I met A many many years ago, through a message board. I went to visit her (and a few other people) shortly thereafter. Although she was in a new relationship, there was definitely a spark between us. Within a few weeks, I was embarking on a long-term relationship that ended not even a year ago. A and I remained e-mail friends that whole time.
Just about two months ago, A found out that I was once again single. She went into automatic flirt mode. I suggested that we get together, and arranged for a rather complicated plane ticket so I could go see her.
Fast forward to last week. I was on the subway on my way to the airport. I ended up sitting next to C, an incredibly cute girl. As she had a suitcase (which ended up weighing about 36 tons – what the fuck was she carrying, bricks?), I asked her where she was headed. We ended up having a really great conversation, and really hit it off.
When we got to the airport, we had to go our separate ways. She said something like “Nice meeting you. Maybe we’ll see each other around the city.” Now, I know from experience that that sort of thing never happens. The only people that one bumps into “around the city” are the assholes. Special people are never seen again. I did the smart thing and asked her if she had e-mail.
“Sure!”, she said, “What’s yours?” I told her, and she wrote it down on the palm of her hand. She then grabbed my hand and started to write her address on it. It didn’t fully take (she only got her first name down), and I suggested that she write it on paper instead. She did.
Now, keep in mind that at the time I was heading out on what I thought was a date. And there I was, with the name of some other woman written on the palm of my hand in indelible ink. This was bad. It almost felt like cheating. I knew right then and there that this was a great story in the making.
When I finally reached an airport bathroom, I scrubbed like no one’s business. All that was left was the letter “C”, and I could easily explain that away as blood poisoning.
A ended up not being all that much fun. As promised, she got me all alone on her couch to watch some romantic movies. She ended up surfing the 'Net the whole night. She totally ignored me. Hey, at least she bought me lunch and dinner. But other than that, it was pretty much a drag. Total bore fest. She didn’t even look at my hand to see if that was where I kept my little black book.
I began to wonder why I was there at all.
I ended up sleeping on her couch. I woke up before she did, and got on her computer to check my e-mail. To my pleasant surprise, I got a message from C. Her indelible ink made it all the way to Kansas City, and she e-mailed me at about 2am. I decided to respond. Just as I was typing something along the lines of “ooh baby, you so hawt”, I heard A’s voice behind me, saying “Good morning!”
I have no idea why I suddenly felt guilty.
