So my first weekend at home in the new flat I got to exploring my new playground. The year living in the Wharf had been cool, but I was super excited about the East Village. Its also referred to as The Olympic (or Athletes) Village in Stratford, is the size of St James Park and the development is of all the apartments built to house the olympians in the London Twenty12 games. Bursting with restaurants and bars as well as hot sexy young professionals. Aka #EastVillageWankers
Especially in our flat
It's also right next to a Westfields' so the shopping is boom, and the tube has five lines coming in and out the station so its megabucks easy to get around. #HasContactlessWillTravel. I am going into detail on this purely because when I first moved up I got totally overwhelmed trying to pick a place to settle, and this area was a much better fit for a #tinderella compared to the concrete jungle in The Wharf. So if you ever find yourself relocating and scrolling though 80million flats and boroughs in London on rightmove (a 30 minute commuter distance is hella WIDE circle on zoopla up here boys and girls) then this place, IMO is worth checking out.
So that Saturday I got fully involved one of the things I do best. Shopping. Back at home trying on my new #DateHeels the single one of my new flat brothers watched me from the doorway twirling in front of my mirror. "Where you going in those, Tinders?" he asked.
"Nowhere" I sang back in love with my new heels. Getting ready for a hot tinder date himself, he advised that it was high time I got to swiping again.
Hmmm i thought. "it can't do any harm right?"
So swipe I did. And the most interesting thing I came across was Joey. Dark-haired, just the right amount of stubble and an architect, so he was all driven too. We got to chatting. Over the week we slid into whatsapp and he got even more interesting. Its always exciting when you start talking to someone new, but its even better when the vibes kick off. You know when you just click, and end up firing jokes back and forth and you find yourself chuckling at your phone. Joey had all the funnies. Turned out he lived in the block next door. And whilst we both made jokes about not going to the loo where you eat, we didn't stop talking. I called him Joey because, like in friends he was the hot dude next door I shouldn't kiss. And he said I could be his Rachel.
We arranged to meet that Friday and as I skipped downstairs to meet him I had all the butterflies. He was just as tasty in real life as his photos and as he stood there outside our front doors in his leather jacket looking all smokin' I knew I was about to get into (the delicious kind of) trouble. He looked me up and down when he saw me and smiled "Hey hot girl-next-door". He took me to part of the village I hadn't found yet for drinks in Tina-We-Salute-You and was even more fun IRL than he was in his messages.
We moved to another bar in the neighbourhood and at Joeys suggestion ended up on the Tequilas. Now anyone who knows me would gladly roll there eyes at you over my eating habits. When ever we go for food out everyone knows I will have to find something healthy to nosh on. My diet is basically 80% protein and 20% gin. Luckily in London eating well is way of life and you cant tap your contactless without finding a new avocado pot of lushness on the menu. Which it suits me just fine.
However after a few hours with Joey and several tequilas,little miss-protien-pants was eating chocolate cake off the bar with no hands. (It was the barmans' birthday, so obviously this makes it okay)
Everyone would also tell you its no secret that hot boys and chocolate are my kryptonite. As I stood up from eating the cake with chocolate icing still round my chops, Joey lent down and kissed me. The butterflies were going full power by now. And after more shenanigans I gave him a piggy back (for at least part of the way) back to his.
Post cake-kisses for #Joey&Rachel
More lift kissing and we were in his apartment. We made out on his balcony and his new kitten Casper, kept trying to get between us. She was a possessive little pussy with sharp claws. And I could identify with her. I was kissing her hot daddy and she wasn't happy.
Joey and I moved to the sofa for more snuggles and as the tequlia-fulled snogging olympics ramped up I got on top and decided to take the lead. As I moved my kisses down his body I looked up and saw he had passed out.
Snoring very gently like a hot-adult-man-baby, I left him on the sofa and did a very quick walk of no shame back to my comfy bed next door.
I woke up to "Where did you go rachel? and "thanks for last night hot girl" texts and a we arranged to meet again that Sunday.
This time he took me to Hackney Wick which was a twenty minute walk from ours and full of more East-London style bars dotted along the river. The weather was gorgeous and `joey was more than easy to be around. our hands slipped together as we made our way to Crate and we swapped more stories on our lives, past, present and future plans. I got that same feeling again down at the Wick. So free and so happy.
When it was my round I left Joey at our table outside, and whilst standing at the bar queuing I got chatted up by another hot guy. He was cute, but I didn't have the balls to give him my number when he asked. Little miss small-town over here was scandalised at the thought of picking up a guy whilst on a date with another.
Back outside with Joey he explained he was off to Greece for two weeks in a few days with his best mates and that one was flying in later that day from South Africa for the trip. As we headed back home he came up to mine this time to see the our flat for comparison purposes. And more canoodling.
Joey met Flat Brother One, and made a great impression. He was naturally warm, confident and engaging. We stood on the balcony and he laughed at my pink sun lounger and kissed me again. I took him to my lair (bedroom) and we made out like horny monkeys. Joey left to meet his friend, and I didn't hear from him for two weeks.
Not a drop. When he did get in touch he explained that he thought I was a silly little madam with too much hair.
I am only joking. He said that he had started seeing someone. And he thought I should know. But that it would be cool to catch drinks with me and the flat brothers if we saw each other out.
Now I did feel a little tug, like why wasn't i good enough?
But I really liked the fact he was honest. I did wonder if it was just an excuse and that perhaps he just didn't want any more from me. Maybe my cake noshing had been a turn off. I'll never know. But we had a great time, and it just wasn't meant to be any more than it was. I had discovered some cool new places to go near home, and I didn't have to worry about leaving the flat as if we ever saw each other again, then I would be totally happy to smile and say "Hi".
Lessons Learned
1) Joey is fun, and I would recommend him as a date to anyone who likes having a good time.
2) This is an old one but its totally true; All is fair in love and war, (and when dating in London)
Back home if you had been seeing someone and found out he had been seeing someone else, (not after two dates granted) but Sh!t would KICK-OFF. Up here though, and in all big cities I would bet, its life. With all the apps around, and with how easy it is to meet people i.e the guy at the bar, Always assume everyone is dating multiple people. 6m down the line I sure as hell was.
Joey and I never did bump into each other again, but every now and then he will like the odd photo on Insta. And I do it to. His photos are pretty cool, just like him.