I have a girlfriend, Jami, she means everything to me. She is beautiful, funny, and the most fun person I have ever been with. I first saw her in a high school class in which she was the only girl. I immediately developed a crush. She had a smile that drove me crazy. I only had a few chances to see her smile in class before we began to date, but each time I saw her do it, I was compelled to smile with her. She had also developed a crush on me. Of course she never realized that I daydreamed about her quite often. On several occasions, I spoke to a friend of hers as a means to get as close to her as possible without feeling awkward or threatened. A few months passed and I was offered a chance of a lifetime.
Homecoming was right around the corner and I had decided not to go. Meanwhile, Jami was being asked by a friend to accompany him to the dance, he didn’t want to show up alone. Jami was skeptical. She had heard that I was not going to be present, but by a stroke of luck she decided to go anyway. I was asked to go with an ex-girlfriend of mine who was a fairly close friend, she and I had not enjoyed our short stint as boyfriend and girlfriend because we had no kind of connection, and therefore we went as friends. When I arrived my “date” left my side as quickly as she got there. I didn’t mind, although I was kind of upset that I had no one to talk to. Soon a table was filled with a few of my friends who had decided to keep me company. They one-by-one disappeared with dates as I was left alone to enjoy the overplayed and overrated rap music that I hated so much.
Unbeknownst to me, Jami had been watching me from a few tables away. A girl soon appeared and told me someone was interested in seeing me. I was skeptical I had no idea who this person was and I was the kind of person to make excuses to escape from stressful situations, I am a shy and bashful person when it comes to meeting girls. Yes, Mr. Cocky here is afraid to talk to girls. I used the fact that I had a date as an excuse to evade meeting a person I had no previous encounters with. She shot back, “Where is she then?” I told her that she was dancing with other girls. She left and returned quickly with Jami. Wow. She was incredibly beautiful in her formal gown. The first thing I noticed was that her hair was done differently than what I was used to seeing at school. It was parted on the side instead of strait down the middle. It was very attractive. She looked at me with a partial grin and I realized that she was as uncomfortable as I was. We spent several minutes standing awkwardly with her friends, they surrounded us forcing Jami and I to speak to each other.
Finally we escaped from the ruckus and sat down in the refreshment area outside of the dance hall. We spoke to each other freely now. I felt something speaking to her that I had never felt before, something electric. I was actually enjoying the time I was spending with this girl. It was then that I realized that she had had a small obsession with me. It was close to the kind of feelings I had for her. We continued talking and in the midst of the conversation, Jami told me that she was very attracted to the way I had removed my jacket earlier at the dance. I soon began to tease her with it every time I could. The night progressed and we continued to talk and have a good time. When the last few songs began to play we stood up, ready to leave, neither of us enjoyed dancing very much. I had to wait for my “date” to finish so I could find out whether she needed a ride back home. As we waited one of my favorite songs began to play. Not knowing if it would work or not I began to quietly sing along and caught the attention of the girl I had begun to fall for. The song was the Atari’s cover for “Boys of Summer.” I sang it directly to Jami, she giggled, looked away, and smiled that beautiful smile that made me grin from ear-to-ear every time (and still does today) and I fell for her, right then and there.
After we found out that my “date” did not need a ride (as she was going out drinking), I walked Jami to my grandmother’s car (long story) and opened the door for her, as a gentleman always should (who says chivalry is dead?), and I have, ever since. As we drove home to avoid the silence that always ensues after a first date I turned the radio up a little. Jami commented, “At least you listen to decent music.” It was a stalemate after that. The drive to her house was extremely easy, it was in a familiar neighborhood and easy to find. We pulled up to the house and she gave me her phone number and I gave her mine. We said goodnight and she walked to her door, she almost looked as if she were skipping. I waited until she entered the house, again, as a gentleman should, and began to pull away slowly. Only then did I realize that I had the most enormous smile on my face. It was the biggest one that had ever been there in my entire life. I continued to smile for the rest of that beautiful night. The rest, as they say, is history.
Jami if you're reading this, I love you, beautiful.
