My buddy and I headed into the city an hour or so early before the playoff hockey game started. It was a Thursday night and we went to Howl at the Moon since it was the place to be. It was the bar all of our friends, who go to school Boston, go to on Thursday’s nights. We used going out to watch the game as an excuse to get in the bar early and so we could get in before there’s a cover charge and a line that wraps around the block.

I knew in the back of my mind there was going to be at least twenty five to fifty girls coming tonight at the bar. A buddy of ours was a frat guy and he always would exaggerated how many people would be going to Howl Thursday’s. The last thing I wanted to do was get hung up on one girl before the party even gets started. I was there early, solely to gain some liquid courage while watching the Bruins, so I could maybe work up the balls to talk to a girl. I was nowhere near ready to talk to a girl.

But then these two girls sat across from my buddy and I at the bar and I couldn’t stop staring at them, well the one on the left. She looked a little shorter then the other in her chair, but she had longer, dark hair that was curled to perfection. and her sharp brown eyes to match tend to be my kryptonite. Both her and her friend seemed a little reserved initially when they sat down, but once she settled in and she finally let out her beautiful smile, it lit up the whole bar. And here I am wanting to spend the entire night talking to this girl.

I have no idea how to approach girl. I had no idea how to even start talking to her let alone all night. Hence why I was relying on sucking down some liquid courage to help me while the game was on. My buddy thought we should buy them a drink, but I sworn to myself to never doing that again. The only move I knew was to stare at her long enough and hope she smiles back at me. Either that or I’m going to creep her out, which would be evident quickly. There’s really no difference in-between, either you’ll get a welcoming smile, or a glaring fuck off.

When she looked up and saw me glancing at her, she smiled at me and I couldn’t refrain myself from smiling right back at her. My face got read so I quickly put my head down and like a kid in middle school I was excited to tell my friend that she smiled at me. As the game went on I started to spend more timer looking at her than the game on the tv we came to see.

It was enough for her to eventually prove she had bigger balls than me and waved us over to sit with them. For the next four hours we spent the night pounding shots and vodka Redbulls at the bar. My buddy and I had work in the morning, early at like six am, we didn’t anticipate going this crazy on a Thursday, we got work in the morning. But these girls, they were traveling nurses, so this was their weekend and we were caught in their wave.

We almost made it to last call until they decided they were ready to leave. My buddy and I looked at each other like it was about time, we would have left hours ago but they were both being so flirtatious and nice laughing at our jokes and she kept touching my arm, I couldn’t get away from her smile. Even when we were sitting next to each other we would still be finding ourselves staring at one another. She had me under her spell and I didn’t want to leave her side and she didn’t seem to be in any rush to get away either, keeping her arm wrapped around mine.

They said they were staying at a hotel a few blocks from the bar. Our buddy and I decided to walk them home since it was so late, and mostly because I needed some fresh air before I could get into the back of a car. The dark hair girl I spent the night with quickly grabbed my arm and cuddled up against me walking in stride with me as soon as we got outside. I had to steal a kiss, get her number, at least a maybe I’ll see you again. Her smile, her story, and those brown eyes I have been admiring them all night. I needed more. There was no telling if I’d see her again or if she’ll ever want to but I had to at least kiss her. I’ve been dying to kiss that smile.

I went for it the first chance I had. My buddy and the other girl were ahead of us, they had already made it across the street. It was just her and I standing on the edge of Faneuil Hall and I turned to her and looked into her eyes admiring her beauty before I closed my eyes and leaned in for a kiss. Just as my eyes shut and I went to lean in she pulled away, pushed me off of her, and completely shut me down, “What are you doing?”

Immediately I apologized to her, I thought she wanted to kiss me too. I guess I misread the entire night. I honestly thought she had been flirting with me all night, ever since she waved us over to sit with them. I mean that was some of the most arm grabbing any girl has ever done with me, it was like I was her boyfriend. I couldn’t have been so wrong. We crossed the street in silence until we met up with her friend. It was maybe four steps later, while they were ahead of my buddy and I, they decided they were going to walk the rest of their way on their own.

My buddy could sense the tension and as soon as they left he asked me what happened. “I don’t know, I just tried to kiss her. I thought she wouldn’t mind.” That’s at least how I saw it.

“That was it. I thought she was gonna ask you to spend the night with her at the hotel the way things were going. She got upset over that?” My buddy made me feel a little less crazy. I felt horrible, I wouldn’t have kissed her if she didn’t want to. I want to kiss somebody that wants to kiss me, as much as I want to kiss them. I just thought we had a connection. Maybe she didn’t like the way I walked when we got outside and that complete turned her off. I was left dumfounded and crushed. I spent the entire night with one girl and I don’t have anything to show for it. No kiss, no number, not even a hug goodbye or a I hope to see you again… nothing. At least I got some fresh air, I was ready to call a ride.