yesterday's non-date

Kaela is a beautiful girl, and I’ve told her this many times. I find that it is easy to compliment a girl in full-blown sincerity when there is no threat of her receiving it as a possible flirtation device. Kaela and I both know where we stand, as friends and nothing more, and so we celebrated this with what I deemed a “Non-Date.” We began the evening at Pompilio’s Italian Restaurant in Newport:

Pompilio’s was featured in the movie “Rain Man” with Tom Cruise and, I believe, Dustin Hoffman (please correct me if I’m wrong; I’m too lazy to look it up on IMDB). She ordered lasagna, and I ordered a pasta dish with steamed mussels (I LOVE mussels). We sat and talked and shared stories and discussed boys in her life and girls in mine. She is a wise girl, and I am glad that she is willing to share her wisdom and pointers when it comes to girls. I am honored to be a person whom she can talk to openly and honestly about boy things going on in her life. “It’s rare that I’m so open with guys,” she told me, “but I know that you won’t think I’m hitting on you, so it’s much easier.” Our second stop was Coldstone Creamery at Newport on the Levee:

I rarely eat ice cream, but Coldstone’s ice cream is phenomenal. We both ordered the same thing—French vanilla in a waffle cone—and stood along the walkway and looked out over the river while eating our dessert. We shared lots of laughter. It was good spending time with Kaela, and it’s good to know that I don’t have to put up a front. There are only a few girls here at school whom I can be so open with—the other two include my best friend Jessie and my baby sister Amanda. Jessie, Amanda, Kaela… These are some of my best friends on this campus. One of my friends, Dave, said, “You’re always around girls. And always around really cute girls, too.” He’s right. But what’s important is not their level of cuteness—all three are beautiful—but the inner connections we share. That’s where real friendship blossoms.