An afternoon meeting...

At this point, he's probably flying over the Maritimes.

What a flash, how quickly time passed. A short hour and a half, and who knows when we'll see each other again. And all the questions that it raised after the fact, all the insecurities in myself overstimulated simultaneously.

Dave called me just before I was about to duck out of class. "I'm at the airport," he said, "so whenever you get here..."

I grabbed my bag, did another faux-cough for my prof and said I really needed to get to that doctor's appointment. A little while later, and I was rocketing towards the airport.

For some reason, I'd forgotten how long the terminal was. Eyes scanning the room, I was bombarded with faces I'd never seen before. Looking for a face I'd never really seen before. But there he was, pretty much exactly how his photos looked.

A handshake and a few pleasantries later, we were trying to find a place for coffee, and wound up grabbing a beer (a good choice I'd say!).

Conversation flowed. What can I say, it felt relaxed and comfortable yet so rushed. So much I wanted to say, to ask, but time prevented it. We chatted non-stop, about lots of things. Lots of 'business' talk about blogs. He's warm and funny, and I hoped I wasn't being introverted or distant.

I'll admit that I didn't worry while I was across the table from him. It felt natural, at least for me. Short of the ticking of the clock, there was little to distract from our conversation. It was peculiar, to know intimate details about someone you've never met; having the regular chit-chat after knowing so much about the other's personality and insides.

Our time grew to a close, after two quick beers, and we walked to the security checkpoint. He stretched out his hand, I grabbed it, and feebly said, "Hug." We pulled in for one, said goodbye, and he ducked behind the checkpoint.

Once I was on the bus back towards the city, I couldn't get our meeting off my mind. How special, to have been able to sit across from someone I may never have met. How strange, for the same reason. How natural, and fun it had been to share just a few minutes over a beer.

And of course, what did he think? He had already said I don't look like what he had envisioned ("I thought you were going to be a frat boy!" he said laughing, which I thoroughly enjoyed). Did I meet his expectations? Bore him to tears? Make him laugh, or cry from disinterest?

My insecurities plagued me for most of the ride home, wondering, going over our conversation. I hope he enjoyed himself, and that he wasn't disappointed with the 'real me', the offline version.

When I got home, I finally picked up my reading that I still hadn't done since almost a week ago. He'd written a post about kissing, and listed a few boys he'd encounter in the future who would possibly be open to the idea. While I agree it would have been putting the cart in front of the horse, from his point of view, it would have been wildly romantic to lock lips in front of the departures desk. Not that I'd have been so bold, if I'd have read his post before our meeting. But for a brief moment my imagination took hold and I was taken by the romance of the thought.

Appropriately, my iPod shuffled to a Stevie Nicks song, "Too Far From Texas". Totally out of context, but still funny coincidence nonetheless.



Hope you had a good time in Canada! Come back anytime.