Uncharted
Flustered
It was one of those sticky summer nights; a Tuesday in mid-July. I had never met him until now despite running around with the same crowd since high school. It’s one of those moments you never forget. He charged down the stairs, opened the door to the darkness of the night, and fled back to the second floor. From my short glimpse I surmised that he was attractive, but I couldn't help laughing inwardly at the situation.
I settled into the living room, making myself at home on the couch. There were four of us at the start: myself, my ex, this stranger, and an old friend. I had made the unwise choice of catching a ride there with my ex, giving this mystery man the wrong impression.
He was tall, muscular, with a rigid jaw. I oogled him silently as he flipped his dirty blonde hair out of his eyes. This boy was physically flawless. A demigod among us.
It had been a while since I was single. It had been a while since I had seen anyone I was this attracted to. It was an instantaneous feeling in the pit of my stomach that I had to have him.
As it goes, I usually don’t take attractive people for being intelligent so I assumed that this trivia game we were about to play would be an easy win. I was easily more intelligent than the others in the room. But I nearly fell out of my chair when he answered a question in perfect German, and quickly moved on to reference Russian history. I was in awe. There was a momentary pause as everyone else in the room realized I was staring, mouth agape. He was oblivious.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
It took a few days and a few drinks before I would admit my attraction to this new stranger to anyone. When I did though it was immediately followed by an invite on social media and a suggestion that we all play trivia again—minus my ex. And we did. I learned he was going to school for engineering. He learned that I was a math teacher with a not so secret passion for chemical engineering and literature. We exchanged a heated glance when talking about calculus. I had to have him.
A few nights later we all went bowling and explained endlessly to a not-so-coordinated friend the physics behind the sport. We stayed until the lanes closed and then decided to go to his place to watch a movie. It was one of those nights that should have a Taylor Swift playlist in the background. It was flawless.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
A few more days passed and I grew restless and tired of waiting for a move to be made. I was told he took a while to gain the courage, and I knew that would make me crazy. So, I pounced. He gave me an opening, asking who was free on Facebook. I took to casually asking him for a drink—alone. It was a risk; I mean, for all I knew he thought I was hideous and stupid. But we met at a bar and talked about our jobs. He was working construction for the summer, I was still teaching and working at a museum. We talked about our dysfunctional families, and everything fell into place.
It took three hours and four episodes of Friends on Netflix for him to kiss me. Looking back I think he was shaking with nerves. It was something I was unaccustomed to. Especially with someone like him. What was a boy like this doing with a girl like me?
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Our nights turned into midnight escapes after everyone else had passed out drunk or gone to bed. We tried to keep it quiet that we were seeing one another. We would take late night drives to the beach to watch the tide come in, or relax in the comfort of his backyard. He was a gentleman. He was quiet and reserved and mildly stoic. But with me he was soft and warm—compassionate.
Friday would be the first time we saw each other in sunlight—date night. In a small town if he takes you out on a Friday night its automatically a date. I teased him, whispering in his ear, asking if it was an actual date. His smirk said it all. I knew.
I settled into the living room, making myself at home on the couch. There were four of us at the start: myself, my ex, this stranger, and an old friend. I had made the unwise choice of catching a ride there with my ex, giving this mystery man the wrong impression.
He was tall, muscular, with a rigid jaw. I oogled him silently as he flipped his dirty blonde hair out of his eyes. This boy was physically flawless. A demigod among us.
It had been a while since I was single. It had been a while since I had seen anyone I was this attracted to. It was an instantaneous feeling in the pit of my stomach that I had to have him.
As it goes, I usually don’t take attractive people for being intelligent so I assumed that this trivia game we were about to play would be an easy win. I was easily more intelligent than the others in the room. But I nearly fell out of my chair when he answered a question in perfect German, and quickly moved on to reference Russian history. I was in awe. There was a momentary pause as everyone else in the room realized I was staring, mouth agape. He was oblivious.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
It took a few days and a few drinks before I would admit my attraction to this new stranger to anyone. When I did though it was immediately followed by an invite on social media and a suggestion that we all play trivia again—minus my ex. And we did. I learned he was going to school for engineering. He learned that I was a math teacher with a not so secret passion for chemical engineering and literature. We exchanged a heated glance when talking about calculus. I had to have him.
A few nights later we all went bowling and explained endlessly to a not-so-coordinated friend the physics behind the sport. We stayed until the lanes closed and then decided to go to his place to watch a movie. It was one of those nights that should have a Taylor Swift playlist in the background. It was flawless.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
A few more days passed and I grew restless and tired of waiting for a move to be made. I was told he took a while to gain the courage, and I knew that would make me crazy. So, I pounced. He gave me an opening, asking who was free on Facebook. I took to casually asking him for a drink—alone. It was a risk; I mean, for all I knew he thought I was hideous and stupid. But we met at a bar and talked about our jobs. He was working construction for the summer, I was still teaching and working at a museum. We talked about our dysfunctional families, and everything fell into place.
It took three hours and four episodes of Friends on Netflix for him to kiss me. Looking back I think he was shaking with nerves. It was something I was unaccustomed to. Especially with someone like him. What was a boy like this doing with a girl like me?
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Our nights turned into midnight escapes after everyone else had passed out drunk or gone to bed. We tried to keep it quiet that we were seeing one another. We would take late night drives to the beach to watch the tide come in, or relax in the comfort of his backyard. He was a gentleman. He was quiet and reserved and mildly stoic. But with me he was soft and warm—compassionate.
Friday would be the first time we saw each other in sunlight—date night. In a small town if he takes you out on a Friday night its automatically a date. I teased him, whispering in his ear, asking if it was an actual date. His smirk said it all. I knew.
♠ ♠ ♠
♥