26 On a Break

Things are getting in the way of my blogging at the moment so just wanted to tell you that I'm going to have to take a little break from posting.

It won't be a long interlude, I'll be back in a couple of weeks to continue the story of Hands and Rapunzel, cause there is more to come. Oh yes there is!

Please don't feel bad. It's not you, it's me. I think we need to have some time apart. You know it's for the best. I really like you and I'll be back when I'm able to give you the attention you deserve. I promise.

Rapunzel x

80 Tales of a Real Life Romance - Chapter 16

Date number 3 with Hands was a resounding success. Agreed?

Date number 4 with Hands was definitely on the cards. Agreed?

Fraid not.

Don't panic though, the game wasn't over exactly. It was just that the croupier was going to have to hold off dealing the next hand, because I was having to go away and work again for a few weeks.

Before you feel sorry for me I should stress that I was going to film in the Canaries. It wasn't exactly a hardship. In fact I was dead excited about going. I was just slightly concerned about the timing with regards to my romance. It was still early days with me and Hands. Maybe he wouldn't wait for me?

Then I reminded myself that he'd hung around for six weeks between date one and date two. And lots had happened since then. We'd been on a rollercoaster together, eaten pizza together, laughed together, played tonsil hockey together... We were practically in a committed relationship.

There was absolutely no need for me to worry. All would be fine.

I was flying out on the Saturday morning so texted Hands asking if he was going to be in Manchester on the Friday evening (yes, my copy of The Rules was now shoved in a drawer somewhere.) He replied in the affirmative and asked if I was going to be out in town and whether I fancied a 'sneaky meet-up'. I explained that I wanted to be fresh for flying so wasn't going 'out out' but wondered if he fancied meeting for a drink before he saw his friends.

Seems not.

He called me and mumbled something about it not really being possible, and explained that it would have been different if I had plans to go out as we could have 'accidentally bumped into each other'.

I see.

He then added that it was probably for the best, cause he'd find it really difficult seeing me for only half an hour and then having to say goodbye.

Awwww.

Except 'awwww' is not the way I actually felt about what he'd said. You see it appears that I have something in my head that I can only describe as being like a translation app. Put a sentence in and get the real meaning out. (I just wish I'd had it years ago because I'm sure I would have got a better mark in my French oral.) So those may have been the words going in, but in my mind what Hands was actually saying was 'You're alright Rapunzel but I wouldn't want to sacrifice any of boys' night to see you. Hell no! I don't like you that much.'

Needless to say I didn't feel very smashing when I got off the phone. In fact gutted would be a more apt description. What could I do though? Knowing how hyper-sensitive I can be, plus anyone that has ever used Babelfish will know that translation tools don't always give accurate results, I decided to get some other opinions on what he'd said.

Immediately I felt better. I was taking control. Plus I love surveys! Only this week I heard on the radio that it has been discovered that men like receiving flowers. The reason they know this is that they compared the happiness level of men without pansies etc, to those with them. There was a blooming big difference.

This survey was going to be as useful as that one. Probably even moreso. For me anyway.

Respondent 1

I first spoke to my Bro in order to get the male perspective. He wasn't so bothered about analysing whether Hands was keen on me or not, he was more concerned with the fact that Hands didn't seem to have a back-bone when it came to his friends and couldn't tell them he was going to meet me and would only see me if he could make out it was an 'accident' (This also brings up the question about the intelligence of his friends if they would find that believable!)

Verdict: Hands is a wet lettuce


Respondent 2

I asked my friend 'England' what she thought. She was outraged. At me. She said that she didn't know what the heck I was going on about and it wasn't like I was his girlfriend and he therefore wasn't required to have to see me before I went away. I meekly said that I knew that but I wanted him to want to see me. And I'd want him to feel like that even if he was my boyfriend. She was having none of it. We agreed to disagree. Before we ended up wrestling or something.

Verdict: Rapunzel is high maintenance, demanding and needs to have a word with herself.


Respondent 3

Asked my friend Scarlet what she thought. She said I was right to be concerned and it didn't seem like Hands was very interested in me.

Verdict: Nobody loves Rapunzel.


Ok, ok I may have slightly skewed the questions when talking to Scarlet and told her how much it had bothered me, and she just did like a good friend does, and said she understood.

