My Boyfriend's Back

...at least the only man who'd even be in the running for that title.
He texted me the day he got back and we made plans for the weekend. I was disappointed to have a pretty busy week and counted down the days until I got to see him.
We had Saturday dinner plans though I hoped I'd get to see him Friday too. With the Cubs in the playoffs, I met some friends to watch the game Friday night and texted with the guy. He was helping his mom watch his niece and nephew and I think I swooned. Post-bedtime, I asked if I could convince him to meet us out since we were in his neck of the woods. My friends were blog followers so they had background up till date 3 and were curious to meet the man. I was nervous to introduce him to another friend(s). Unfortunately, one of the couples left before he arrived so there was less of a crowd to meet him. He kissed me in front of my friends and it didn't feel like he'd been gone for almost two weeks.
My friend's boyfriend chatted happily about his alma mater and my fella laughed at our conversations. I was really happy to have him there. There are few times when a guy will openly go to meet a girl's friends. I appreciated that. I picked his drink (accurately) and we had a couple more before heading home. Yes, another sleepover. I hadn't seen him in two weeks!

The following day left me incredibly drained and the late coaching day plus late dinner reservation was a struggle. I made myself pretty and got a text that he was already at the restaurant. Wait, what? He wasn't going to pick me up? I was ripe to be annoyed having little sleep and a hangry attitude. Then the Uber driver did laps around the restaurant. I was coming in hot.
I was definitely irritable when I saw him, but knew I had no intention of ruining this date. I vented for a bit and explained my state, then ordered a glass of wine as quickly as possible. I tried to be on my best behavior and not let my unrelated frustrations get to me (this is a big step for me) and enjoyed just being with him. He joked with me and we fell back into our dinner routine. The food didn't meet my culinary standards, but didn't ruin my night as it could usually do. We finished up and he suggested we meet up with another one of his friends, if I was up for it. Another friend? Yes.
We met his friend at bar near my house and the three of us instantly had a comfortable rapport. His friend was a smartass, which I enjoyed, and called me out on things almost immediately. I certainly understood the friendship. We shared a cab to another location (going with the flow here) and I had a great time on the ride. We arrived to meet some of their female high school friends and I started chatting away with one of them. After a while, she looked at me and said, I like you so much better than his ex-wife. I couldn't pay her enough to make that statement. She proceeded to tell my guy as well who was rightfully taken aback by the random comment. I smiled smugly. Better than the ex already? Who wouldn't be excited about that?
He and I called it a fairly early night and went back to his house. We listened to fantastic music and just enjoyed each other's company. I left the next morning certain that I liked this guy.