My mouth swung open in surprise and water from my hair dripped onto the keyboard as I stared back at a face from the past. A girl I hadn't thought about in years.
I won't bore you with the details of the background with my high school friend Cara. The quick deets:
- I had a huge crush on her in high school
- She was too hung up at the time with her ex-boyfriend to get involved with the likes of me
- I had waited around long enough and told her so.
- I met Lynn shortly after and we started dating.
A crackle of the intercom woke me from my coma at that ungodly hour informing me that I had a guest waiting for me.
Who the fuck was visiting my ass at 7:30 in the morning on a Saturday?
To be honest, I had hoped that it was Lynn giving me a surprise visit. But to my surprise, it was Cara. She was alone wearing white tennis shoes, tiny track shorts, and a girl-next-door smile. I took a moment to collect myself.
So@24: Hey... you!
Cara: How are you?
So@24: Great. Well, a bit hungover to be honest. I haven't seen you for years, this is so unexpected!
Cara: Well my roommate said she wanted to spend the day in Seattle, so I volunteered to drive with her. I thought there might be a chance I'd track you down. She's running some errands and going to call me a bit, I only have a few hours.
So@24: Come in. It's a bit of a mess, we had a teensy party last night.
As we made our way back to my room, stepping over passed out college kids and making our way past empty beers cans, we caught each other up on the last three years.
I had her sit on the edge of my futon and I turned over an empty milk crate to use as my seat. We chatted some more about high school and shared a few laughs; keeping our voices to a low whisper as to not wake my roommate.
But as much fun it was playing catch up with an old high school crush, my eyes lids kept drooping and my head was pounding. I needed to power nap. It was still only 8 in the morning.
So@24: God, I know this is weird and incredibly rude, but I was up late last night. I need to catch some shut eye for just a quick 15 minute power nap.
Cara: Oh absolutely! I'll just watch tv! I'll wake you up in 15.
I crawled back into the sheets and was out like a light. Cara flipped on the tv and sat at the edge of my futon.
The next thing I remember is the feeling that someone is holding my hand. I'm still between sleep and awake, so my senses are taking awhile to regenerate. And I feel skin. Girl skin. Really soft, girly skin. And my hand is being guided upward. Upward? Is that a thigh? Holy shit. This is a girl thigh. A soft girly thigh. My hand is touching a soft, girly thigh? This is where the underwear shou... ?
I sat up faster than something-that-sits-up-really-fast. My vision began to focus and Cara was lying next to me, under the sheets grasping my hand. And homegirl had a kung fu grip.
So@24: Whoa! Whoawhoawhoawhoawhoawhoawhoa!
Cara: Please. Please. I need this.
I started to climb out of the bed and with a sharp, forceful tug Cara had me back onto the futon. I was suddenly inches away from her face, in nothing but soccer shorts, with an absolute look of terror on my face.
I had about .504 seconds to figure out how to reject the advances of an attractive girl.
So@24: Heyheyheyheyhey. Come on now, you know about Lynn...
Cara: I know. And I know I should care, but I don't. I really fucking need you to touch me.
So@24: As much as I love hearing this...
I gently took her hand off my forearm and stood up. My heart was pounding.
So@24: ... you're a couple years too late.
Cara bit her lower lip and gave me a look that I'll never forget. That look that makes boyfriends cheat on their girlfriends. Any guy who has been in that situation knows exactly what I'm talking about. I had to get. the. fuck. out. of. there.
So@24: I need to go help clean up the party anyway. I'll be back in a bit.
With that, I was out the door. The last visual memory I have of Cara was of her in my futon with the most confused expression on her face. This girl wasn't used to being told "no". When I came back to the room an hour later, she was not to be found.
Alright. Time for the part where I explain what this story has to do with the blog. Besides it being nice to digitally pound my chest and share a tales of near-conquests with cute girls from the past on a public forum... there is a point.
My point is, this was not the only time, some fair maiden other than Lynn had come onto me. Of course, not to this degree. But drunken suggestions, sloppy advances that only happen when you're in the prime years of college. I was a good boy though. I never made them feel embarrassed. I would often share an awkward chuckle, flag down their nearest friend and send them home.
Maybe it's a matter of supply and demand. Maybe it's a matter that I was more attractive when girls knew I was off the market. Do girls like to rise to the challenge and see if they can make a guy slip? Or is it a matter of just having a serious girlfriend at the wrong time?
Don't get me wrong. If I could go back, I wouldn't have done anything different by cheating on my girlfriend. But I'd be lying if I can't help but think... what the french toast did I miss out on while I was in college? The years they made raunchy sex comedies about? The opportunities! Oh Lord, the opportunities! Doc, if anyone needs a DoLorean with a flux capacitor that can go 88 miles per hour, it's this guy.
You need this more than me, SoSigh.
As I thought back on my story with Cara:, I clicked "Accept" on her Facebook Friend Request.
I think I still have her number on my phone.
Maybe I'll give her a text.
** PS. Send in your questions via email for Fireside Friday if you have one. If you don't know what it is... click da link!