All the time and money (well all those free minutes I'd used up calling the respondents) I'd put into my survey and I was none the wiser. Was it the end of the road for the Rapunzel and Hands romance? Or was I just worrying about nothing? And was it true that guys really like receiving flowers? I had no idea...

34 Tales of a Real Life Romance - Chapter 15

From: Hands@handmodelsrus.com
To: Rapunzel@thetower.com

Good morning Miss Rapunzel... or now that we are more familiar may I call you Rapunzel?

I'd just like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to give me a very professional and insightful guided tour around your wonderful facility. The views (and sensations) immediately in front of me, and those of the city sky line were equally impressive.

Thank you for fulfilling my service requests and acting in a professional manner throughout the meeting.

I look forward to doing business with you again in the near future.

Kind regards

Mr Hands x
Cold Shower Executions Manager




From: Rapunzel@thetower.com
To: Hands@handmodelsrus.com

Dear Mr Hands

Thank you for your email.

I am glad that you were happy with the service you received. You are clearly an expert in your field and I hoped that I could meet your understandably high standards.

I feel that we make a good partnership and am happy to continue with this relationship. I suggest we arrange some more one-on-ones though as there are some things I would like to run (my hands) over.

Can I also suggest that we remain professional in our correspondence and keep the familiarity to our meetings? I'm unable to offer the services I have provided you with to anyone but my favoured clients, so I ask for your discretion at this stage.

I look forward to meeting with you again.

Miss Rapunzel x

---------------------------------------------


I know it's a bit cheeky of me to copy and paste the emails that we sent each other after date 3 and pass it off as a blog post! You want to know the whole story though don't you? Exactly as it happened? And this is what occurred next!

Plus I wanted to show off my new look blog! My bro did it as a surprise. He's a good un isn't he?! Thanks bro!

Thank you all for continuing to read and a special mention to those who comment. I love, love, love reading them! You guys are the best!

The next installment in the Hands and Rapunzel saga is coming soon. Read it to find out what I'm not happy about...

Rapunzel x

53 Tales of a Real Life Romance - Chapter 14

17:00
Concierge buzzes me to say I have a gentleman caller on the way up to my apartment. Can't be sure but it sounds like he wants to add 'Woot woo!'

17:02
I pace around in nervous anticipation. Hands mentioned at Alton Towers that he likes the small of my back. Am therefore wearing a backless top. There are no flies on me. Clever girl.

17:04
Hands arrives. He leans down to kiss me and puts his hands round the back of my waist. Asks if I have put that particular top on especially for him. Damn...I've been rumbled. Smart arse.

17:08
Give him a tour of my apartment. Says he likes the view.

17:12
We sit down with glasses of wine overlooking Manchester. Tells me he was half an hour early so went to The Deansgate pub next door. I am happy about this. Nothing worse than a guy turning up early for a date.

17:14
Tells me a girl asked if he wanted to join her and her friends, then when he declined asked if he fancied going out with her sometime. I am not happy about this. Who does this girl think she is trying to cut my grass?

17:30
Discuss where to go for dinner from the limited choice near the theatre. Decide on Pizza Express. I say I'll print out a 'two for one' voucher.

17:32
Regret saying I'll print out a voucher. What if Hands thinks I'm a cheapskate?

17:33
Hands says printing out a voucher is a great idea.

17:40
My printer clearly thinks otherwise as it refuses to print anything.

18:00
Go to reception. Ask concierge to print out voucher for me.

18:01
Worry that they'll report me to Management for being a penny pincher. I'll get banished from the building for lowering the tone. Mind you I'm pretty sure they are already well aware I'm more Primark than Prada.

18:05
Leave Tower brandishing troublesome voucher. Concierge tells us to have a good time. Might be mistaken but am sure he winked at me.

18:30
Arrive at Pizza Express. As we both like things hot and spicy we decide to share two pizzas. There is no 'I' in team.

20:00
Go to theatre to watch show. It's a comedian I love from Scotland. I laugh lots. Hands does too. He seems to like a bit of Scottishness.

21:00
We hold hands throughout. Pretty sure that's not the done thing at a comedy show. There might even be a law against it. I like it though so don't care.

