It's amazing the distances I will go to hook up with a girl. But, becuase I fight long-term intimacy like Listerine battles plaque, I can only do the serious "quality-time together" stuff in a foreign locale.
So, this winter break I saw a girl with whom I went to high school. Back then, she was two grades below me, but we had a great conversation. She is an artist (a very good one) and a fiction writer (a really good one). She's also extremely cute. I was equal parts intrigued and annoyed. Intrigued becuase I met someone whose ability impressed me, and annoyed becuase I liked her and now cared greatly what she thought of me, which I hate.
Anyway, I wrote her an email on January 4th, about, and I got this response from her on February 18th:
Chris... Christopher... is that how it is?
So where are you now traveller?
Here in chicago I am a one-drink-girl who is quite honestly three-drinks-in, having discovered the one straight blues club within walking distance of my rainbow-pillared-boystown-apartment.
I really have no complaints about life here, and can validate every inkling of homesickness that I felt for chicago during my brief trip home over christmas break. It feels like a city... dodging pigeons, cigarette butts, a laundromat, starbucks, and hardware shop on every block... what more can you ask for?
School is a little less satisfying, but oh well.
So...Chris...
When are you going to make it out here?
...k
Now, wouldn't you think that last part would seem a little bit . . . inticing? A drunken email with that kind of invite smacked of a voyage into Make-out-ville.
So, because I'll be having a lot less free time soon, I booked a ticket last-second for this past weekend.
I showed up at her workplace around 3:00 AM, having left my luggage at my friend's apartment, not knowing if I'll be sleeping at her place. She is looking really hot, by the way, so I'm pleased when she says "I'm really hungry. There's a place next to my apartment where we can grab a bite to eat, either tonight or tomorrow morning."
Excellent.
But I've got this uneasy feeling.
I've done my fair share of hooking-up with women, and I've learned that it's the "sure things" that never work out. For all appearances, this looked like a sure thing. That troubled me.
So we get back to her place around 5:00 AM and she sits down to chat. I like chatting, but I don't like this sort of tension when I feel there's something I don't know. So, I ask her if she's interested in me, and she panics a little and says "I'm excited about the potential."
I see.
Darned if the next few days weren't some of the oddest I've experienced. We slept in the same bed, we even cuddled, like couples are wont to do. We pretty much spent the next 3 days together non-stop. Yet, not even one kiss. Yup. Nothing like that. And it wasn't becuase I wasn't trying.
Don't get me wrong. I had a a great time. We spent most of the day in bed, relaxing and being next to each other, but nothing beyond that. I didn't push it; I'm a gentleman. But I still had to ask, the last night I was there, if she was attracted to me. She assured me she was very attracted. She's a very principled person, and I guess she's only into long term relationships. I guess. I don't know, I didn't bother asking. There's some questions you don't want answered. It's better to look at the evidence and draw the conclusion that makes you feel best.
Of course, now I'm really jonsing for something to fill in this space where phyisicality should have been.
So, this winter break I saw a girl with whom I went to high school. Back then, she was two grades below me, but we had a great conversation. She is an artist (a very good one) and a fiction writer (a really good one). She's also extremely cute. I was equal parts intrigued and annoyed. Intrigued becuase I met someone whose ability impressed me, and annoyed becuase I liked her and now cared greatly what she thought of me, which I hate.
Anyway, I wrote her an email on January 4th, about, and I got this response from her on February 18th:
Chris... Christopher... is that how it is?
So where are you now traveller?
Here in chicago I am a one-drink-girl who is quite honestly three-drinks-in, having discovered the one straight blues club within walking distance of my rainbow-pillared-boystown-apartment.
I really have no complaints about life here, and can validate every inkling of homesickness that I felt for chicago during my brief trip home over christmas break. It feels like a city... dodging pigeons, cigarette butts, a laundromat, starbucks, and hardware shop on every block... what more can you ask for?
School is a little less satisfying, but oh well.
So...Chris...
When are you going to make it out here?
...k
Now, wouldn't you think that last part would seem a little bit . . . inticing? A drunken email with that kind of invite smacked of a voyage into Make-out-ville.
So, because I'll be having a lot less free time soon, I booked a ticket last-second for this past weekend.
I showed up at her workplace around 3:00 AM, having left my luggage at my friend's apartment, not knowing if I'll be sleeping at her place. She is looking really hot, by the way, so I'm pleased when she says "I'm really hungry. There's a place next to my apartment where we can grab a bite to eat, either tonight or tomorrow morning."
Excellent.
But I've got this uneasy feeling.
I've done my fair share of hooking-up with women, and I've learned that it's the "sure things" that never work out. For all appearances, this looked like a sure thing. That troubled me.
So we get back to her place around 5:00 AM and she sits down to chat. I like chatting, but I don't like this sort of tension when I feel there's something I don't know. So, I ask her if she's interested in me, and she panics a little and says "I'm excited about the potential."
I see.
Darned if the next few days weren't some of the oddest I've experienced. We slept in the same bed, we even cuddled, like couples are wont to do. We pretty much spent the next 3 days together non-stop. Yet, not even one kiss. Yup. Nothing like that. And it wasn't becuase I wasn't trying.
Don't get me wrong. I had a a great time. We spent most of the day in bed, relaxing and being next to each other, but nothing beyond that. I didn't push it; I'm a gentleman. But I still had to ask, the last night I was there, if she was attracted to me. She assured me she was very attracted. She's a very principled person, and I guess she's only into long term relationships. I guess. I don't know, I didn't bother asking. There's some questions you don't want answered. It's better to look at the evidence and draw the conclusion that makes you feel best.
Of course, now I'm really jonsing for something to fill in this space where phyisicality should have been.
VIEW 7 of 7 COMMENTS
We're thinking 5 days of skiing, 5 days of sight seeing and a few days to just chill and enjoy life. Sounds about right to me. My friends are kind of crazy aggressive skiers so I don't know if I could handle any more than that anyway.
As for SGNY events - actually, I feel like the couple of times I've shown up not knowing a single person is when I've met the most people. I'm sure you'll be fine. But you should come hang out on Saturday afternoon if you can, it looks like we'll be doing our thing once more.
The photo shoot turned hardcore right after I stopped paying attention, apparently. I saw Matt and Helen come in and was just talking to them, not even looking at what was being projected on the wall, when Helen said "look, it's a porno." I looked up and some guy was holding a girl upside down and they were 69ing... I figured that was kind of sketchy, and it went downhill from there.