After five or so dates, I thought I'd finally found someone I genuinely liked. He was intelligent, clever, and loved architecture and art βwhich I found heavily attractive. He came at things with a confident humbleness that I enjoyed being around. He was the first guy I'd liked since moving to Barcelona. Each time we met, I felt butterflies in my stomach and flustered whenever his arm brushed against mine. I was taking things slow since I had some trauma I was still working through, and I felt like he could sense that and was perfectly fine with the pace.
On our last date, I brought up the idea of traveling together. I enjoy traveling, especially since Europe is my new backyard. He agreed, and I suggested we explore a vineyard near Valladolid. We planned to take the train there, but the tickets were too expensive. We agreed that flying would hurt the environment a tidbit that made me like him even more and settled on renting a car. The drive was six hours one way. At what felt like the crack of dawn, I woke up and quickly got ready for our journey.
Walking out of my apartment , I couldn't help smile as I saw him waiting for me on the corner of the street. He was waiting outside and helped me with my luggage. I wanted to kiss him then and there, but I figured it was too early to make a move. Once on the road, we made one quick coffee break at a road stop about an hour from Barcelona. During coffee, I noticed him acting a little different, but I just chalked it up to the long road trip and the time. Either way, we spoke the entire trip, and it felt like I was getting to know him better.
The vineyards were already dry, but the grounds oozed luxury and romance. Swiftly checking into our room, we again gasped at how luxurious our lodging was. The most exciting part was the terraces, which had views of the entire vineyard. Walking over to check it out, I felt him do the same, and at one point, I felt tension as we looked out from the terrace. A billion thoughts raced through my mind, and I wasn't sure whether this was the right moment to seal the deal.
I didn't kiss him. For lunch, we headed to one of the on-site dining options. It had recently been renovated, and everything felt new. Conversing over wine, I could feel a tension between us, but I couldn't place where it was coming from. It didn't feel romantic , and I wondered whether it had anything to do with me missing the mark on the terrace. After lunch, we walked around the grounds, exploring the ancient cloisters and church. Once we got to the vineyards, I could sense a distance between him and me.
