I'd go to the other end of the city.

Over the summer, I worked with this kid named Scott. I remember when he walked in with who I assumed was his boyfriend and picked up, filled out, and turned in an application. I wanted to work with him so that I could be exposed to gay life. Until he came along, the only other guy that I knew lived up in Lansing.

I didn’t find Scott attractive. That’s not to say that he’s ugly or anything, it’s just that he didn’t do anything for me. However, I thought that his boyfriend was pretty hunky. Ashley, who worked with us over the summer came in a couple months ago and said that Scott and Craig had broken up. One of the first thoughts that I had was, “Great. Someone’s available!” As crass as that sounds, I was also sorry to hear about it. I genuinely wished Scott to have a happy relationship. Plus, I wasn’t ready to start dating.

With my renewed interest in MySpace, I used the browse feature to see gay guys within a twenty mile radius of Niles. The group listing that was generated wasn’t that interesting. However, there was one photo that caught my eye and I clicked on it. Lo and behold, it was Craig. Fate? Probably not but it made me wish that it was.

Yesterday, I went to the Old Navy store in south South Bend for some pants. The store on Grape Road didn’t have the size I needed. Since I was there, I decided to eat lunch at this eatery. I remembered that Craig worked there as the store manager. And whadda ya know? He was there.

Craig actually took my order. I tried to remain calm and normal. At the same time, I was trying to establish as much eye contact as I could with the hopes he might realize that I was attracted to him. What? I heard that’s what humans do. Anyways, I didn’t really get anything from him. Instead, I imagined that his occasional glances my way meant more than just the casual surveillance of the crowd.

When I went into work that night, I told Danielle all about it. She asked me if the guy’s name was Nate? No. But there’s a gay guy there named Nate? Is that good or bad? Apparently she knows this Nate guy. So she’s my “in.” I think she’s teasing me when she suggests that she’s going to make some inquiries for me. Presumably through Nate. I tell her not to but secretly, I want her to do it.