Okay...here goes.
Before I started diving, I used to play paintball a lot. Had a regular team, played in a couple of tournaments a month, practiced once or twice a week with my team - we were pretty serious about it. So it's winter, and we are in a drought - haven't played for months. So we hear about this indoor paintball field about three hours south of it - a mutual friend told us about it. This friend (Dan) got us all together, about 8 of us, for a trip down there. We all get there and are getting ready to play - my team and I are gearing up, checking batteries, chronying our guns, setting timings on them, etc. One thing about paintball players - most of them carry a HUGE ego. I mean HUGE. So typically when I play paintball with strangers, I usually don't talk to them much. It just causes friction. So I didn't talk to these other people we were playing against. Turns out there was this one girl in the group - Tina. She was watching us get ready, and the only thing she though was "Jeez, what a bunch of arrogant p****ks!". It was her first time playing, and didn't have the ego yet
So we played for the day - I ended up bunkering her a few times, the games were fun and it was a great day. She left the field that day thinking I was this huge, egotistical, full of himself ***hole. I was just trying to not get into anyones way!!
So spring comes around, paintball season is in full swing. We meet out on the field again. This time I'm in full tournament gear - jersey, pants, mask, all tricked out and having a blast. She's always talking to me in between games. Now - I can be a huge wimp around girls. I'm dense as hell about hints, and nervous as well. So she is trying to hit on me left and right, and I A) don't realize it and B) kinda wonder if it's happening but dismiss it. So she starts talking to me about my paintball pants and I (not realizing that she's trying to flirt in a way) tell her about how they have great pockets for barrel squeegees and reinforced knees for sliding into bunkers. She eventually walks away and we play paintball all day. This happens a few times over the course of several months. She tries talking to me about paintball something or other, and I don't pick up on things and just go on about paintball....not realizing the undertones of the conversation.
On to the best part. While she was asking me about my painball outfit, I was replying about it. But she was trying to flirt, and I thought she was honestly just interested in my painball gear (DUH!!!). So I'm sitting here telling her about all this stuff....and she starts thinking that...I'm GAY!!! Honest to god. She had pretty much given up on hitting on me at this point, because she thought I was gay. All I was interested in was my paintball clothes and that sort of thing (that's all she asked me about!!!) and apparently I apparently had hand gestures that looked "femmy". Right...what a great start.
So we kind of don't see each other for awhile, which is probably good. She thinks I'm an arrogant gay paintball player. I think she's a cool chick thats cute as all get out and would be a blast to spend time with. But, she'd never go for a guy like me. That's where we stand about the time that I start diving...
I finish up my OW checkouts and start diving with the scuba club. She's there too, diving. We don't really say much too each other. I'm once again fascinated with all the gear (what new diver isn't????) - so once again, all I do is talk about gear and equipment and she still thinks I'm a gay arrogant paintball player that occasionally dives now. Not much of an improvement!!
So this one day, we are all out at our favorite diving spot. It's a beautiful summer day, we're swimming and doing a little snorkeling during our SI's. She's still hinting and I'm not getting it. She asks if I'm going to the dive club meeting that evening. I say sure, what the heck, I was going to join up full time anyway.
On the way home, my friend that I drove with asks me "So, how long til you and her are together?? A couple of weeks tops??" I look at him funny and go "what the heck are you talking about??? She doesn't like me at all - all she does is occasionally ask me about paintball or diving...not much else!".
So there we stand - I think she's some girl thats enjoyable to dive and play paintball with, and she still thinks I'm the gay arrogant paintballer. That dives on occasion.
I go to the club meeting that night, and I'm still dressed in nothing but my sandals, swimsuit and a dive t-shirt. She's dressed like a goddess. She looks beautiful. I am stunned. And I once again go "Wow, she would never go for someone like me". As the meeting was finishing up, she asks me "Hey, I was going to meet my cousin out for a drink or two, want to come along?". I'm thinking to myself that this is a great idea - I get to spend the evening in a beatiful girls company. Not bad at all!! I was feeling kinda lucky to have such a cool chick as a friend of mine.
So we go to the bar and SURPRISE! The cousin doesn't show up!! It was purely fabricated. There was never a cousin coming to show up.
We spend the night talking and bs'ing about how much fun diving is, how much we enjoy this and that. You know, typical fun talk. I was enjoying it a lot, but I kept telling myself "HEY! Don't go thinking the wrong thing here. Just because she is being friendly doesn't mean it's an invitation to go hitting on her, you idiot. Put those hormones down!!". So I did.
Eventually, the talk turns to relationships. I tell her that I had been in a long one, it ended and I was just kinda ought having fun going where the wind blows. She tells me that she is "really wishing she could find a nice guy that would enjoy doing her hobbies with her". Okay - at this point, Mr. Obvious was showing up and wopping me on the head with a giant stick. And did I rise to the occasion? Did I come off all suave and cool and deliver my line? Here's what I come out with: "Well hey, you know, if you just take your time and don't try too hard the right guy will come along.".
And Mr. Obvious just left the building shaking his head, and she goes off to the bathroom. In retrospect, probably to beat her head against the wall.
So she comes back and after a minute or two finally goes something like "I've got something I want to tell you, but I don't know if I should". She eventually says how she has liked me for so long and doesn't know if I do in return and she just wanted to get me alone tonight and....
And there she stopped. I looked at her and couldn't come up with anything to say. What I had kind of secretly been hoping for over the past 8 months was happening. I leaned over and kissed her. We spent the rest of the night holding hands...we left and kissed in the parking lot when we said goodbye.
Over two years later, we own a house together and are going diving together tomorrow. She's my cave diving partner, we go skydiving together and when we get ticked at each other we get out the paintball guns and go settle things. It's turned out to be pretty fun
And I do apologize if my version of this story is not as good as I talked it up - she is SOOO much better at telling it than I am - if you are ever up in my part of the country stop by and visit and she would love to tell it to you
