A Whirlwind of Events
The Birthday
My birthday was a few weeks ago. My party was held, along with celebrations of Cinco de Mayo and another guy's birthday, at Holly's boyfriend's house. I think I must have been a little upset over turning 23.
Because I got sloppy drunk.
I tried to pass out in the grass at 8pm. My sister pulled me up in exasperation. Then, I actually did pass out at 11:30pm.
Just before I passed out, the boss's incredibly good-looking, 20-year old son stopped by the party. I thought I was acting sober. Apparently, it didn't work because I got the following in an email the next day:
"Maybe we can get together when you're feeling ok ..."
At least someone thought I was cute when trashed. I woke up from my "nap" at 2am and headed back out to the porch where a guy from the hockey team was standing. I stopped to talk to him.
"You have good teeth," he said to me.
I laughed. " 'You have good teeth' ??" Was that a pickup line?
He looked down. "I mean, your toenails are cute."
I looked down at my feet in sandals with the paint chipping off and pointed, very concerned, at my big toe. "No, I'm missing half of one."
"If that's your greatest imperfection, I don't think you have anything to worry about."
I liked him. I had actually been trying unsuccessfully to make out with him for the past six months, showing up at parties where he was, talking to the guy next to him, trying to get his attention. This was my lucky night.
Holly gave me and this guy a ride home at 3am. We sat on the couch talking for a few minutes.
"I'll be right back," I said, heading upstairs to my bedroom.
I threw up in my bathroom sink, rinsed my mouth out with mouthwash, went back downstairs, and proceeded to make out with him.
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The Ending
A couple of days later, I was asleep on the couch when my phone began to ring.
Hulk.
It was 1:30am. I answered the phone. Not Hulk but his friend. "We're having a little get together since it's his last night in town. You want to come out?"
"Does he want me to come out?"
His friend pulls the phone away and I can hear him telling Hulk in the background that I want to know if he wants me to come out. Then I hear shuffling and Hulk gets on the phone.
"Are you coming out?"
"Sure."
"What are you doing?"
"Well, I was sleeping."
"Michelle ..."
"What?"
"You don't have to come out. You're sleeping."
"Well, I'm up, so it's not a big deal. I might as well. Do you not want me to?"
"No, I do. It's my last night here. I just feel bad."
"I don't understand you. You tell me what I should do."
"Just call me if you decide to come out."
I ended up going over there, of course. Like I was going to miss his last night in town. The next morning as we were saying goodbye, I was telling him to keep it in his pants, he was telling me not to spread it around either.
"Have you really not been sleeping with anyone else?" I asked, according to our agreement that we started in January.
"Well, let's see ... the last time I slept with someone else was ...what is this? May?"
I knew the answer. I knew he would say December, because I knew that's when his last girlfriend was and just before our agreement.
"April."
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The Beginning
The week after my birthday, I went on a date with yet another new guy I had met through the Internet.
I was getting tired of these. My expectations for the evening were as low as ever. Why did I still bother?
I met him up at an Appleby's for dinner. We hadn't emailed much prior to going out, so I really had no idea what to expect out of him. When I first saw him, I wasn't attracted to him at all. Big surprise.
Surprisingly enough, we ended up having a very nice conversation over dinner. The moment I realized that I liked him was when he laughed at my stupid new joke I had wanted to try out (I told him that I moved to Georgia at 20 years old because I had a mid-mid-life crisis).
We left from there to go to a park. I liked that he was a good driver. And he smelled amazing. I realized that he was quickly growing on me.
And still is. Two weeks, going strong ...
Something That Struck Me That I Can't Stop Thinking About ...
The other day, I was walking down Main Street. I was coming up on three Hispanic gentlemen going in the opposite direction who, walking shoulder-to-shoulder, took up the whole sidewalk. I started moving over into the grass to let them by.
Only one of them would have had to venture into the grass to let me by on the sidewalk, but instead, all three of them moved off into the grass so I could have the sidewalk.
I don't know that three white guys would have done the same ...
_________________________ _________________________ ____________
Number Five called tonight to see if I wanted to get dinner tonight before the final.
I couldn't make it. I was still doing last-minute studying.
Next step: Call him Saturday night with the details on my birthday party ...
Ongoing Project
We were in desperate need of a fifth person for our Information Systems class project to fill the final role. I posted a bulletin announcing our opening and got a response from our Number Five who stated he could make our meeting. I checked out his personal webpage we were required to create as the first step of our project.
He was far away in the picture and wearing a hat. Hard to tell, but my first impression--not cute.
But this was not group membership based on looks alone, of course. Not like the other four of us were much to look at.
At our first meeting, I kept an eye out for him, with a limited idea of what to expect. Then, I spotted him.
And damn, he was good looking.
Our project went on throughout the semester as normal. The five of us became close and sat together in class, discussing school and our personal lives, getting to know each other pretty well.
Was I imagining things or was Number 5 flirting with me? Touching my arm, playful shoves, calling me about group details that had been well worked out at our previous meeting.
Then, two weekends from the end of class as we were filming our video portion of the project, he made it very clear that we had to be finished by 3pm so he could attend a sorority formal ... with his girlfriend.
Well, I was wrong. No big deal. He got on my nerves occasionally anyway, complaining about small project issues. Then, he went over the top at our video editing session when he went on and on about how he felt about his girlfriend and all the disgusting details of their relationship.
Ew. Yeah, definitely wouldn't be able to handle a guy as mushy as himself. Good thing I had given up crushing people's relationships just to get a makeout session with a guy I would be bored with by the end of the week ...
I had completely forgotten about the whole thing until last night, the night of our final, when we all agreed to meet up and take the exam together.
The two of us arrived first at 6pm and began the test. After we finished and helped the others through it as well, we all got up together to leave and said our goodbyes. It had been a great semester together. I was going to miss them.
"Michelle, I have your hole puncher in my car. Walk out with me to the deck so you can get it."
I agreed, and as I followed him, we carried on one of our typical conversations. I didn't think anything of him asking me what I was doing that night or what I was having for dinner. It was stuff we normally talked about ...
"You want to go get some food?" he asked.
"Sure," I said, slightly surprised, but still thinking very little of it.
And I thought very little of our dinner conversation. It was completely typical, but the statement that threw me off was, "Yeah, I thought about calling you Saturday night to see if you wanted to get out and do something."
Switch to Analysis Mode: Why would he call me to hang out on Saturday? Why would you want to hang out with a group project member unless absolutely vital to the project? But then, wasn't he the type of guy who would have actual girls for friends and not have any other motives ... ?
He went into Analysis Mode himself when he discussed with me a text message he received from his girlfriend at 4am Sunday morning: "Don't take this personal, but it's not a good day for you to come visit."
"She's ch--" eating, I almost said, but I realized that he was in some delusion that his girlfriend was whole-heartedly into their relationship. She obviously wasn't. Instead, I settled for, "I can't help you. I don't understand men or women."
He paid for dinner and dessert and dropped me back off at my car. I didn't have any cash on me to pay for half so we agreed ...
I owe him ...