Things started like a bad Romantic Comedy, only I don't look like Matthew McConaughey and I don't recall seeing Kate Hudson anywhere. I met my girlfriend through a mutual friend. This friend I had a crush on for years now, despite the fact that she lived two hours away and was currently in a relationship that, whether good or bad for her, she was committed to continuing. As I became good friends with Sharon, I'll call her for the sake of not using her real name, I confided my secret desire to be with Natalie (also a fake name, for the record).
As with all bad movies now, this turned out to put quite the ironic spin on things because it was no more than a couple weeks later I had found out how much I wanted to be with Sharon, and Natalie was not on my wish list any more. Sharon however had found a boyfriend, and when I told her how I felt she took it for nothing more than flirting. This led to my ultimate rejection several times a day through both the internet and phone, and a few times in person. We had gone out once, Sharon Natalie and myself, to the movies, which we flirted through the entire three hours of Pirates of the Caribbean 3, but it wasn't enough to get my point across. It wasn't until a couple of weeks later that she was fed up with her no-show boyfriend and I was still trying to get her to drop the dead-beat and let me take her out, that the opening happened.
“You should take me to the movies tonight,” She says. My heart skips a beat or twelve, as I'm quite sure she's kidding - she's only been rejecting me for a month now.
“Don't tempt me,” Says I. I'm certainly not kidding, as I just about have my shoes on already hoping she'll tell me to make the two hour drive to pick her up, take her to dinner, then to the drive-in movie theater closest to her home.
“I am tempting you.” She gives a flirty laugh as if to say "I know you won"t really come up here,' I can't stop the smile on my face as I tell her I'll be there in two hours and to be ready. She wanted Chinese food and then the movie. I just wanted to be near her.
I make the two hour drive across the border and park in front of her house. The town isn't exactly outsider friendly, as there is no sign saying that you can't park on the side of the street that I had decided to park on. I already look like an idiot and she hasn't even gotten in the truck yet. I let her give me the directions as we drive on, we're too late to get dinner before, we're going to head straight to the movie so we don't miss it. The directions are bad and it's a good thing we skipped food because we barely make it after all the wrong turns and missing roads. I found a spot that looked like it'd be fine for watching the movie without any visual problems and we parked, then walked over to the concession building and went in. I walked with her while she got her popcorn and drink, she insisted on paying for her own since I didn't really want any. When we reached the cashier she reached into her wallet and said “I'm not sure I've got enough”. Time for me to save the day and make up for the stupidity of earlier - I reach for my own wallet.
It's not there.
Moment of panic while I try to recall why my wallet isn't in my pocket.
Damn - the border. When I crossed the border and gave my ID I left my wallet in the cup holder.
Ok, she fishes out enough change to pay for what she's got and we're in the clear, I look like the anti-chivalrous loser, but at least it saved having to leave everything there and make the trip to get my wallet, right?
No. What I didn't realize until ten paces later was that I was being people-watched by some loud mouthed woman who happened to start walking with her significant other (poor man) right behind us.
“Did you see that? That girl had to pay because he forgot his wallet. How embarrassing would that be?”
She didn't just say it once. “How embarrassing” was said at least five times in the thirty yards between the cashier and the front door. I even held the door open for the couple, turning red faced away from them as Sharon laughed at the romantic comedy scene that had just taken place. At that point, I'm quite sure she still likes Matthew McConaughey much better than myself. It's less than two minutes later that we find out her parents are at the same screen we're at. I have to meet the parents under very awkward circumstances considering she's dating another guy, and I find out after that her dad saw me parked on the wrong side of the road.