22:00
Show finishes. Comedian says he'll stick around for a bit to say hello. I get excited for a minute cause he's fit and I'd love to meet him.

22:01
Then remember I'm with Hands.

22:02
Then realise I actually don't mind cause Hands is also gorgeous. And funny too.

22:03
Think I must be falling for Hands.

22:30
Discuss going for a night-cap. Hands suggests going back to mine as he says 'it's the company that's important, not where we go.' Smooth.

22:45
I pour us another glass of wine and we sit down to chat. Hands seems more interested in me than his drink or conversation though. We start smooching on the couch.

22:50
Hands is a good kisser.

23:10
I start wondering if I'm going to have stubble rash.

23:20
Hands says that as it is a school night he should think about going.

23:30
We canoodle some more.

23:45
I think about what a really good kisser Hands is. While kissing him.

23:55
Hands says he definitely must go.

00:00
We continue partaking in some first base action.

00:05
Hands says he is going to go. Just after he kisses me one last time...

00:15
Think I've regressed back to being a teenager. Can't remember snogging the face off someone so much since I was 15 and Wiggy and I sat 'winching' in his bedroom listening to Sally Cinammon. On cassette.

00:25
Hands sighs and says he really is going. He gets up muttering something about cold showers.

00:30
I see him to the door. We kiss again. One for the road.

00:40
I go to bed very happy.

58 Tales of a Real Life Romance - Chapter 13

From: Hands@handmodelsrus.com
To: Rapunzel@thetower.com

Dear Miss Rapunzel,

Thank you for your prompt response earlier today.

I am more than happy to reschedule to Sunday, at which point will aim to satisfy both mutual parties. I am keen to take you up on your offer of both dinner and a comedian, and would love a guided tour of your premises - also your lips - to fulfil my earlier service request.

I will be in touch in due course to finalise the details and in the meantime wish you a most enjoyable weekend.

Mr Hands
Extracurricular Activities Manager

48 Tales of a Real Life Romance - Chapter 12

So Hands had suggested we take our relationship to the next stage...

Yep, he wanted us to exchange email addresses.

What do you mean you are surprised? What else would he have been referring to? Ah, I suppose you were more thinking along the lines that he wanted us to be Facebook friends weren't you? Nah, Hands doesn't do social networking so that wouldn't be an option.

To be honest I'm not sure I would have agreed to that anyway. I think you can get the wrong impression of people through their Facebook profiles (has anyone seen the film Catfish?!) There was a time that I met a guy in a bar who asked for my number and then texted the following day to suggest we 'look at each other' on FB. I thought it slightly odd but if he was so adamant about showing me his, what could I do but show him mine?

While perusing, I noticed that he'd changed his status a few weeks previously to say that he was in a relationship. Hmmmm.

Underneath that was a comment asking who the lucky guy was. Double hmmmm.

Was he a gay guy just looking for a new friend to go dancing with him along Canal Street? Was his friend a comedian? Was he actually straight but in a relationship? Was he single but only recently so was essentially on the rebound?

I've no idea. There was too much of a whiff of 'it's complicated' about it for my liking. I promptly de-friended him and vowed that in future I would become friends with people in real life, before getting pally in the virtual world.

Not that Hands was asking me to do that anyway. He just wanted to do things the old-fashioned way and email me. How quaint. Next he'd be suggesting that we hand-write each other letters. With a feather quill. On parchment. And have a pigeon deliver them.

I liked the idea. I didn't tell him that though. I just took his email address and said I'd think about it.

What?! You can't just let every guy you meet take down your particulars.

I emailed him the next day. What a good decision cause it turned out that Hands the Emailer was a lot more prolific than Hands the Texter. And flirtier too! He'd send me messages saying things like...

Ooh... That girl from the Tower is popping into the hand model's mind a bit too often this morning! Go away please I'm busy! x

or

Will you just get out my head please, I'm trying to work!!x

I was loving it! It was hard to know what to reply at times mind you. I'd normally be very apologetic and send messages such as...

