One of my favourite memories of my boyfriend is the day he asked me to be his girlfriend. We'd already been dating for five months and it was important to me that he asked me to be his girlfriend, whereas to him we were already very much together and building a relationship from day one. Nonetheless, knowing it was important to me, he went out of his way to ask me out and it ended up being a magical day that I will never forget.
For context, we met on 14th May and had always reserved the 14th of each month to celebrate our 'anniversary' (I'll take any excuse for a celebration), and despite my boyfriend enjoying being the planner when it came to dates, he offered for me to plan this one. Although I'm a planner through and through, I actually do not love taking the reins on dates as I like to 'turn off' and just follow, however there was a lot on our bucket list (we have a joint bucket list of things we'd like to experience together) that I wanted to do with him and this provided the perfect opportunity.
I started the morning with brunch at Beach Blanket Babylon in Notting Hill. The restaurant was practically empty, and the food was nothing to write home about but the atmosphere and vibes were immaculate. I'd strongly recommend sitting inside if you visit as the interior is gorgeous.
We passed a busker playing a favourite song of mine (Yellow by Coldplay) as we made our way to the National Gallery, however none of us are particularly into art so this was a very quick stop. Luckily, there was a Waterstones just across the road and both of us are big readers, so we headed there and I actually got a free coffee from the cafe upstairs as I'd purchased the 'Book of the Month'. By this point it was mid-afternoon and the weather looked like it could turn at any minute from sunny to rainy, so we headed back to mine, with the intention of driving to Dulwich to pedalo (another item on our bucket list).
My boyfriend kept saying that there was no stress and that we didn't have to do everything today, we could just relax at mine instead. However, I had other ideas. When we arrived at mine it started raining, and given that the plan was to pedalo, we decided to have a cuppa until the sun came back. As we sat down over tea, my boyfriend took two sheets of laminated paper out of his bag, announcing that he had a surprise for me. First, he handed me a sheet titled '40 First Dates', a reference to one of my favourite films, and then he pulled out a crossword that he'd made especially for me, stating that the list of all of our 40 dates thus far may help me out. We both do the New York Times mini crossword every day and he had made a personalised crossword for me which referenced previous dates and conversations with answers that only the two of us would know. It was so considerate and special, and I could not stop smiling. Once I'd finished, he asked me to list some of the answers, and the first letter of each word spelt out 'Steph, will you be my girlfriend?'. I'd clocked this almost immediately so he had to change his plan slightly on the spot, but nonetheless it was so special and such a surprise.
I was so excited and full of energy so we went for a walk in the Common, then sat on a bench in front of the pond (which I still always associate with that day), and on the walk back it started raining, leading to a bright double rainbow, which I always look out for when it rains whilst the sun is out. I felt so loved and special, and always look back very fondly on that day.
We had a booking for tennis in the evening, which luckily the weather cleared up for (unfortunately I lost and my boyfriend whacked a ball of mine out of the court that we had to search for after), and then we had 'Dominoes and Domino's', where we play dominoes whilst eating Domino's pizza. We somehow managed to cram so much into that day (although the pedalo had to wait until the following morning) and though I was initially stressed with planning as I wanted to fit so much in, it ended up being perfect. That said, it was both the first and last time I organised a date as both of us enjoy it more when he leads.
I've told various friends about how my boyfriend asked me out (albeit just about the crossword, not the whole day), and their reactions have emphasised how much effort he put in. The fact that so much thought, time and preparation went into it was so sweet and romantic and meant a lot. The more I've got to know him, the more he's come through with all things romantic and I am extremely grateful to have him in my life.
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