He said things

Christopher officially entered his late thirties the other week. With all these feelings that I harbored towards him for years, I felt like I finally had the chance to let him know how special I think he is.

We started with dinner at a fondue restaurant. I paid the extra cover so we could sit in the special seating by the jazz band. Inside the restaurant is an old ship a la Pirates of the Caribbean. The VIP seating was a cabin on board the ship. As we crossed the plank to board, real crocodiles laid below us.

We settled on the cheese fondue with bread, veggies and apples. At first we were all romantic and fed each other off of our skewers, but a misjudgment in spacial dimensions on my part led to Christopher with a face smeared in fondue. And then the games were on. He tapped my nose with the warm, melted bread before feeding me. I knocked his bread off of the skewer and then stole it. It was so immature, but it was so fun.

The jazz band was fantastic. They weren't too loud to inhibit conversation. The music was always pleasant and the classic songs were romantic.

After dinner, I planned a small activity but kept it as a surprise. Christopher asked for a hint, and I told him it was something we do a lot.

"Sex?" he grinned. And then he was convinced that I was either taking him to a strip club or a sex shop.

My innocent, 7-year-old mind was thinking of Wii bowling. We must play that game 5 hours a week and I planned to take us to a real bowling alley. But it didn't help that the bowling alley is located in the red-light district, and Christopher noticeably brightened as we started passing Asian massage parlors and ghetto strip clubs.

I scoffed at him, "You're nasty. You think if I'm going to take you to a strip club, it would be one of these?"

And really, as we pulled in the bowling alley and he figured it out, he wasn't disappointed, but he definitely did not show the same enthusiasm as he did earlier.

Christopher quickly forgot about his $20 lap dance and got into the spirit of bowling. We're competitive with each other, but one thing he does that I love is that he always roots for me, even if it will mean that I will win. I had been having difficulty with the 10-pound ball and the aiming with the thumb concept, but when I bowled a second strike in a row that put my game above 100 for the first time, I heard him cheer for me.

Afterwards we drove back to my place where I presented him with his favorite ice cream in ice-cream cake form and sang him happy birthday. He took the time to think of a wish before blowing out his candle. I opted for a funny card with a sincere message, telling him that my days are always better when he's around. I signed it love and left it open for him to interpret it how he likes. For his presents, I gave him two hoodies, one from each of our universities. He loved them, but I think he really loves the one from his school. I have a feeling mine will end up at my apartment or only worn when his is dirty.

He said it was the best birthday he had in years. He said the card was beautiful. He said I was his best friend and his best girlfriend. That he's never met anyone as thoughtful as me. I asked him if he felt special, and he said he did. He asked if he ever made me feel special. He said he hoped he could return the gesture on my birthday, but doubted he could be as thoughtful.

He said things. He said almost all the things.