From hotel encounter to Dinner Date
After the first time, when my expectations of a date with a Secret were completely surpassed, a sequel soon followed. The notion that I did not fit the target audience proved unfounded. Is that precisely the strength of a Secret Agent? To be able to adapt to every person and every situation? The fact that it was also her very first time meant that we were both quite nervous. A bullseye in terms of matchmaking ultimately resulted in a relaxed date.
In the months that followed, several encounters took place. Each one a little longer, to leave more time for small talk and the birds and the bees, but also to be able to talk to one another in a relaxed way on a personal level. That last part held real added value for me, to have a connection on that level too. Every time we were only in the hotel room, hidden away from the outside world.
After every encounter, the temptation grew not to remain confined to the hotel room alone. How lovely it would be to eat somewhere together. Secretly it is also great fun to walk through the streets with her and let everyone think she belongs with you, just for a moment. Unfortunately I could not choose the hotel myself, and the atmosphere around Schiphol does tend to stay a little businesslike. So you find yourself facing a new challenge......Where is it pleasant, inviting yet also intimate? Where can I go without being seen? Where can she go without bumping into someone she knows?
Where there is a will, there is a way, and so the opportunity arose to take the location into my own hands and choose a lovely hotel in the city, the Amrath. For dinner we ended up at Incanto, Italian, which we both love.
The whole build-up to a date and the emotions that come with it have not changed, sometimes the doubt, but the excitement wins out. The only difference, now that I know who is coming, is that I look forward enormously to seeing her again. We meet at the hotel. Her style of dress matched perfectly with mine. Casual, stylish and yet a touch sexy, and always that happy smile on her face with a sparkle in her eyes.
Even though it was 99.9% certain that neither of us would run into anyone here, you still walk in with the idea that the 0.1% will come true. Almost as exciting as the first encounter, walking into a public venue together. I wanted to be gallant, but "You go first," she said...a few steps behind me, so that if recognised she could tell her own story. Your eyes scanning the whole room like mad, and once "the coast is clear", the tension drops considerably and we settle in comfortably at the table.
Besides being a Secret Agent, she also knows a thing or two about wine, and the sommelier had met his match. It still makes me smile a little; we both still remember that man 😊. The choice of wine was good, the food delicious and the company perfect. For an October evening it was still very mild outside, and instead of withdrawing, we walked a little and sat for a while on the terrace, watching the Amsterdam scenes and the Rembrandtplein (lovely weather, incidentally, is something rather typical of every date. Summer or winter, the sun is always there).
With only ice left in the Gin and Tonic glass, you look at one another and know it is time to go. Although she dresses casually, I also know there is always a surprise. Curious in the Uber as to what she has dreamed up for me this evening. The room being made cosy, and when she then comes towards you with that "other" smile, stands before you, that familiar perfume I catch........The perfect conclusion to a new step in my experience with a Secret Agent. Lying together for a while afterwards, talking over the evening. Often fantasising together, too, about what else might be fun to do together.
The inevitable moment always comes too soon. Making sure all her garments go back with her, and after a firm hug she goes out the door. I walk with her a little way through the maze that certain parts of the Amrath are, and then she has vanished again.
The adrenaline keeps sleep at bay, as I reflect on everything I have experienced so far, and on this evening that surpasses the one before it. The tension and a touch of stress, ultimately dissolved by another kind of tension and the time you are allowed to spend with a Secret Agent. That time which carries me off to a setting and into the company of something and someone very different from my normal life. It gives rise to entirely different conversations, different questions being asked that offer different insights, that make me think anew. And yes, once your conversations are no longer merely superficial, you sometimes come face to face with yourself, too. This Agent knows how to peel away other layers as well.
This story, this evening, is far from the last. What else is possible?
I have no idea how others experience it, but I find the time at the bar, in a restaurant, on a terrace or simply wandering through the city just as enjoyable as the intimate side of things...