Mark & Me

Our First Time Chillin'

After I got his number, I only texted him two times. The first time was to let him know that it was me and that I was giving his number to Alisa. The second time was when I texted him: Enjoy your spring break. I needed to hang out with him before the party. I needed to get to know him better before I decided if I really liked him. I asked my friend, Amanda, what I should do. She suggested that I should ask him to study with me. Our exam for our class was coming up anyways! This would be the perfect excuse to ask him to hang out. I had a strategy in mind. First, I would text him if he had Cicero's Five Canons of Rhetoric in his notes. I had them already, I just needed an excuse to text him first. Then, I would ask him if he understood any of the terms that are on the test. Finally, I would ask him if he wanted to study together.

The Monday following spring break, I put my plan into action. I did the first two steps successfully. But I didn't get to the third step. Want to know why?! Here's how the conversation went down:

Do you understand any of the terms on the exam? I'm having trouble with some of them.

Yeah but tbh, I haven't really looked at them yet. We should study together.

Holy shit! My brain exploded! He asked me?! That has never happened before! We then agreed that we'd study after class the following day.

The day arrived! Thank God I got some shopping done while I was home for spring break. I had my outfit planned out. I wore a mustard fitted top that tied at the bottom with a grey cami under it and light washed ripped jeans and my black low top converses. I also got my hair done while I was home. The original style didn't last long so I put my hair in a half up half down, Ariana Grande style. I also wore makeup. Not much. Just some concealer, pressed powder, and mascara. I was really feelin' myself. So much so that I took some selfies that morning. I was so excited and nervous for our study session.

We walked out of class together. He started the conversation.
"I don't really know too much about you. What's your major?", he said. What a typical college ice breaker!
"My major is entrepreneurship. What's yours?", I replied.
"Information systems." Wow! From that alone, I could tell that he was smart. He then went on to tell me that he transferred here from another college that specializes in technology. He went there for engineering. Oh! I got me a smart one! We talked about school for a bit. I don't want to bore you with the details. It's really nothing too interesting. The juicy stuff comes later! Trust me, hunty!

We then entered the student center. I decided to get food this time because it would be the only time I had to eat something before my shift at 8pm. It was about 6pm and I planned on studying with Mark until 7:45pm. I had no idea where we were going to study so leaving 15 minutes early was best because I didn't want to be late for my shift. He was getting sushi while I went and got something else that looked somewhat appetizing. After I got my food, I stood next to him, waiting for his sushi with him.
"Do you like sushi?", he asked.
"I'm not that big of a sushi person. The only sushi I eat is a Baltimore roll. It has crab meat, avocado, some other stuff, and old bay", I replied. I'm from Baltimore so I love me some crab meat and old bay!
"Oh! Funny story about me and old bay. I got some in my eye once!"
"What the fuck?! How?!"
"Well, back at my other school I was chilling on the couch that was under the lofted bed. My roommate, whose from Maryland, was on top eating some food. He sprinkled some old bay and it landed in my eye." His sushi was done and we were about to leave the Student Center.
"OMG! You've been through a lot! You have no sense of smell and you got old bay in your eye?! You poor child!" I actually felt bad fo him. But none of these events seemed to phase him. He found the events funny. As we were exiting the student center he asked me where we should study. He eventually suggested that we study in his building. That was super convenient for me since I had to work there anyways. That means I could stay longer! We went in, I signed in under his name, and we went to the top floor lounge.

We ate before studying. As we were eating, we got to know each other better. He talked about his hometown. I forgot what the town was. All I remember is that it's in Jersey. I knew he was from Jersey because I googled the area code in his phone number because I'm low-key stalkerish. Once we finished eating, we started studying.

I don't remember the full details, nor do I want to bore you. But I'll tell you this, we laughed a lot. He mostly made me laugh. We even poked fun at each other. I knew he was funny but I had no idea that he was that funny. It wasn't even one of those fake flirty laughs. I was genuinely laughing so hard that my stomach was hurting. No guy has ever made me laugh that hard. I could feel myself slowly falling for him. Aw, shit!

We finished studying at around 7:15pm. Since I still had time to kill, we hung out in his room for a bit. While we were on the elevator, my mind was racing. I hoped that we would make some romantic progress. Basically, I hoped that we'd kiss, even though it wasn't a date.

We entered his room. I haven't been in many straight guys' dorms so I wasn't too sure what to expect. It wasn't super tidy like my friend, Ryan's room. But it wasn't like a tornado blew through there either. He offered me a seat in his and his roommate's chair. It was one of those chairs made of that bungee cord shit. Super cool! We talked some more. I don't really know how or why he told me what he did.

"When my mom and I returned home from New Zealand, we found this 20 year old woman in our house. My mom divorced my dad right way. So now, I have a 20 year old stepmom."

Who would tell someone something like this so early in a relationship?! He's an open book. Me likey! I didn't really know how to react. I was in shock mostly. I mean, wouldn't you be too?!
"Wow! So, you have no sense of smell, you got old bay in your eye, and you have a stepmom your age?! Your life is so interesting!"
We talked a bit more but it was 7:55pm and I had to leave so I wouldn't be late for my shift.
"I have to go now, my shift starts in 5 minutes", I said.
"Oh, okay!"
"I had a fun time studying!"
"Yeah, we should hang out again sometime, and we don't have to study."
"Sounds good! Oh, by the way, are still coming to the party?"
"Yes, I am! Isn't it on the-"
"Shh! Don't tell me! I want at least one thing to be a surprise!"
"Okay, okay! I won't tell you!"
"Okay. See ya!"
"See ya!" And that was that. I headed to the booth to work my shift. I felt so happy after that. Even my friend, Rashad, noticed that I was happy. I usually look depressed whenever I'm at work, so it's rare to see my smile when I'm there. I was on such a high after spending time with him. After that day, I knew I liked him for sure. But did he like me?!

I tried so hard to figure out if he liked me or not. After evaluating each encounter we've had, I came to three conclusions:
1. He likes me but hasn't made a move yet.
2. He's still trying to figure out if he likes me or not.
3. He only likes me as a friend.
Overall, I knew he liked me to some extent. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked to study with me, right?! It's just common sense! I had no idea that our "relationship" would progress so soon.