her the bottle, seeing as how I was just having the water in front of me.
That’s right, I don’t drink. Even with the celebratory bottles of champagne after the challenges, I’d either toast with an empty glass or, in the case of the outdoor challenge, a canteen. Just think—if I’m this funny while completely sober all the time, how crazy would it be if I got completely housed?
Or perhaps it’s best not to think about it. I don’t want to be responsible for any of you waking up screaming in the middle of the night, scaring the living bejeezus out of the neighbors so they call 911, because when the cops show up, lights flashing and sirens blaring, what will you tell them? “Shawn made me do it”? I don’t think so.
But like I was saying, we were having a seriously cool dinner together. The food was delicious, the conversation was fun… well, the relationship advice wasn’t fun, per se, but the rest of it was fun… and we had an overall good time. I’m not sure if you could hear the sound clip when Scarlet and I left the elimination room or during the end of the reunion show, but I told Mindi, “Chocolate cake.”
It’s significant because that’s what we had for dessert that night. She only wanted a small slice, so I took a relatively small portion as well. Oh my God, it was sooooooo good. If it weren’t for my being polite, I would have inhaled about half of it before we had to head back upstairs. As it was, I took a canole—it was a pastry with a cream filling. (Kinda like a Twinkie, but not.) Oh my God, it was sooooooo good. Mindi may have been full, but I made her take part of it anyway and she wasn’t complaining afterwards.
When we’d finished eating, I brought her back to her room and we exchanged big kisses on the cheek (Mmmmm-WAH!). Then I knocked on the door and Richard opened it up. I asked if I’d brought her home before curfew, he took a quick look at us, asked a quick question (one more detail I’ve forgotten), then closed the door and locked it. Remember that promo clip of Richard tossing his wine back and hitting his head against the back of his chair? When he locked the door, Mindi started laughing so hard that her head snapped back and she smacked it against the doorframe.
What a great way to end the evening. But it didn’t end there. Once we had finished, Mindi came over to my room and said she’d make out with me if I knew her middle name. (I guessed “Sebastian,” so I only got lucky enough to get that big smooch on my cheek.) Anyway, when we got back together after dinner, we kept talking about more stuff that I don’t remember, but since neither of us jumped up screaming, resulting in the cops showing up at the mansion, that must have been a great way to end the evening as well.
