21. She came over and sat next to me and we started talking
During my time in the Army I was stationed at Ft. Eustis, VA. On my way home (Denver, CO, at the time) for Christmas I saw her sitting across from and slightly behind me. Honestly, I didn’t pay much attention to her at first, but my buddy, seated next to her, did. After getting shot down repeatedly for a day and a half, he finally got off the bus. Shortly thereafter she came over and sat next to me and we started talking.
After that we got split up (put on different buses) and I kicked myself for not getting her number. Then, when the bus stopped in St. Louis, there she was standing right there in the entrance, almost like she was waiting for me. If my bus had arrived 15 minutes later I’d have never seen her again.
Then I found out the bus to Denver was delayed due to snow, and wasn’t going anywhere for at least two days. She hurried over to the ticket counter and had my ticket changed to Des Moines, IA (where she was going) so I wouldn’t be trapped in St. Louis for two days. We spent the next four days getting to know each other, then I continued home. We had a long-distance relationship for about six months until I came home permanently, by which time she had moved to Denver and rented an apartment.
22. I asked her if she wanted to catch up and play some music together.
“We’re both introverts, and as a result, it took a little while for us to actually become romantically involved-a little while being seven years.
She and I met when we were both eleven, when we were put together to compete in a music competition as a duet (we’re both cellists).
Neither of us ever told the other about our feelings for years, instead talking to our friends about it and then getting into other relationships and forgetting about each other for a while.
Eventually, after I broke up with my girlfriend of 3 years, I asked my now SO if she wanted to catch up and play some music together.
We saw each other for a few weeks in a row, and then, after seven years of on and off feelings for each other, we became a thing, and I am happier than I’ve ever been.”
23. My problem was always that I couldn’t tell if a girl was interested, and I could never tell when I was crossing the line from flirting to being creepy.
“I’m definitely a hardcore introvert, at least if you believe Myers-Briggs tests. But I’m not shy, don’t have anxiety or anything like that. Still, I always had confidence issues, and could never manage a cold open with a girl. Even with friends of friends that I liked, I found creative ways to fuck things up and make them horrifically awkward.
Met my wife on E-Harmony. Dated for 4 years, married for almost 5 now, just had our first kid. After talking online, we met at a bar, and just hit it off. Funny thing is, she’s WAY different than me. Much more extroverted. I’ve rubbed off on her a little, and she’s rubbed off on me a little.
For me, my problem was always that I couldn’t tell if a girl was interested, and I could never tell when I was crossing the line from flirting to being creepy. And I was never looking for anything casual. I wanted a relationship. By meeting a girl online, I knew she was interested, and looking for the same thing as me. So I didn’t get all in my own head about it, and I was free to just be myself. Did fine after that.”