The long awaited kiss

Well, to call it a "kiss" is almost stretching it. It was more of a peck, on the lips.

I finally took the first step, since it was becoming blatantly obvious that Ex-Gaybor wasn't about to. And she didn't give me any great openings ever. I feel like I've been waiting for a moment to lean in and plant one on her since the first time we met up, but what do you know: That moment that I've experienced so many times before, where you look at each other and think about kissing each other before coyly looking away - it never happened. Instead I walked her to the bus stop for the third time, at the end of our third date. The rain was pouring down and I was making small talk, trying to open up for an opportunity to naturally bring up the whole "where's this going" angle. I jokingly asked if she often meets girls online. She responded that no, that pretty much never happened. I said it was nice hanging out with someone I really felt I clicked with and she agreed, but in a very casual way.

Finally, we were standing at the bus stop and I realized I didn't have many minutes to make my move. And I'd be damned if I let another date go by with no progress. And so, i asked her what was going on with us:

Me: "Umm... So, this is kind of weird. But I'll just be honest and lay it out there: We've been hanging out quite a bit and, well, I'm wondering where we're headed. Are we friends? Are we more than friends? Do we have potential to be more than friends?"

Ex-Gaybor: "I don't know... Crap, I'm really bad at this stuff. I guess, maybe a little bit more than friends?"

Me: "Okay... Well, then maybe it's alright if I say goodbye like this?"

At which point I leaned in and kissed her. The kiss was extremely timidly responded. And then the bus was arriving and we just said goodbye, said we'd call each other, and I took off on my bike.

By the time I got home I'd received a text message from her, saying she felt really akward and wished she had handled the situation better. I responded I could probably benefit from taking a class on how to make a first move, but she replied that I should give myself lots of credit for making the move because if left up to her she probably wouldn't have had the guts to do anything.

Then I called The Ex up in a fit of anxiety wondering if I really want to get into this mess. I always feel like I'm going into a mess when I'm starting something with someone... what's that about?