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Uh…YEAH You Are

August 14, 2008 /

trying to draw a cute boy

This post is from Abbey from indulge*laugh*create. Thank you, Abbey!

I like to think that I have a great memory. Yeah, I may still count on my fingers or not know the difference between a stalactite and a stalagmite or never remember how to spell simple words like definitely (had to spell check that) …but, darn it, I can remember stuff that happened years and years and years ago! It’s my one true talent.

One of my very favorite memories comes from high school. And while fifteen and may have been many moons ago, this moment is still very, very, embarrassingly clear in my mind…

It was the final period of the day, and I sat in psychology class just counting the minutes until play rehearsal at 3:30pm. To kill time before our movie, The Breakfast Club, I decided to indulge in my favorite pastime…staring at Hardin Field.

Hardin Field was a well known person in Woodford County. His family had owned the farm across from the Kmart for generations. In fact, Hardin wasn’t just Hardin…he was Hardin Field the V or IV or XXIX…whatever…they’d been around for awhile. And while Hardin was one of those “popular kids” that played for the varsity baseball team (where I was a Stats Girl), he was actually nice to the rest of us…the ones not cool enough for cotillion, the ones who never got invites to private parties on Friday night.

I was one of those people…and I was completely and utterly smitten with him.
Hardin was sitting across the room from me, his head down, shoulders slumped. He must have felt me looking at him because he sat up suddenly and look right into my eyes. I thought I was going to melt into the floor.

He crooked his finger at me and said, “C’mere.”

I pulled a Molly Ringwald, a la Sixteen Candles, and looked to the left and then to the right. I pointed to myself and incredulously asked, “ME??”

“Yeah you…c’mere.”

I didn’t think my pubescent legs were gonna hold me as I made the long trek from my desk to this magical space before me. I sat down next to him just wondering why oh why he wanted little ole me to sit with him.

Just then, his head rose once again…eyes penetrating mine for what seemed like an eternity. Finally he spoke:

“Um…could you tell me if I’m hot?”

I sat stunned. Maybe this means he likes me…maybe he wants to date me…maybe he has always secretly been in love with me, too!! Are you hot?? Of Course You’re Hot!! You’re gorgeous!

“Uh…YEAH you are.”

There was a moment of intense silence. He was looking at me strangely. Why was he looking at me strangely?

It was right then that I realized…he wanted me to feel his forehead to see if he had a fever.

If you would like to guest post on this website, please email me (SAJ). I will be posting guest posts from now until September 15th

19 Comments

  • Jerri Ann

    August 14, 2008 at 4:10 pm

    Do we all have one of those guys from high school? My guy and I ended up best friends. But, only near the end of our sophomore year when…………….

    when we filled out one of those goofy profile things that they put in the computer and see who you are most compatible with and you go pay a dollar to see who the people of the opposite sex are on your list.

    We were number one on each others list. He came bumbling into our Geometry class which had a bolstering 6 students and slammed his paper down on his desk, looked at me and said, “Don’t say a word, not one word, I do not want to hear it. Yes, you were first on my life and I better not have been first on yours. I just do not want to hear about it.”

    To which I replied, “look bastard, I’m not any happier about than you are.”

    He ended up being my Man of Honor in my wedding 5 or 6 years later. We were roommates in college and folks though our parents were nutso. No one realized that by allowing us to be roommates, he was always subjected to my opinion of his dates and I his and it was usually from a really honest point of few, something you can’t always count on from people of the same sex.

  • Abbey

    August 14, 2008 at 7:01 pm

    Well, Bethany Actually…it’s a funny and strange story!

    Hardin and I actually became really good friends after that and throughout high school. He and I hung out in college and I became close friends with his girlfriend … who later became his wife. I even did a reading at their wedding!

    And…most importantly…they introduced me to Andrew – my college boyfriend who is now my husband!

    We’ve all (sadly) lost touch and he and his wife are now divorced. But even though that was such a horribly embarrassing thing to happen – he became a pretty important part of my life!

