Our love story

Part 6. Our first trip part 2.

His point of view:

For the first time, I slept over at her place. For her, I bet it was lovely. But for me, it was a bit of a mess. You see, her bed is small. Very small. She's had that bed since she was little. So she slept basically with her back half on top of me. One side of me was pushed into her back and the other into the wall. This was not a comfortable position, mind you. Adding to that, it was in the middle of summer and the heat and humidity made its way into the room, clocking in at 25+ degrees Celsius (77+ Fahrenheit). Claustrophobia crept up on me, and sweat crept down from my forehead. I was waking up and falling asleep intermittently, until around 2 or 3 at night. She woke up and I informed her of my dilemma, after which she opened the window and then tried her best to sleep on the other edge of the bed to give me more space and air. After this, combined with my increasing fatigue, I slept like the enamored baby I was.

Next thing I know, getting out of bed was the hard part. Over the second half of the night, I was quite attached to the notion of sleep, but I had to force myself up because I knew this day would be worth it. Today we were going to Falsterbo Horse Show, the third largest horse show in Sweden. Her passion and her choice, naturally, but I was eager to absorb it. We got ready and hopped in the backseat of the car. On the long way there, we listened to music together, with her being the DJ. She really likes the 80s it turns out, especially rock. Looking at the alternative, a girl who blasts boy bands and Disney soundtracks, I was very pleased with hearing Queen, AC/DC and Bon Jovi instead. This girl was for real.

A sandwich stop and more driving later, we arrived. We had to walk for a bit from the parking to the entrance, but the weather was lovely and we bumped into a promoter handing out free energy drinks. Just what I needed, considering my night, hehe. Her parents offered to pay for my ticket, which was more than I could ask for. I initially declined, but they insisted, so I had to cave.

Walking in through the entrance, I was not at all surprised to see horses and all things horses. Tents were all around us, offering food, clothes and horse accessories. We had an hour or so until the show was starting, so the opportunity to shop was impossible to refuse. Her parents and us went our separate ways, agreeing to meet up before the show starts. At this time, I didn't buy much, if anything. The things I was interested in were stamped with a "Maybe if I find nothing better/cheaper."-label and I moved on. There were so many stands to browse in, and only so little money to go around. I mostly just planned my shopping during this hour, to be honest.

When the show started we found ourselves standing up on a ledge to see. We snapped some pictures and enjoyed the performance. The riders and horses they were on made their way through an obstacle course, and it was exciting and interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed it. We didn't stick around to watch all of it, because standing up was getting uncomfortable, and we were hungry. Hungry you say? Enter the parade of food stands, like at least six of them, all lined up perfectly for your choosing. Pizza, burritos, Thai, hot dogs, waffles and more, you want 'em? We got 'em. She went for Thai, her favorite, and I went for the classic hot dog. Thick and overpriced, just the way I like them.

After the delectable dinner, once again insistently paid for by her parents (which makes me feel quite imposing), we continued our shopping. We separated from her parents again and browsed for ourselves. I was looking at getting a nice shirt, and eventually found a fancy, navy blue, brand shirt at a steal of a price. She bought a shirt, gloves and a brush as far as I know. I was looking at a pair of nice riding gloves myself actually. They were out of leather, blue and black, with golden touches. They looked awesome. But apparently it was "ridiculous" and "unnecessary" for me to buy them, being a guy who's never been on a horse. Whatever...

We grouped up near the entrance when it was time to go. It was late afternoon and we wanted to be home by dinnertime. I was not going to stay with her for the evening, seeing as I had made plans with a friend. But that did not take anything away from how great this day had been. And as we were sitting in the car on the road home, I had a special moment. I placed my hand on her thigh and looked into her eyes. She grabbed my hand and forced it closed to her body. Never before have I truly felt butterflies scatter and fireworks explode through my body like this. It was a magical feeling and sensational evidence of a growing romance not to be undermined. I'm falling in love.