Here’s Janet again with another installment of I’ve Been There (since I am apparently incapable of writing content for my own blog):

“Maybe he’s trying to let go.”

Ouch, but hey, you’re probably right, Heather. I’ve got enough examples of dating relationships that resulted in a tapering off by the other party to know that means only one thing: they’re just not so into the whole thing as they once were.

My latest male intrigue we’ll call Green Polo Guy, or GPG for short, to protect the identity of the hopelessly cute and attractive. I met GPG unexpectedly this summer between two of the busiest camp sessions. It was during a weekend off, just 10 days before my 21st birthday, and I had two weeks left of camp to work, one of which was down in Corpus Christi. This super cute Larry the Cable Guy-esque guy in jeans, boots and a forest green polo with an old Miller Lite cap made impressive eye contact with me and before I left the Dixie Chicken that night he made the move to introduce himself, taking off his cap before shaking my hand.

Smitten from the beginning, I ended up staying up all night outside the bars at Northgate dancing in the rain, laughing, talking and enjoying my time with GPG. That night will probably always make me smile when I think back on it. I loved his smile, the light in his eyes, and the slight northeast Texas twang in his voice and over the next few weeks I couldn’t get enough of his company. He showed major heart by hanging on during my two busiest weeks of the year, making an effort to see me whenever I had a spare moment between office runs and activities with the kids. Within a month, I was crazy about this guy. After I turned 21, we went out to bars and concerts. Everything was great until the summer ended and real life sunk in. Back to the grind of school I went, while he continued working at his job.

Over time his phone calls have become less frequent, our poke war on facebook is at a standstill, and I go for several days at a time when I don’t see him. I can’t help but want to be around him, though. Have you ever known someone with a truly magnetic personality? You know, one of those people that no matter how much they make you mad, ignore you or put you low on their list of priorities, you’ll drop everything and run to your cell when you hear their ring tone? Yeah, he’s one of those. But at the same time, he’s a mess. A 26-year-old kid, but maybe his carefree spirit is just part of his charm that I can’t resist.

I likely sound pathetic going on about this guy, and if that’s what you were sitting there thinking, I agree with you. He’s just a guy; a charming party animal with a truck, a dog and the ability to befriend anyone, anywhere. But he’s also the same guy who won’t talk to you for a few days, only breaking the silence to ask if you’re mad after a 4am text message you sent with a rightfully angry tone.

“You mad at me?” he asked today.
“No,” I lied.

I’m just mad at me for not being able to let you go yet.