Just to promise you that I won't be on your mind at all today. You'll be able to get on with your work and you won't think of me at all. I can't promise the same vice versa but that's just something I'll have to deal with I guess x

I was a bit stumped when he sent me a photo of his desk with the instruction that I should go and sit on it and kiss him. What could I send him back? As a freelancer in TV production I don't have a regular place of work and I've no good pictures of me and my furry boom. I suppose I could have sent the picture my cameraman took on our job filming hotels abroad. It was of me in my 'office', ie the bathroom, keeping out of shot while he filmed the bedroom. I was sitting on the toilet at the time and although the lid was down and I was doing paperwork, I didn't think Hands needed to see images of me on the loo.

Instead I decided to reply suggesting that we take our relationship to the next, next stage...

Dear Mr Hands,

Unfortunately I have other meetings scheduled for today and will not be able to fulfill your request. Can I suggest that we reschedule for this Sunday? I also propose that as an alternative to the usual 'networking' activity of playing golf, we go for dinner followed by a comedy show. You could also come to visit my premises where I can provide you with the service you have requested and we can discuss any other business.

I look forward to seeing you again and continuing this partnership.

Miss Rapunzel x

34 Tales of a Real Life Romance - Chapter 11

Once upon a time there lived a girl called Rapunzel. No, not the one that you are thinking of, this one is the modern day Rapunzel.

Admittedly she also lives in a Tower, the tallest residential building in the UK to be precise, overlooking the wonderful city of Manchester. Unlike old Rapunzel though, she is not trapped and can easily leave her apartment by way of the lift. She can probably even walk down the stairs if necessary. If she's insane that is.

Another difference is that the Rapunzel of today has no interest in being rescued. That's not to say that she isn't keen on meeting a prince, but she likes her life and doesn't want to be taken away from it. She just wants someone to enhance it. It isn't necessary that he owns a horse.

Modern Day Rapunzel had actually been on a couple of dates with a hotty named Hands and was wondering whether he was her prince. Her evil stepmother gorgeous flatmate, the Goddess, had been so keen for Rapunzel to find a wonderful man, that she'd introduced her to the tome otherwise known as The Rules and instructed her to follow them in order to find true love.

Rapunzel quite liked parts of The Rules, but there were some bits that she wasn't so sure about, hence the reason that she didn't follow them to a tee. One example of a time when she was undecided about what to do, is when she'd been on date two with Hands.

A wonderful date had been had and Hands had even stolen a kiss or two, or three. He'd dropped her off on his steed in his car and bade her farewell. A short whileth later, he had phoned and suggested that 'Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair.'

He didn't mean literally. It would be impossible as another difference between the old version and the new version, is that the current protagonist has short hair. And seeing as Hands has particularly large... er... hands, he'd have trouble even grabbing her locks, never mind climbing anywhere on them.

No, Hands was suggesting they continue their date and was inviting Rapunzel out to dinner.

Oh my!

Rapunzel didn't know what to do. She knew that The Rules would say no way Jose, but she'd had such a lovely day with Hands so far and was very tempted to continue it.

Oh if only she'd already told her blog readers about Hands she could have gone on her facebook or twitter page and had instant advice.

It was too late though. She was in this alone and had to be a big girl and make the decision herself.

After pondering and pondering for a couple of minutes, she made her decision.....

Which was to go and re-join the tall handsome man with the big hands. Rapunzel, Rapunzel, was going to let down her lift!

While going down in the afore-mentioned elevator, Rapunzel wondered whether she should have changed her clothes. She'd done nothing more than have a wee, brush her teeth and put on some lip-gloss as she was conscious Hands was waiting outside.

Hands kissed her hello and said he was glad that she was still in the same outfit as she looked lovely. Rapunzel wondered whether Hands had special mind-reading powers. She mumbled something about it still being the same date and he agreed and said that it was just part B of date 2. Rapunzel wondered yet again whether he was a mind reader. She also made a mental note to use the same excuse if the Goddess told her off for ignoring The Rules ('What do you mean I shouldn't have gone out again? It was the same date!)

Date 2B was lovely. Rapunzel was really glad that she'd decided to go. The whole date had been pretty amazing in actual fact (if you are my real friends you will just forget about the whole ill, moany bit...!) There was nowhere she would rather have been and no-one she would rather have been with.

Rapunzel was starting to fall for Hands. What did he think of her though? She didn't know. As he dropped her off at her Tower she wondered whether he'd ask to see her again.

What he actually said took her by surprise...

'What do you think about taking our relationship to the next stage?'