    Random Note: To show what a good guy he was, though, he never, ever told anyone about that happening. Most guys would have been laughing about it with all of his friends after that. But one night while we all sat around in college I brought the story up (because, let’s face it, it’s so entertaining) and his best friend through elementary, middle, high school and college had never heard it. Now that’s classy! :)

    And PS Jerri Ann – Guy friends are THE BEST…esp at that time in our lives when most girls are mean and selfish…guys are always there no matter what – with no BS. Can’t help but like that!! :)

  • Catherine

    August 14, 2008 at 8:05 pm

    lady you are getting to be all over the Internet … I hope this isn’t comparable to having your name and number on the bathroom wall

    I can’t believe you were able to compose yourself to tell him he was hot. I would have been, uh uh uh hah haaah hawt and then fell over dead.

    Did you see YOUR MOM left me a comment? How awesome is that?

    Congrats on guest posting at your super hero’s place!

  • lynne

    August 15, 2008 at 2:38 am

    Wow cool story, it brought to mind the fun guys I used to hang out with in form room. As a member of the opposite sex they used to ask my opinion on stuff, I remember the immortal words “lynne, if you were a girl what would you think …” . Cheers. What am I chopped liver?

  • Jerri Ann

    August 15, 2008 at 5:49 am

    Lynne, that is exactly what this guy would say. He refused to admit that I was a girl. I was an athlete and generally bummed around in boy clothes for the most part. I would be the only girl begging to get in on the next pick-up game in the gym or at the park. This guy would never ever agree to put me on his team or even let me play until after that day. He almost flipped when he realized (in college) that I owned clothing that was girl’ish. I was in college to play ball so I tended to still bum around in horrible stuff, but when he saw that pair of Nike’s with a pink stripe, he almost lost it. After that, he would always encourage me to come play basketball with him.

    Abbey, this guy was so totally not like me. For one thing, he came from the other side of the tracks from me…or I came from the “other” side if you want. He dated a friend of mine and several times I would run into him on his way to her house to pick her up and I would jump in the car and go too. He and I would knock on her door just like it was as natural of a thing for a parent to open their door and see a male and a female there to take their daughter out…when they weren’t expecting the female anyway.

    He later married a girl that I tried to stray him away from, I wanted him with my friend. She wanted her previous boyfriend and he wanted this other girl. They’ve been married for over 20 years now so I guess he knew what he waned. He is a Commander in the US Coast Guard and I found in late last year through email. He is one awesome guy and we just keep in touch in email. He recently sent me an email telling me that he was going through a mid-life crisis and had bought a motorcycle. I couldn’t believe it…..that is so not him!

  • shauna

    August 15, 2008 at 2:53 pm

    great story abbey!

    i think we all have a similar story.

    once, when i was 15 (in 1985) i was talking on the phone to this guy i liked. we were talking about music when he said, “i like U2.”

    i giggled and blushed and said, “i kind of like you too.”

    he started laughing (obviously AT me) and said, “uh, i was talking about the band. U2?”

    i STILL get embarrassed when i think about that. feel free to use this story in your YA book. you’re welcome.

    xo

  • Bonnie

    August 15, 2008 at 4:26 pm

    Abbey, oh Abbey… that is hilarious. I love that story. That reminds me of one Friday night during a football game. I think it was senior year. I had a crush on someone on the football team, even though Kenneth and I were going out (you may remember who). Right before every game started, he would come over and I would put eye drops in his eyes, so his contacts wouldn’t get dry. This meant him getting down on his knees in front of me (so I could get the drops in), and me kind of holding on to his head. Apparently this night, I held his head a little too long and did not realize it. After a few moments he said, “Umm… Bonnie? Am I done? ‘Cause you put the drops in a while ago and you haven’t let go yet.” Holy crap! I was just standing there staring at him. I felt a warmth spread from my neck up to my hairline, and just knew I was as red as a fire engine. I think I said something like, “oh yeah, sorry. I just kinda zoned out.” How original!

  • Hannah

    August 17, 2008 at 11:35 am

    Wow… that’s more about Hardin Field than I ever knew. Funny ’bout people’s impressions. I always thought of you as popular, but Hardin not so much. All in they eyes of the beholder.