There she was.
I could see her across the apartment living room in this pretty packed party. This wasn't love at first sight. This was by far not the first time I'd seen her. I'd seen her across campus many times- initially it was happenstance. But as my obsession with her grew, so had the frequency of less than coincidental sightings. I firmly maintain that I was not stalking her. It had really only been a matter of a few weeks. Hell, I didn't even know her name. I just had a pretty good handle on her weekday cross campus routes. She often walks with other guys and she could seem quite flirty, but I never saw her with the same guy twice. This of course gave me hope that she was not coupled with anyone.
She had a bohemian clothing style that dipped into the revealing. When it wasn't freaking cold (and at a mountainous college campus, freaking cold was the norm from mid-fall through mid-spring), she'd show flashes of skin. Sleeveless blouses. Belly shirts. Shorts with thigh high socks. Her slender legs were one of her best features. She wore her light red hair past her shoulders, with a short swish across from her part on the left to her right. Longer than bangs, but blended in nicely. That swish of hair often fell across her light blue eyes that sparkled like two exquisite sapphires. Her smile showed mostly her pretty top teeth and raised her cheeks. Her very pale skin was dusted with light freckles mostly on her arms and beneath her neck. I suspected the little bit of makeup she wore obscured some on her face. She had small breasts- my guess would be A-cups. And her butt was tight but definitely not flat.
Having been too shy to speak with her on campus, I guess I felt that an approach at a party, when she wouldn't be potentially in a rush to her next class or some job, would be the best opportunity to meet her. She was wearing black yoga pants, a loose brick red long sleeve top, black low-top Chuck Taylors, a long silver chain with a big silver heart locket, and a cute teal knit hat. She saw me approaching and I saw a hint of a smile. This gave me such hope.
I should take a moment to describe myself. I'm a painfully shy computer geek with ruffled brown hair. I stand about 5'9", slender, with little to no muscle definition. Again, computer geek. I've been told by many girls (usually, not ones as hot as her) that I'm "definitely cute". A girl once said I had a more than passing resemblance to Andrew Garfield.
I closed the distance between us and looked her in the eyes and said, "Hi."
Killer opening line, right?
"Hi," she said, trying to suppress a smile.
What came next felt like an eternity as a big pause followed here nothing more was said. Then I remembered I was the one who was supposed to say something.
"What's your name?" I asked her.
"Jessica. What's yours?"
"Darren."
"I was wondering when you were going to finally introduce yourself."
"Oh?"
"I've seen you around campus. I know you've seen me."
"Oh, um, yeah. I guess I have."
"You don't have to worry. I'm not freaked out. I just wish you hadn't waited so long to say hi. You're kinda cute. Let me guess. Mathematics department?"
"Close. Computer Science. How about you?"
"Education with a minor in dance. You probably think it's silly."
"Not if it's what you're passionate about."
She put her hand on my arm and leaned in closer to me.
"Darren, the music is pretty loud. Do you want to get out of here?"
"Yes. Definitely."
We'd gotten back on campus relatively quickly. Time seemed to fly when I was with her. We talked about the things you talk about when first meeting someone in college. About their family, about their hometown, about their hobbies, about their friends. We covered a lot of it. She stopped by a bench that normally would've been well lit, but the light above it was out.
"Come here," she said as she sat down and beckoned me to join her.
I sat down next to her, half turned to face her. We were pretty close and she moved in closer to me.
"I'm a bit of trouble. I like you, but I want you to know that. I'll probably break your heart," she whispered to me.
"I don't see any way forward if I don't at least try to be with you. You've been on my mind pretty non-stop since I first saw you," I replied.
