Reunioning

KP was the first guy I liked that liked me back. Or maybe it was the other way around. He liked me, and I kinda liked him back. When you're 14, there's a difference. I was a freshman in high school, and still dealing with the transition. All the people, moving classrooms with the bell, more than one clique...a lot to deal with all at once, but I was doing all right, and learning I was book smart.

I met KP in band. I think the first time we talked was when we were both in the group that took advantage of free tickets to a Hawkeye football game for marching in the all-conference band during the U of I Homecoming parade. After the game, the group stopped by a McDonald's to eat, and he made me a ring out of a straw. I kept that ring for a long time, I thought I still had it, but I can't find it anywhere. :( He was a junior and very sweet and cute.

I was not allowed to date until I was 16. That really put a kabosh on hanging out outside of school. And I panicked over the thought of what dating entailed and how to deal with the social implications. In retrospect, I don't think I was mature enough to handle dating, so as much as I was upset at the time, my parents were probably right in forbidding it. So we never so much as kissed, and the phone calls eventually trailed off, and nothing ever came of it.

So when he friended me on Facebook, it was kind of a chance to clear the air. We had drinks after work on Monday and got caught up on each other's lives. I've often wondered "what if" with him, and now I know as much as I enjoyed hanging out with him, I'm all right with it not having gone anywhere. So I'm cultivating a friendship, because I like him, but I don't think I still "like him" like him. ;)