nothing ventured nothing gained

i was also thinking of titling this post "i have balls."

so i went to the coffee shop just now, primed and ready to ask coffee shop hottie his name. yes, i am leaving the country tomorrow and yes, i have left it until the last possible moment but still, i have been a very busy girl this week so have not had time to go until today.

as per usual on a sunday afternoon the coffee shop was packed, filled with christmas shoppers taking a break from wandering around spitalfields across the street. the queue to order was tremendously long (and for a tiny coffee shop that's saying a lot!); i quickly scanned behind the counter and much to my dismay, coffee shop hottie was not there! doh, thwarted! don't worry however dear readers, CET did one better...

so this guy standing in front of me turns around and asks if i could hold his place in line while he gives his bag to his friend who's sitting outside at one of the tables. i say "sure, of course," and when he gets back we start chatting. he's a cute scottish guy from inverness with dark brown hair and blue eyes; we talk about scotland, canada, living in london, what i'm studying, etc., all the while getting closer to the front of the queue. he gives his order and is suddenly off with his two cappuccinos and slice of carrot cake, wishing me a happy holiday before disappearing. i order my wild mushroom soup and find an uninhabited corner to eat.

while eating i start thinking about going up to him after i'm done and giving him my number. i even take out a random scrap of paper from my purse, write my name and number down and put it back, at the ready for when i approach. obviously during this time my mind switches back and forth between fear of rejection and building enough courage to do something i've never done before - give a complete stranger my telephone number. just to prolong the internal debate i order a cup of tea and stew for a little while longer, hoping the courage will come soon and come fast.

i finally get up from the table and make my way outside; he's sitting with his friend a little distance from me. i start walking over, my heart going a mile a minute, when suddenly fear grips me and i veer across the street to spitalfields, stopping behind a white van! i quickly call kiwigirl for support and advice, as my biggest obstacle (besides my fear) is the fact that his friend is a GIRL, and so therefore might be his girlfriend! how would it look, giving him my number in front of his possible beloved?

kiwigirl says "nothing ventured, nothing gained" and i don't even know this guy and may never see him again, so i have nothing to lose. we debated the whole friend/girlfriend situation and well, it's not like i know for sure she's his girlfriend, so i might as well try!

i hang up and stand behind the van for a minute, trying to build up the courage once more. i set off back across the street and approach him from behind, taping him on the arm. i don't know what i said because i was so nervous and it probably came out all in a jumble but i think it was something along these lines:

"hi we spoke in the coffee shop i hope this isn't too forward of me but here's my name and number i'm leaving the country tomorrow but will be back in january so give me a call sometime if you want i hope this isn't too forward of me take care happy holidays bye."

then i practically flew down the street, so nervous and delirious and giddy i was! i think he looked kind of shocked and i did look at his friend/girlfriend for a moment and i hope my eyes told her "i'm sorry if this is your boyfriend and i'm trying to pick him up in front of you - i hope you'll forgive me but if he's not your boyfriend can you blame me for trying?" he did smile and wished me a happy holiday again, and that's all i saw and heard before turning around and running away.

so i didn't get coffee shop hottie's name (project for the new year) but i GAVE MY NUMBER TO A COMPLETE STRANGER! i think that more than makes up for it.

CET :o)