Baby, are you coming for the ride?
When my friends and I were sitting at that table in Barnes & Noble, talking about books and random memories from that Summer, I didn’t expect for you to come over and talk to me. We were all confused. You seemed nervous when you asked for my name and number, and I’m pretty sure my face was beet red. But it wasn’t very obvious because of my mask, which also hid the ridiculously big smile on my face. It felt a bit awkward during our interaction, but that was probably because of the six people that were watching us. We exchanged names and numbers. We found out we lived in towns right next to each other. You even worked at a restaurant in my town. Eventually you told me you needed to get back to your friend, so we said goodbye. As soon as you were out of sight, I looked to my friends who were staring at me with wide eyes. None of us could believe what just happened. We’ve only heard of getting asked out like that happening in books and movies. And now it happened to me. In real life. But it didn’t feel like it.
I just wanna look into your eyes
The next time we met up was when I was home for Thanksgiving break. I was excited to see you face to face rather than through a screen. We decided to go on a hike at Valley Falls, and I got there almost 20 minutes early. There was a small part of me hoping you’d be there early, too. You ended up being a few minutes late, but I didn’t mind, because you came with something that made up for it. I spun around at the sound of your voice to see you hold up a brown paper bag.
“What’s that?”
You answered me with a grin on your face, “It’s a surprise.”
“Yeah, because that’s not suspicious at all.”
I had only mentioned my love for Chocolate Peanut Butter milkshakes from Shady Glen once, and you remembered. You held the cup in one hand, holding it out for me to take. I didn’t think it was the best thing to have before a hike, but I didn’t care.
We walked and talked, and it felt completely natural. Nothing felt forced. We continued to talk when we got to the cliff, looking down at the almost bare trees with the crisp air hitting our skin. We both found it hilarious when a dog came running up to us, expecting him to just say hi. Instead, he picked up my bag from beside me and walked it over to the edge of the cliff. I managed to grab it from his mouth before he dropped it over the edge.
We were on our way back to the lake when we came across a small frog hopping by our feet. You quickly scooped him into your hands and we decided to name him Jimothy. He stayed with us until we decided to leave. You gave me a ride home, which was barely five minutes. On that short ride we discovered what kind of music the other liked. We even found what turned out to be our song. I can still hear you screaming the words as we drove over the speed limit.
I just wanna stay for the night, night, night
You picked me up at my house and we drove to Foster Farm in South Windsor. We listened to the playlist you made for us. When we got to the stand to pay, you held your card out to the man before I could even get out my wallet. I glared at you, which you laughed at because you knew how much I hated you paying for me. We immediately went for the corn maze. It was the only reason we were there. As we entered the corn maze, you reached for my hand, the map staying in your other. It was green, almost neon, and read ‘PEACE’ and ‘LOVE’. Along the way, we found two unhusked corn cobs on the ground, which we took with us, husking them on the way. We got to an opening, the map indicating we were in the second ‘E’ of the word ‘PEACE’.
You took my bag from me and dropped it to the ground, along with the green piece of paper. Then you propped up your phone on a stalk of corn and pressed record.
“We’re going to have a corn fight.”
“A what?” You didn’t answer me, you just held up your corn cob.
So we did just what you said. We stood in the large carved out ‘E’ and had what could have been a sword fight if we were more prepared. Your cob ended up snapping in two, which you then pitched to me and I hit them as if they were baseballs. I decided to let you stick to being the softball player between the two of us. I ended up with the juice from the corn on my glasses, which was not fun to wipe off, and we ended up with a video of us looking insane.
Once we contained our laughter, we continued through the maze until we got to the end, making sure to pick up a corn cob as a souvenir. We ended up a few feet down from where we stood almost an hour prior. With smiles on our faces, we walked to the two large hay bales not too far from us. We sat there for a bit, talking some more and watching the video of our corn fight that probably no longer exists. From the maze, we made our way back to the front, where we stopped to take way too many pictures on the tractor or with our faces sticking through the holes cut out of a wooden board. Not to mention all the photos with the goats. Our favorite was Toby, and we even named the corn cob we took from the maze after him. You kept that corn cob in the cupholder of your car until it came to the point you needed to throw it away.
When we take a drive 𝄖 Maybe we can hit the 405
From a few days after we met at Barnes & Noble to weeks before the end, we facetimed. The first time was a day or two after I moved into my dorm room. I still wasn’t close to my roommate, so I sat by the fire exit down the hall so she didn’t hear our conversations. I filled you in on all the Orientation Week activities, and you told me about terrible customers at work and how you were getting ready for your senior year. As time went on, you met my roommate and you two instantly became friends. I still wish you two met in person. You called her Roomie from your first meeting all the way until you told me to say goodbye to her for you. While on these calls, I gave you a tour of my dorm room. I showed you whenever there was a new addition to my crowded walls. I talked with you when my friends and I sat in the dining hall. I wanted you to see it all for yourself, not just behind a phone screen.
There was a time my school did a “Rainforest Cafe” night. They had the lounge set up with all kinds of activities. The only reason my friends and I went was to get the stuffed animals. I quickly picked up the unstuffed frog, who reminded me of our friend we found, what felt like forever ago, at Valley Falls. While my friends and I waited in line for the stuffing, I texted you to call me when you could. My phone rang about thirty minutes later, when my friends and I were sitting at a booth in the dining hall with our new stuffed animals and their birth certificates we filled out ourselves. I answered the phone and held up the frog to show you.
“Meet Jimothy.”
Hypnotized by the lights
I was home for nearly a month for Winter break. And over the course of those 27 days, I saw you two times. The first time was New Year’s Eve. The other was when I gave you your sweatshirt back. After New Year’s, I would text and ask when you had to work, so we could find a time to do something. Almost every time, you said you were too tired or busy. I understood that. You had school, softball practice, work, and figuring out college stuff. I was proud of you for everything you were doing. As much as you hated your busy schedule, you managed to power through it. But I was still hoping you would make time for me. Even if it was only for an hour or two.
From then on, we only talked via iMessage or facetime. And those calls weren’t nearly as long as they used to be because you called me right before you went to bed. I didn’t know if that was because you actually didn’t have time or if you just wanted an excuse to not talk to me as long. In the moment, I didn’t think anything of what was going on. Maybe you were just having a rough time with everything. Or maybe that’s just what I had to tell myself so it didn’t hurt as much.
Then came the day you unloaded everything on me. You said how I wasn’t proud of all you’ve accomplished, how I liked the idea of a relationship more than actually being in one, how I didn’t care about you. And I think the last one hurt more than anything else. I went back to school while we were on a break. Then came the day that the break turned into a breakup. Looking back on what happened, I’m not surprised. I realized that I was just telling myself it would be okay. That it would get better. But in reality, I knew it wasn’t going to last.
I still remember the last words you said to me. “Say goodbye to Roomie for me.”
Man, this must be the life.