AMBY AWARDS TOP PICK 2023 ❤️
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"You think I can't act like I'm into you?" He asks in a whisper. He reaches out, and strokes a finger down my cheek, and I feel myself shiver at the touch.
"You think I can't convince everyone that I have f...
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People fall in love in mysterious ways. I believe it was Ed Sheeran who originally said that, but I'm definitely inclined to agree.
I liken it to getting into an outdoor pool on a holiday abroad, usually when it's not quite yet peak season. When the pool is still cold and takes a while to warm up in the sun.
Some people might jump straight in, cannonball style. Knowing it's going to be cold, but keen to get it over with, to get on to the next stage. These folk will probably get back out repeatedly, and then cannonball in again. The metaphor here, of course, is that they fall in love quickly, and often.
Others don't get in the pool at all. Or simply dangle their feet.
Me, I edge my way in slowly. Wince tentatively as each part of my body is embraced by the cold, as I wade into deeper water. Finally I reach that point where I have to completely submerge myself. I psych myself up, I let the cold water envelop me . . . And then I'm happy to stay in that pool all day long, as it warms up around me.
In other words, I try to protect my heart at the very beginning. I'm cautious, not quite trusting. But I'm already falling, already know I'm heading for the deeper water. Very soon I'm all in. And I don't want to get back out.
And that's how it felt when me and Declan got together.
Admittedly, I was already a bit wary thanks to him clearly being a bit of a Bad Boy; and then there was the the whole musician angle too, obviously. But I couldn't deny the heat between us; didn't doubt there were feelings in the way he looked at me, even before that very first kiss. I'd actually go as far as to say he was more into me than I was into him. At first, anyway.
But then, as I did discover when we went to Ibiza together just a few months later, he actually was a classic "cannonballer". As I gingerly eased my way in to the literal swimming pool, he just jumped straight in, sending up a massive splash of water that soaked me, and then clambered straight back out to have another go.
Maybe that should have been my first warning sign. But I couldn't really base my love life on a metaphor I'd devised myself . . . could I?
Especially as I was already totally invested by that stage in our relationship.
Anyway, even before I managed to completely let myself relax and let go with him, everything between us was amazing. It took less than three weeks from our first meeting for him to ask me, almost shyly, if I'd be his girlfriend. I was delighted to say yes; I'd been scared to check on our status, even though all the signs were showing we were very much already in a relationship. I'd been burned before though, and therefore wary of making assumptions.
It also turned out that the musician thing wasn't really the problem I'd anticipated it might be, at least not when it came to Dec. Obviously, the wedding band gig had been a bit of a one-off; although he did occasionally still help out if they were stuck. Generally though, he performed solo at low-key gigs in very small venues, with only his voice and guitar to support him.
