Karen Foley
Lynn Raye Harris
Ellen Hartman
Diana Holquist
Samantha Hunter
Shirley Jump
Dee Tenorio
Jeannie Watt
Young Love, First Love...
He was 3' 8", maybe 4', tops. Buzz cut dark hair, deep brown eyes. Funny, smart, nice to talk to. Most of the girls in my third grade class were madly in love with Jay Jay Marquis, a dashing lad with wavy golden brown hair and a devil-may-care grin, but I had eyes for this other guy. No one else seemed to realize just what a catch he was—back then anyway.
After third grade I moved to a different area of town and changed schools. The next time I ran into my crush was when we started junior high. Things had changed. He was still smart and funny, but the buzz cut had morphed into dark, wavy hair, his cheekbones had appeared, he was taller—much taller. And at some time during our three years apart, people of the female persuasion had come to realize what I’d known back in the third grade. This guy was hot.
At this point in time I was naïve, awkward, a bit of a renegade and totally shy. And I did a lot of stupid things. I’m talking geeky, hard to recall without cheeks flaming with embarrassment stupid. Incidents that will feed future blog posts. Meanwhile, my guy actually had social skills. And a girlfriend. I have to admit that I felt rooked because, after all, I’d discovered him first. I should have some kind of claim, squatter’s rights, or something. But alas, no. Plus, I was too shy to talk to him.
By the time I reached high school, I’d gotten the hang of social skills—for the most part anyway. The other part I faked. I dated a few guys, had a few steady boyfriends, but I still thought about my third grade crush. So, during my sophomore year, I figured what the heck? No guts, no glory. Our equivalent of the Sadie Hawkins dance was fast approaching. It was a formal dance. I wanted to wear a formal and I wanted to go with this guy. So after a good two weeks of screwing up my nerve, I approached him and croaked out my request. Would he go to the dance with me?
That was when I discovered what everyone else in the universe knew—he not only had a girlfriend, but they’d been dating for quite a while. He was kind enough to explain this to me as I mentally beat my head on a locker while wondering just how on earth I had managed to be ignorant of this minor fact. But then—I’m not sure when or how because by this time I was paralyzed by embarrassment and distracted by the mental head beating—he told me he’d go with me anyway.
I wish I could say that our story had an ending like Sixteen Candles, but it didn’t. We went to the dance and I have a picture to prove it. We never went out again. He remained a hot guy and also a committed one—I think he dated the same girl all through his high school career. She wasn’t me.
Years pass. I eventually found my soul mate and we’re quite happy. Things are good. So the other day I Googled my old crush, assuming he’d be paunchy and bald and I’d feel quite superior over having dodged a bullet. No. He’s the vice president of a major corporation, the name of which you would instantly recognize, and he’s hot. Utterly hot. Hey—do I know how to pick ‘em in third grade or what?
So, have you ever had an unrequited love or burning crush in your life? Did it work out better than mine did?
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Young love, first
Young love, first love...great title for this post. I remember most of the lyrics from the song sung by Sonny James. I think we all have memories of unrequited love from way back when. Mine was this overly developed blond who lived across the street. One day, I wrote her an adolescent love letter and she promptly showed it to everyone in school. To this day, my friends still remember the letter and mention it if we happen to meet on special occasions. The girl who destroyed me? She was a looker and still is. At least I can argue that I had good taste. As for me, I found my soul mate, a petite girl with satiny black hair and a heart as caring as ever I would have imagined. Your post jogged my memory, and for that, thanks.
You're very welcome :)
You're very welcome :) Congratulations on finding your soul mate.
Go you.
I'm so impressed you asked him to the dance. I had loads of crushes, but I never spoke to a one. Especially in third grade! Can't even imagine the horror. My boy is in fourth grade now, and has suddenly started combing his hair. Needless to say, I'm horrified. He calls on his friends' cell phones to say he's staying after school to play soccer with his buds, but one day I just happened (ha!) to drive by, and saw the pack of girls swirling. Didn't ever see that soccer ball. Young love, indeed.
4th grade
Diana--My 4th grader had this announcement at dinner last night:
"I asked Matthew to tell Alicia that I liked her."
It's starting. Nooooooooo.
He has not gotten an answer back yet, but there was some fancy gel in the hair when he left the house this morning. Alicia better be worth it. :-)
Ellen
P.S. I just googled my grade school crush. (Tall, dark, misunderstood, and with a wicked jump shot...hmmm...that sounds exactly like the hero of my first book. Hee!) There is no online record that he lived up to my expectations. Perhaps, like the hero of my first book, he's doing all of his great deeds under and assumed name. :-)
Diana and Ellen--I feel your
Diana and Ellen--I feel your pain. Now I'm on the other side of the fence--I wish my son would date. He says he doesn't have time with college and a job, but actually I think his last GF, who turned out to be just a wee bit crazed, has made him gunshy.
Nothing that memorable...
Like Diana, I know I had youthful crushes, but I can't remember who they were... except for one, which is funny, because he was a complete nerd. I mean, buzz cut hair and horn-rimmed dark glasses, not athletic at all, and smart. I was smart, too, which landed me on the unpopular side (except when people wanted my help) so I guess I gravitated to him for that, I think. He even had a very nerdy name, which I won't share here, for his privacy and mine.
