The handsome face of a former crush stared at me from the pages of a glossy home and garden magazine. The four-page spread featured his impeccably decorated home and equally stunning wife and young children.
I gripped the magazine and reflexively sucked in my stomach as the nail technician buffed the calluses from my foot, oblivious to my shock. It was impossible to breathe and read in unison; devouring the details of his life took precedence.
I had fallen hard for him that summer years ago, and this airbrushed flashback hurt my eyes.
We worked for different companies on the same floor of a downtown office building. I ran into him, literally, rushing to the elevator and narrowly missed dousing him with decaf. The delight in his bright blue eyes grabbed my attention first. Surprised at my unusual fortuitous timing, I apologized and stared. He smiled and introduced himself, his eyes never leaving mine.
I glowed for days.
Over the next several weeks, we flirted and created excuses to run into each other, steaming up the hallways and rumor mills. I felt exhilarated and alive; miraculously blessed with good hair and a shine-free forehead. When he finally asked me to lunch, I wondered about the delay. I fantasized he was wary of a work romance or coming off a break-up.
After a lunch of juicy burgers and witty conversation, he asked me out for Friday night. I floated to my cubicle with the words, “I have a boyfriend. I have a boyfriend!” ringing in my head.
Five discarded outfits and 18 breath mints later, we walked hand in hand to a restaurant near my apartment, giggling and sharing stories. I was charming and delightful; he was smart and funny and made me feel the same.
After dinner, anticipating our first kiss and wishing for another mint, we sat on a park bench and he pulled me onto his lap. “I really like you and am completely attracted to you,” he sighed, “but I have a girlfriend.”
“Huh?” was all I could manage.
“I thought you should know.”
Do I get off his lap now? I wondered.
“Oh,” I stammered. “Um, thanks for telling me.”
We walked the last few blocks in silence. At my front door, he reached for my hand. “What are you doing now?”
“Going to bed,” I replied.
“Alone?” he queried.
“Goodnight,” I said, my confusion not yet yielding to the anger and hurt churning my insides.
The following Monday, after a puffy eyed, pity-party weekend, the elevator doors opened to reveal my crush, arm in arm with a gorgeous, long-legged beauty.
“Honey, don’t forget to pick up our wedding rings,” she purred as they walked past, the enormous diamond on her finger clouding my vision.
Stunned and embarrassed, I looked away and silently urged the elevator doors to close. Or swallow me up.
“Poor girl,” I thought, discarding the magazine in favor of the latest People. “I’m going with OPI’s Sheer Luck on my toes today.”
I’m once again linking up with Yeah Write for Week Six of their Summer Writer’s Series.
Those work crushes are so much fun until they ask you for dinner and tell you they have girlfriends. But you really are the lucky one. And you made the right choice. Tough but right.
So the right choice. I feel really lucky exactly where I am (at least today
). It’s weird, I had a dream about him last night out of the blue. Took it as a sign to write this! Thanks for reading so quickly!!
Holy crud you dodged a bullet with that guy! I hope that long legged looker got out before he hurt her too badly! Some guys are such jerkwads!
Right?! Bullet dodging should be an Olympic sport. They are still married according to “my sources.” I feel lucky and grateful it was a short-lived crush!
SUCH A GREAT POST! So glad you decided to push “go”. Well done, sister! And I sure do love OPI nail polish….
You are such a sweetheart!! Thank you for holding my hand and giving me support. Grateful!
Ok. Missy. Four words: OUT OF THE PARK. Here’s the park and there you went. This is a fantastic post and I too love me some OPI. LOVE LOVE LOVE this post. You did it. Self-doubt sucks. Now I have to crawl into my hole because I may push publish soon too. OY!
Thank you, love. I swear to god I didn’t think this was any good at all – all choppy and melodramatic and break all the Yeah Write rules-ish. I’ll trust you on this one. And I’ll hold your hand when you push publish. Have yet to read anything of yours that I wouldn’t feel proud to publish.
Fantastic post and wonderful reminder that the grass is not always greener on the other side.
Isn’t that the truth! I wouldn’t trade my family for their four-color spread for anything. Though their media room was incredible. Hmmm…
Ewwww, what a creep. Did he think you were going to say, “No problem!” and jump in bed with him? I hope he reads this excellent post someday so he can see how much better off you are without him!
Thank you! I hope so too! Though I think I’d be terrified for him to read this (and a little nervous for my husband to read it too!).
What an asshole!
Well written and engaging.
I love your how supportive you are. Thank you.
I love how I thought, right up until the end, you might still be sad or hurt about it. That twist at the end did it for me. All that emotion, but then it’s clear you’re over it. Loved it. That right there made it one of the best Yeah Write posts for me this week.
Oh, thank you! I wasn’t sure if the ending was too heavy handed. I appreciate your feedback and support. I had a lot of fun writing this after I had a dream about him the night before. Weird!
Yikes! Dodged a bullet is right. I’d have made the same choice and not regretted it at all. Good on you!
Good on me indeed – my heart would have been ripped to pieces had I made a different choice. Grateful for a small drop of sanity back then!
I LOVE the last lines.
Poor her is right!
You did such a great job with this one, it’s awesome.
You are so kind – thank you! I had a lot of fun writing it and choosing the OPI color (I only had room for two more words or I’d have been over 500! – I know you know what that is like!).
