Facebook reconnected me with an old friend who I used to know from my university days. He was a great track runner who had made it to the big leagues. He participated in numerous races locally and eventually became a pro athlete, racing on the international stage. Then, he ditched his athletic career and joined the corporate world.
We had lost touch after we graduated but I knew that he was no longer a pro athlete because he stopped posting about it on Facebook. For several years, we didn’t speak then I received a message from him on Facebook a year ago.
“Hey, can I have your number?” He asked
“Hey, long time,” I replied followed by my number.
However, he didn’t text me and my phone was stolen a month later during a night out. We didn’t speak again for another year when he sent me another message on Facebook still asking for my number.
“I hope you will get in touch with me because last time you didn’t,” I said.
“It’s not like that. I got busy then tried to call you and the number didn’t go through.”
“My phone got stolen and I decided to change my number.”
“I’ll call you tonight. Don’t worry.”
I forgave him for not calling me a year ago because it wasn’t every day that you get the chance to reconnect with a University friend. Besides, Mark and I had good chemistry and I was looking forward to meeting him.
He called me, just as he promised and we talked briefly.
“What are you up to tonight?”
“Nothing but I’m really tired. I went out last night for a friend’s birthday.”
“Oh, when can we meet?”
“What about next weekend?”
“That sounds good.”
“Okay, great. We’ll talk on Saturday.”
“Sure. Good night.”
The following day, I woke up to a good morning text from him wishing me a good day. It was a sweet gesture and I appreciated the thought. However, I was still cautious since I knew Mark. He was a sweet talker and had a reputation in the university as a playboy. He had tried to hit on me a couple of times but I was in a relationship throughout my university life. Nothing could or did happen between us but we remained good friends.
Throughout the week, I couldn’t stop thinking about Mark. I couldn’t wait to see how he looked. Though he was no longer a pro athlete, I knew that he was still very athletic and attractive. He had always been since our first year in university.
The week went by fast and on Saturday morning, he texted me once again.
“How was your week?” He asked.
“It was great. How was yours?”
“Pretty good. What are you up to today?”
“Are we not meeting?”
“Was that supposed to be today?”
“I thought so.”
“Okay. We can meet in the evening but I’ll be with my friends.” He said.
I thought of cancelling but I knew if I did, I would instantly block his number and probably never see him again. So, I decided to go with the flow.
“Sure. Just let me know when you’re around.” I said.
He alerted me around 8 pm but I wasn’t mad at him since it gave me a lot of time to rest and get ready. I had to look my best so he would see exactly what he missed out on in university.
I got to the mall and met him at the nearly empty food court. Somehow, he had become more attractive. He was taller than I remembered and much larger. When we hugged, I didn’t want to let go.
“Where do we go to eat?” I asked.
“Somewhere low key. I didn’t want a lot of attention.”
“Okay. There’s a restaurant still open in the mall. Let’s go there.”
We walked to the elevators where we met a group of friends also waiting for the elevator. When he saw them, Mark stopped and then turned around to face the opposite direction.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. At first, I thought that he had seen an ex or something.
“I don’t want people to ask me for pictures.”
I laughed thinking he was joking. No one had asked him anything so far. Sure, he drew attention because of his tall and athletic frame but no one thought he was a famous person. If they did, they didn’t care.
We got to the restaurant which was also about to close so we ran into a crowd of people who were leaving. Mark greeted them then we proceeded to our table.
“Do you know them?”
“No. They wanted to say hi to me.”
Despite the awkward moments, I was still enjoying my night. We ordered a quick meal and drinks. When my order came, I started taking pictures because Instagram eats first. All of a sudden, he stood up and then started looking at my phone. I thought he was upset because I was using my phone while we were on a date.
“Did you take a picture of me?” He asked
“No, I was taking pictures of my food.”
“Don’t take any pictures of me.”
Again, I laughed because it was becoming absurd. It finally hit me that Mark was acting strange because he thought that he was still a famous pro athlete. So, I decided to bring it up.
“Why did you stop running?” I asked.
“I got an injury.” He said. “It also wasn’t making as much money and I had bills to pay.”
“Oh, maybe you should go back to sports. You could be a trainer.”
“I want to but maybe in the future. I need to make money now.”
Though I had been looking forward to meeting with Mark, the date wasn’t exactly what I expected. I felt like he was dealing with something that I wasn’t able to handle. We still had fun and when we finished dinner, he drove me home. I promised to keep in touch but things got awkward after that and we grew apart once again.
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