Guy: 34, Father of 2, Lawyer, Hunk
Date: Butterbees, Tina’s, Skyline
I met this man in 7th grade, reconnecting later at the same HS. We dated briefly in my early 20s but drifted apart when he moved out of the city. We stayed loosely connected through social media over the years and always remained cordial. (My ex-husband used to give me a hard time about him because they looked similar. Tall, manly, bearded, great smile etc.) Every so often he’d send an inbox or text checking in to see how life was going. This pop in was different. He was in town and wanted to link up for drinks. My schedule happened to be open that weekend so I obliged. We met up at Butterbee’s, he was a bit late but sent a text letting me know, so the panic of being stood up subsided.
When he arrived he was sharply dressed in a blazer, sweater, and jeans. Looking like a CEO- importantly casual. (Just made up that phrase- feel free to use it if you credit me) He towers over me, as we hugged I had to get on my toes to meet him. I took a creepy deep inhale since he hugged me a few extra seconds longer to let me know he was happy to see me. His smile was bright and big, matching his gaze behind his glasses. We talked our careers, kids, future ventures, for about an hour, him revealing that he paid attention to my recent ventures of acting and media- including this blog, over the years. He asked me deep thoughtful questions, probing me a bit….”You’re always on my radar,” he said calmly- made me feel some kind of way, (This man has been a long lost crush for quite some time). I know I was blushing, and quickly took a sip of water to distract myself from the conversation.
We wrapped up and went to our cars, hugged a few times goodbye before he looked at me and told me he wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet and asked me to go to Tina’s with him for a quick drink. I obliged and hopped into his car. (His car matched his persona- Big, Dark, Manly and expensive.) He’s always been someone that everyone should know, one of those people that you meet and just know that they are too big for a “regular life”. We found a primo spot outside of Tina’s had a few strong drinks before leaving. I thought he was going to take me back to my car, instead- he asked me if we could keep the night going and grab a bite to eat. We went to a packed Skyline in Clifton, where the conversation took a turn that I wasn’t prepared for. He told me that he loved me all those years ago and wasn’t sure how to express that with him moving out of state. I sat quietly listening, my heart breaking with each “What if” that crossed my mind. The seriousness of the conversation broke when the college crowd erupted in a bit of foolishness that made us laugh.
We wrapped dinner and headed back to the car, conversation light and easy. When we arrived back to Butterbee’s lot the tension was fairly thick leading to a few lingering kisses and hugs. He lifted me up scratching my car window with his watch. He promised to fix the window but did not apologize for stealing a few kisses. I could tell that there was more that he wanted to say, but we left each other with promises to talk soon.
I left the date feeling optimistic, even knowing that we both have very busy lives. We spoke and texted a few times in the weeks to follow and met up again later in the summer when he was back in town but neither of us put in enough effort to make anything work. We both know we’d date each other if we were in the same city….but we aren’t. When you read this..just know you’ll always have a place in my heart and my vote when you run for POTUS.
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What Alishia Lee Thinks 