I just read that you didn’t think this post was good? Well, you are right. It is so much better than good. Your writing gets more polished every week. Your descriptions here were flawless. “It was impossible to breathe and read in unison; devouring the details of his life took precedence.” And I had a vivid instant picture of the sex kitten he was marrying. Great story and great writing. No doubt I am coming back to vote for you tomorrow.
You are such an angel. I’ve reread your comment four times so far. Thank you! His fiance/wife was flawless and you called it – totally sex kittenish. Not even on a good day can I look like that! I still think I got the better outcome!
your wonderful husband got equally lucky
Amen to that!
Love it! This is my favorite post on the grid this week so far. I love how you told a very detailed story but the details didn’t overwhelm either the story or your voice. And the ‘twist’ at the end was great. Also, WHAT AN ASSHOLE.
Thank you for your generous feedback! I’m grateful he was such a blatant asshole – nothing subtle there!
What is the modern equivalent to the sound of a needle scratching across a record?? That is what you created in this piece. And by the way, ‘Sheer Luck’ looks mah-velous on you, Dah-ling. You wear it perfectly. Ellen
Sheer luck is the perfect color! Alas, those aren’t my toes … they are beautiful though aren’t they!
I love this post. It’s so well-written and absolutely flawless. I could see it all playing out in my head like a romantic comedy. Ultimately, you’re the one who got the happy ending!
Wow, thank you! This time in my life had Bridget Jones written all over it! All it needed was the good guy to save the day. But he didn’t show up for several more years!
I was literally eating popcorn while eating this…I forgot that I was reading non-fiction! Your writing is like reading a novel…Can you imagine the stress of being attracted to someone and acting on the attraction right before your about to commit yourself to one person? What was he thinking….
Yes – popcorn worthy! Much better than a cheesy romance though – I did NOT expect that. Expected heartache, but not douchiness.
Douchiness is the perfect word … I will work it into my next post!
I like the image of you eating popcorn while reading me … how happy! I’d like to think I was oh so irresistible but am pretty certain it had nothing to do with me. Nah, I’ll go with irresistible!
HOLY WOW LUCKY YOU!! But suckage still plays a role.
Suckage is involved, yes!!
Ugh. Imagine the heartbreak he could have inflicted upon you. You did the right thing to leave him on your stoop, and you’re right. Poor girl. Was it the same one on the cover of the magazine? Or had he ditched her for some other poor soul.
Same long-legged one! I know someone who knows them and they are still married. Imagine that! And I am lucky – my heart has plenty of rips, but thankfully, he’s not one of them!
Perfection. I loved the flow. I loved the rhythm. I loved the ending. Did I mention I loved it?
I hope one day he reads this and feels bad, because he is bad.
You are so kind. And your comments are so much fun to read. And reread. And … Maybe I’ll send the post to the editor of that magazine?
Great job with this post. I feel sorry for people who end up married to jerks like that. Glad you escaped!!
Thank you! I’m lucky he made it “easy” to escape. If he hadn’t been so blatantly jerky my heart may have been decimated.
Oh wow. What a creep. And you so did the right thing, but what a position to be put in. Great story telling.
It’s been fun thinking about this all week but I’m so relieved it’s in my distant past!
I love this…glad you cut your losses before getting in too deep.
Me, too. Someone was watching over me on this one!
What a post, so awesomely written! I am happy you dodged that bullet. And, you are in such a better place not being with a cheater!
I wish I could say I haven’t been there but I have–only I found out after things had gone a bit further. Mine ended up marrying the girlfriend too (even though they were not engaged at the time).
Mine ended up with his girlfriend too! And yes, I am in such a better place without him. It has been fun reminiscing this week – the intrigue and attraction with him was amazing; the letdown … ouch. Makes me grateful for my hubby. Thank for your kind words!
What an unexpected twist, I cannot even imagine what it must have been like. “Do I get off his lap now?” Which makes you wonder, what was he thinking?
Loved your writing!
Thank you! I had so much fun writing this piece – definitely more fun than I had that night!
whooooo, was sucked in big time with this telling! My fave was also “Do I get off his lap now?” and the plainly blunt “Goodnight.”. What a jerk of the highest order!!! Excellent piece!
Thank you! I love that I could be blunt in the retelling – I don’t really remember what I said – I was completely shocked!
DUDE – this is the best story ever! Is it true? Tell me it is. I’m DYING to know who it is!!!
You are so funny! It’s all true! Wish I could plaster his name all over this but …
What a dog! Well told, I had no idea it was going in that direction.
I was surprised also!! Thank you for visiting!
I love the detail of seeing your Crush in the magazine and automatically pulling in your stomach. EXACTLY. You know he’s probably totally a drunk & she’s an idiot and it’s only a matter of time before the whole thing falls apart. And there you’ll be with impeccable toes. Revenge of the well-manicured.
Oooh, thank you for liking the stomach line – that was my favorite too! And yes, let’s go with your prediction and perfect title for this post: “Revenge of the well-manicured.” Love it!
Wow, that poor girl. What an amazingly awful jerk! I can’t believe so close to his wedding, that he would be so casual about trying to hook up with you. You definitely dodged a bullet there!
I dodged a bullet alright! And got a great pedicure! All is right with my world
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I missed you on Yeah Write this week! Next week? Thanks for stopping by!