I finally got to go to London with my friend, and she and I had a ton of fun. We were in Grosvenor Square, not too far away from Hyde Park. The area was very nice, and my friend (I'm gonna call her Jay) and I didn't seem to have too much issue piecing the area together as we wandered around.

We did run into my former professor/friend with benefits, which ended up being more annoying than anything else. Long story short, he apparently cannot handle being around his former fwb and her friend because GOD FORBID THE FRIEND KNOWS HE'S A SEXUALLY ACTIVE 26 YEAR OLD. GOD FORBID ANYONE ELSE FINDS OUT. His behavior ultimately made Jay uncomfortable, so I steered clear of him for most of the trip.

Jay and I also had plans to hang out with my pen pal from Northern Ireland. He came down to London for a few days so we could meet up, which was very exciting. He was ultimately WAY more fun to be around, which we anticipated. And he really is a great guy; he's super sociable, laid-back, etc. It's very easy to be comfortable around him, and he really did make the trip all the better.

Anyway, on the 10th, Jay and I got tattoos. All I have to say about it is that rib tattoos are quite awful, and there has to be witchcraft involved in Bepanthen, because I've never had a tattoo heal this way before (it like, never itches EVER). She and I got lunch, and then she started to feel unwell. We had plans to meet up with my pen pal later in the day for dinner, but we wanted to see how she was feeling before we decided if she should stay back at the hotel or not. Ultimately, she stayed in for the night, and I went out with him as originally planned.

So, he and I wandered around, found a pub, had a few drinks, and just chatted. It was great being able to spend time with him one on one since we've been friends for two years now, and this was the first time we got to actually be in each other's company just the two of us. I talked about this night in way more detail on my personal blog here, but it's a very long story and I'm trying to be brief.

Eventually we made our way from a pub to his hostel in order to just sorta, hang out. We didn't want to disturb Jay, and I'd never actually been to a hostel before, so why not? We sat outside on some steps, sat real close because it was kinda cold out, and ultimately I learned that he has fancied me for a while.
I honestly didn't see that coming, but I'm glad it did. Truth be told, I've always been fond of him as well; however, I would be in a relationship when he wasn't, he'd be in a relationship when I wasn't, sometimes we'd be dating other people at the same time, and I literally had absolutely no idea he felt that way about me. If he made inclinations towards it, then I am either very dense, or his inclinations were very subtle.

We talked about that night a few days later, because I wanted to know what his intentions were. We kissed, we held hands, we were really cutesy romantic. So basically, I wanted to know where we were gonna go from there.
He knows I have no issue doing long distance, nor do I have issue with doing international long distance. However, he's not too fond of long distance due to past experiences, and I would be his first foray into international romance.

So we're not dating. I think. We just interact with each other as though we are? Which is fine; I'm a little fried with relationships still, and am fine with whatever it is we're doing now. I'm just gonna let things develop on their own, at whatever pace they take. I'm not going to rush anything, and I'm going to try to not over-think anything.

Soooo yeah. I guess I'm in a long distance romance of some variety. Go figure.