He was friendly, and we spoke over the years growing up through high school, and he got a girlfriend and I went out with other guys, but now and then I think of him because I saw him once and he grew up kinda hot (see what our mothers say is true, that the nerdy kids often grow up to be the most handsome), but he still had the glasses. Noah on Heroes reminds me of an older version of him, sort of. I imagine he did very well for himself, or at least I hope he did, but I am quite happy where I ended up as well. *G*
Sam
Geeks rule! Honestly, they
Geeks rule! Honestly, they do seem to turn into very desireable individuals.
I had..
an unrequited crush on an 'older' guy in high school. He was a football player and very yummy. And taken. Yeah - I did the same as you and asked him to the dance, but he said no - the girlfriend thing. This guy had a younger brother who was my age and just as yummy. Hmm...I wonder what they are doing now?
Your story made me smile - what a great way to start a Friday. It's sunny out and I'm stuck inside 'working'.
Way to go, Marcie! A high
Way to go, Marcie! A high five to a fellow dating kamikaze! I hope you had a great Friday.
LOL
Wow, Jeannie! You do know how to pick 'em! That's very impressive - glad it all worked out for you, and that you at least go to go to one dance with your crush!
As for me, no I can't pick them. The one boy everyone had a crush on in third grade was also a bad boy. (Literally, there were rumors he smoked.) Then my sophomore year, talking to one of the guys I wasn't really friends with anymore... he told me the 3rd grade crush of every little girl died from a drug overdose. (I'm still not sure how he knows, or if it's *really* true but... bad news.)
My other crush is now one of my closest friends. I was madly and [secretly] in love with him in high school. He actually asked me to prom, but there was a lot of drama that and he started dating another girl that night. (It's not QUITE as bad as it sounds...) Anyway, one of my other friends told me she was convinced we'd get married some day, this boy and I, but he recently told me he was moving in with his girlfriend. (I'm 100% over him, but when he told me that I flashed back to what my girlfriend told me in college. Haha, hopefully she doesn't make any more predictions about my love life - or lack thereof- otherwise I'm doomed!)
Great post, Aliquis! I am
Great post, Aliquis! I am interested to know how having your date start to date another girl on your prom night wasn't that bad, lol.
lol
ok, so it was bad. I was miserable for all of afterprom, and prom, really. :P
One of my [then] best friends was obsessed with the guy I went with. She'd show up at his house uninvited etc (when he had a girlfriend). He originally didn't want to go to prom, and I'd been talking to him about it because of/for my friend. Then he upped and asked me. :X Oops. (I'm not demonstrative etc so I didn't run around telling people I liked him.)
Then he made me go tux shopping with him, and that day, told me a girl he'd liked for a while but never did anything because they were both in relationships had asked him to prom. (People didn't really know I was going with him because my other girlfriend - I didn't want it spread around. Only, he was on prom court and was interviewed on the student news...)
Hah. So he told me that, and I told him to go with the girl he liked and I'd find someone else to go with (which honestly wasn't a problem at all).
...
But he refused. I then asked him to ask the crazy girl, but he also refused. Vehemently. Anyway, he started dating the girl he liked a prom night. (Since he refused to go with her, I asked him not to date anyone until after prom, because I didn't want to go to prom with anyone else's boyfriend.) My "friend" was no longer my friend, and that was my prom. Haha - that's so tragic, in high school terms.
That's a good story! I'm
That's a good story! I'm glad you filled in the details :)
My first love was a boy in
My first love was a boy in grammar school. He had a BMX bike and would do the coolest tricks on it!
I guess my fascination with two wheelers never ended since my BF is a Harley rider....
Tucco,
There is something about Harleys...;)
Hey all--I'm heading out of
Hey all--I'm heading out of town, but please feel free to leave you unrequited love stories. I'll comment when I get back.
Have a great weekend,
Jeannie
I loved him my entire teenage career
There was a guy...goodness I adored him. Of course, I didn't realize this until the day he left our school in the ninth grade. We'd been wonderfully adversarial to one another since junior high but before that in the fifth grade, we "went together" for a week. In that time, he colored a bright yellow picture with our names and there was talk of holding hands. I broke his heart and he never forgave me. Fast forward to 18 and I found him again. I was still crazy about him. We hung out as friends, rediscovering our friendship, and then he moved to Kaui and asked if I would go with him. I'd just met the man who would become my husband but it wasn't quite serious yet. I asked a mutual friend (a guy!) what he thought and he said I should give up on my crush because he didn't share the same feelings. I said goodbye to my crush and he left. Years later, I discovered that was a lie...that he had had feelings for me and was waiting for me to make the first move. ARRGGH! *sigh* The story goes on but it has a sad ending. Suffice to say, he will always own a small piece of my heart as the love that could've been.
Oh Kim--what a story. I'm
Oh Kim--what a story. I'm beginning to think it's good to have little pieces of our hearts with other people. It gives our lives another facet and we can wonder "what if" when real life gets wearisome. Thanks for posting.