This is a story I haven't told anyone up until today. Usually, when someone hides something for over a decade, it's because they are ashamed or have guilt. Neither of those apply to me in this case. No, the reason why I kept this a secret for so long is because no one will believe me. I wouldn't blame anyone as I'm still shocked that something like this happened to me. What happened? Well, allow me to explain...
It's the summer of 2005, I'm 21, almost 22 and I'm living in a 3-bedroom apartment in a college town with two women. Think of it as a modern-day Three's Company. I'm currently working at a music store in the mall as an Assistant Manager. I'm single and haven't had sex in a short while, which was unusual for me as I'm almost always meeting up with chicks that usually ends up with some kind of "fun".
I wouldn't consider myself an attractive guy. I guess I'm okay, not ugly, just attractive enough to almost always having interest from other women. I think maybe it's my boyish charm, a mix of dorkiness, shyness, and a slight rocker aesthetic going on with my long hair and a couple of facial piercings. It was a far cry from my teen years when I was just a shy, awkward fat kid with a bowl cut. That version of me couldn't get a chick's attention if I was dipped in honey, rolled in a pile of $100s, and paraded around a strip club.
Now that I gave a little personal background, let's go to the day when this all started. I was at work, and I needed to get a new remote control for my TV. We had a very small selection of electronics at my store, so I wasn't expecting to really find a remote control that worked for my TV. It was an older TV from the early 90s, maybe even late 80s. However, to my amazement I found a single remote control that said, "Universal Remote: Works for ANY Television Set!" I decided to get it with my employee discount as I didn't want to go to other stores after work.
I got home, laid on my bed, and turned on the TV. I don't really watch current day TV, I stick to shows from the 80s and 90s. So, when I watch shows, it's usually old shows that are shown in syndication. I decided to give my new remote a whirl, so I pressed the "On" button and suddenly, I felt an odd sensation happening in my body. It's hard to describe what I felt. The closest I can explain is that it felt like my whole body was "asleep" like when your leg gets tingly when you sit in certain position for too long. This sensation lasted for about ten seconds, then I was suddenly in a different place.
I was in a car driving in an unfamiliar place. I drove past a sign that said, "Welcome to Port Washington, Wisconsin!" I said to myself, "Port Washington, Wisconsin? That place sounds familiar." I looked at hand written directions that was sitting in the passenger's seat and tried to figure out where I was going. What happened? Why am I here? Where am I driving to? I didn't know, but my instincts told me that I knew. I also knew that this didn't look like I was in the year 2005. It felt more like the 1990s based on the vehicles around me and the one I was in right now.
After a couple more minutes of driving, the directions led me to my destination. I pulled into a driveway that was next to a two-story house in a quaint suburban neighborhood. The house I was looking at looked familiar like I've seen it somewhere before. I get out of the car and looked around to examine my surroundings. Even though I'm still confused about where I'm at and why I'm here, my instincts told me to go knock on the front door.
I go up to the door and knock a couple of times. I wait and hear a female voice shout "Just one minute!" Suddenly, the door opens and standing before my eyes is an attractive brunette with about shoulder-length hair. After seeing her face, it dawned on me. I'm in the Step-By-Step universe and Al Fucking Lambert is right in front of me! As my mind is processing the situation unfolding in front of my eyes, she invites me in. She makes small talking by asking if I found the house okay and then asks if I wanted to watch the NBA Finals with her. Being a sports fan myself, I said sure, why not? I sat next to her on the couch in the living room and she turns on the television. It's the 1998 NBA Finals between the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz. This answered my question from earlier, I'm back in the spring of 1998. This would put Al at 18 years old and back then I was 14, almost 15. However, I'm still 21 and luckily didn't go back to 14-year-old me.
We're sitting on the couch watching the game and we talk more to get to know each other better. She knows more about how we met than I do, so I'm getting her to fill in the blanks for me without making it obvious that I have no clue why I'm here. It sounds like I also work at a music store in this universe in Milwaukee. She was at the mall there with some friends, we started talking and she gave me her number. We've only talked a short while before making plans to hang out. I asked her why we are here and not at my apartment; she said that while she is living at home, she must play by her dad and stepmom's rules.