We’re talking October 2017. I went clubbing with my bestie. In The Hague, club Millers. I was still young (at heart), wild and free. And actually we went to Millers quite frequently at that time. Shake off the heavy work week! And me and my bestie were really good at this. We lit up the complete club!

Although we dress up to look nice on pictures (and not to impress men), flirting is a part of clubbing. In general, I don’t date guys I meet in a club. Because they see a different me when I’m in a club. Sure, I’m young (well…) and cheeky, but not as wild as you may think. And definitely not the type for one night stands, or parties every weekend etc.

Back to the Friday night in 2017. Me and my bestie had a couple of drinks. I think everybody is beautiful. But after some drinks, really everybody looks like Johnny Depp. OK, this particular guy (the Subject in this story haha), was Indian, so let’s say he really looked like a famous Bollywood star. Shah Rukh Khan. He was flirting back and forth and made a move to offer me a drink. He also offered my bestie a drink, and this is something I really appreciate. Gentleman-alert! We definitely had a good night (and too many drinks, maybe) and he scored my phone number.

The next morning, I was not feeling too fit. I had to assist my dressage coach/ trainer on a horse competition. She was the judge and I was her secretary. Soon, the first messages from Shah Ruhk Khan were popping up on my phone. He asked me if I was going out again tonight (no) and alternatively, if I would be interested to getting a drink together (no). Or a movie (no). But, this guy was smart. His last attempt was successful. He sent “you have to eat anyway tonight, so I’ll take you out for dinner”. Who doesn’t LOVE to be taken out for dinner, so he got me there. There, the courteousy ends, because he asked me to pick a restaurant myself. Boy, I hate this (c’mon, be a man). But I was too tired to make a fuzz. And actually getting “carte blanche” can also be an advantage (hello fancy restaurant). So I answered “you can pick me up around 19h” and sent him my address.

After the dressage competition I went home. I was still wearing horse riding clothes, but I had no interest to dress up, not to even change my clothes. I even grabbed my horse coat (on which my horse cleaned her mouth recently, jikes) when I got the message that he was standing in front of my house.

OMG, the feeling when I opened the door: he came by TAXI! I know he came all the way down from Voorburg, and the taxi counter display was already showing over EUR70, WHOOPS! I discretely took off my dirty jacket. I was not expecting this! Sitting in a chic taxi. I thought of going to an Indian restaurant, which was approx. 20km from my town (no, no fancy dancy restaurant). So, there we went. By taxi. I think he expected it to be a restaurant in my town. We had a nice talk in the car, he told me he had no car (expat)^^. And that he didn’t drink when driving. So, now we could both enjoy a drink (good! Good! Bonus points). When the taxi amount was exceeing the EUR100, we were almost at the destination. Mmm, the restaurant looked quite dark. An Indian restaurant is never closed, somebody told me once, but in this case, I’m afraid he was wrong: the restaurant was closed! There is really nothing close by, so we had to get back in the taxi again and I had to make alternative plans – we went to the beach.

I never expected it to be SO busy in the beach-restautant; all the tables were booked. What a horror! My worst nightmare, this is not something you want. And why you should always make reservations (and check if a restaurant is actually open LOL). I think I really looked disillusioned, because the whole restaurant was being re-arranged to make space for us. Of course, not the best place in the restaurant (reservations guys, reservations!). But at least I could breath normally again. Actually the food was brilliant, our conversation was brilliant… He seems like a smart guy and we had in-depth talks. “You didn’t expect to talk about the universe tonight, right?”.

After the dinner, we moved to a more comfortable spot in the restaurant: couches! Because “every day is worth the celebration” he ordered a bottle of champagne, very special. I really like it when people remember to enjoy life and take every moment. And of course, it is not always necessary to order champagne to do this. But I told him I was a real champagne-fan (and he actually listened). And today is not coming back.

This also brought him to the next issue: he said “I want to see the sun coming up tomorrow with you”. I told him that I was not going to sleep with him on a first date (I don’t even know this guy). He assured me that was not a problem, and not his intention. I told him I was not going to take him home (as I don’t feel comfortable with this), but he proposed to sleep in a hotel – with beach view. I always have a good excuse for this. My dog is still at home, so no, sorry, can’t, have to go back to my dog^^.

Suddenly he was not the “you decide-guy” anymore (hurray!). He said, we’ll call a taxi, get your dog, and come back again. I couldn’t stop smiling, what an adventure! I love adventures, so there we went again – by taxi. He said me to pick any hotel. So back in the taxi, I called the hotel of which I was sure there were dogs allowed (he was not speaking any Dutch). The guys at the reception were laughing their ass off as well, as I told them about my Chihuahua^^. And that we were arriving around 1 AM. I grabbed my dog and some dog food, and there we went. The taxi driver was cracking up laughing. Or maybe it was because he had a good ride (30 mins. to my house, waiting for me to get the dog, 30 mins. back…………).

At the hotel, my date asked the reception to give him the best room possible, and also a bottle of champagne (after all, we had to stay awake till sunrise). WOW! I felt like a princess again! It really makes me feel super happy if somebody is really putting some efforts in it.

Good, needless to say maybe, but we fell asleep, I was so tired of everything (night before)(and maybe of all the champagne), so we completely missed the sunrise^^. But the adventure was SUPER nice. And breakfast in a hotel is always a good idea. Although I just had some eggs & cheeses (and LOTS of juice hahaha). In my horseriding clothes………..

And there we were, Noordwijk on a Sunday morning (11 AM), not a taxi to be found of course. So we walked with my dog in the wind/ cold, calling a taxi at the same time (there are no Ubers in Noordwijk). While waiting, he just had to ask it: “What is the shit you have on your jacket”, hahahahaha I totally forgot, all the horsefood on my jacket hahaha, it looks like something else (as horse girls will probably know). I cracked out laughing. We got in the taxi (hello hairy dog) and although the adventure, I was back to me home.

Of course, a date doesn’t always have to be this fancy. But some things are really important. First off, that the best things happen unexpectedly for sure. I had no high hopes of this date, especially when he wasn’t taking any initiative in the beginning. Second, that a real connection is important. And he definitely gave me something to remember with this date. That is why I decided to share it. I remember everything from minute to minute. He really did his best for me, made me feel special. And that is the most important thing – you don’t have to buy champagne or book expensive restaurants. But as long as you show that you listen to somebody, you can already make somebody feel really special. But, don’t forget: spend time with each other, not money. That is most important.