Is this a hickey or a bruise?

Oh hickeys.

I have such mixed feelings about them.

I've only gotten hickeys on three occasions, and only given them on 2. And in case you hadn't gathered, I'm not stranger to making out. So maybe its strange that I don't have a huge affinity for them.

Actually, it wasn't until this calendar year that I even allowed them to be given to me or have given them out myself. Beginning... oh, March I believe? That was when I got my first hickey. Well, my first two. Eh hem.

It was when Drew and I made out, for kicks and giggles. You know, Charlie, my ex, 's best friend? Yeah, that. Annnnyways, he told me while we were going at it that he likes giving and getting hickeys, and I let him know right off that I am not a fan. It didn't really stop him. A few minutes later, he was going for it, and within a brief period of time, I had two matching hickeys, one on either side of my neck, below my ears. They weren't massive, but I will grant him, they sure were colorful. Apparently I bruise pretty easily... just for future reference.

Drew wanted me to give him one, but I said no. Particularly because I was already feeling slightly guilty about making out with him behind Charlie's back, and also because I still didn't see the allure... I hadn't really enjoyed getting them just then.

The second time I got a hickey was when Duke and I used to hook up. He was a boob man... yep. He liked boobs. And he used to get dangerously close to mine. One night, after our "festivities," I was looking in the mirror, assessing the damage, and saw a not-too smallish bruise sitting low upon my chest. Yep. The boy tried to give me a hickey on my boob. And just about half succeeded. Weird.

Also, Duke is the first guy I actually gave a hickey to. I wasn't even sure at the time if it had even bruised sufficiently, but decided to go for it anyways. And this time, I didn't find it disgusting. Go figure. ;)

Did I mention I had a class with Duke? Because I did.

Did I also mention that two days after that night, in said class, he gave a presentation for a project, and I just so happened to notice a slightly-pulled up collar around his neck? Yeah, it was like 85 degrees outside, buddy. No need to wear a jacket. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw a small hickey right there, on the left side of his neck, barely concealed by the collar of that jacket of his.

And then, then is when I realized how satisfying it is to see your hard work on display in a manner such as "The Hickey."

The last time I received one/gave one was when Charlie and I last made out, roughly a month ago. He gave me what is easily... the BIGGEST freakin hickey I have ever seen.

Remember how I went back home to visit a couple days after that?

Well, there's only so many times you can tell your family that you burned yourself with a curling iron. Especially when your sister-in-law raises her eyebrows at you questioningly, then tells you that the "burn" looks just like "a freaking huge hickey" and all you can do is act exasperated and try to laugh it off, like you think its funny in a feeble attempt to not give yourself away.

In other news, I've started hanging out with this one new kid in my ward. I know, I know, I need to stop "peeing in the pool," so to speak. Nothing good ever seems to come of it.

No worries, I'm not jumping into anything. I also have a date lined up for next week with a friend of mine, who I also happened to think is easily the most attractive man I have ever met. You know, he actually hasn't gotten any action since he came home from his mission nearly a year and a half ago. Terribly surprising.

I just wanna say... I would like to volunteer to be the one to break that streak.

I will TAKE that challenge.

Til later, lovers. XOXO. TC

Holy Mother of Somethin.

Sorry kids, for kind of sucking at this whole blogging continuously thing, like I promised at one point. I'll try my best to work my way back up to once a week, at least, but it will probably take a while.

So what has been going on with me? Well lets see.

A lot.

So, in order to avoid the difficulty of the whole explaining every single thing that has ever happened shindig, Here is the extremely abbreviated Reader's Digest Version of what has been going down in my Romantic/ Love/ Sex life lately.

1. October-December of last year, I was dating a guy, Charlie, from my ward/FHE group. Yeah yeah, incest, whatever. We broke up in early December, because I wasn't really into it and he felt like he was getting shafted after a while with my "emotional unavailability" and what we determined was a "lack of that 'spark.'"

2. Beginning in January of 2011, I started hanging out with another recently broken-up guy in our FHE group, Jeff. He was a redhead with my same sense of humor and broken heart, and we bonded quickly and rapidly over our mutual love losses. (His ex-gf was also in our FHE group. Yeah, I know, more incest.) We started cuddling and holding hands and spending virtually all our time together, while simultaneously deciding that we weren't 'anything' and hiding our pseudo-relationship from our exes and everyone else in the ward. One night we kissed, and the next made out for a while, then afterwards he told me he still didnt want to date anyone, or be committed, but still wanted to kiss me. In the moment I said OK, but two days later, I realized that I really liked him a lot, told him so, then said if he didn't want to be with me, then we couldn't kiss anymore. He said ok, dropped out of my life completely, and broke my freakin heart.

Weird, huh? Pretty out of character for me.

3. One night, I made out with one of my best guy friends, and Charlie's best friend, Drew. Just for kicks and giggles. Sounds trashy, I know. And there really was no particular reason for it. He's only kissed like, 7 girls total now... one of which is me. Then he told all his friends, including Charlie, and I was pissed for a while. We're good now though, and still bestest buddies, but sans the makeout bidness, which we like to pretend never happened.

4. I started seeing one kid, Jack, who turned out to be super awkward and WoW obsessed. Let him kiss me once, then dropped it like its hot when he moved away for the summer. He's recently tried contacting me again, and I have artfully ignored and waived off his advances.

5. I hung out with my roommate one night, and met a guy, Duke. He and I connected physically extremely quickly, made out ferociously that night for hours and hours, and possibly did some stuff that is... well, no bueno in terms of what mormons should be doing together. This continued for several weekends, us hooking up at my apartment. A week after we stopped I went and talked to my bishop about... things that happened. I'm in good shape now, but that was an interesting interlude. Duke still contacts me almost every other week to once a week, trying to get me to hook up with him again, but I find empowerment in denying him thereof. Ha.

6. I hooked up once with a new kid in my ward over the summer, Dallin. He is of a questionable nature, and I only made out with him once, but it was pretty good that once time. While we hooked up, his roommate and mine were also hooking up, as we later learned. She and I sure got a kick out of that little coincidence.

7. I began dating a guy that my other roommate once dated while she was out of town. I thought there was real potential here. The first time we made out, we nearly got a little carried away, but were good. A little under a month after we got together, we decided that we got too physical too fast, and decided to slow things down, meaning not see each other or mack anymore. That was a couple weeks ago, and I'm feelin that its basically over, even though he seems to believe we still have some semblance of a chance.

8. And lastly.

I went back home for a week of vacation last week. Two days before I left, it was Charlie's birthday, and since we are friends again, a big group of us went out to dinner to celebrate. Afterwards, somehow just he and I ended up at his apartment, and about 10 minutes after being there alone, he kissed me. About three seconds after that, we started making out. That bidness continued for about another three and a half hours.

Then I left the state for a week, and thought about it, and decided not to get back together. We're still friends, but I do wonder if I'll have to have that conversation with him sometime in the near future. Nooot looking forward to that.

In other news, I met a friendly type fellow on facebook who's moving into my ward at the end of the week, and served his mission in my hometown. After some minor stalking, he seems like he could be interesting, so we'll see about that.

Also, my good friend Dustin wants to set me up with a friend of his, who is living with him between apartments at the moment. They're supposed to pick me up from work today, actually... so I guess we'll see how that goes. Dustin seems pretty determined that we would make a good match, but I don't know much about Dustin's taste in men, but his taste in women... sub-par, seeing as I am not particularly fond of his girlfriend. But I'll be sure to report back if anything of substance happens in that department.

Keep it real, my little nuggets.

TC