On October 5, 2006 I was flying to Toronto to visit an ex-boyfriend. My 1.5 hour layover was in Atlanta and when I stepped off my first flight I ran to the smoking lounge in Concourse E to have a desperately needed cigarette. Luckily, I had brought a pack of matches that I had taken from work a few days beforehand so I didn't have to worry about asking a stranger for a light. A few glorious puffs into my cigarette I see two men walk into the lounge, both without a light. One was a balding, pudgy Brit and the other was wearing the most hideous red corduroy shirt I had ever seen (while this may not be the exact same shirt, you get the idea). When they were trying to find a light, ugly shirt guy caught my eye and going against my plan of not socializing with any strange men... I offered him my matches. He lit his cigarette and shared my matches with the yucky Brit and politely said thank you with a smile and gave them back to me. I never should have seen that red corduroy shirt again.After my cigarette, I decided to continue on my drinking binge. I had started at my first airport with 4 double rum and cokes, and I didn't want to give up on all of that hard work. (For the record, I am not an alcoholic - I HATE flying, and I wasn't thrilled with the idea of my destination.) I ended up walking into a place called PassPort Lounge. The bar was full so I walked over to the far side of the place to wait for a seat to open up. Finally two seats at the end of the bar opened, and I ran to grab myself a seat, I was craving that drink. It was impossible to get the attention of the busy bartender and while I was trying to get a drink a man asked me if the seat next to me was taken, without paying much attention to him I said no and continued the impossible task of trying to order a drink. When the bartender finally came my way, he skipped right over me and asked the man that had sat down next to me what he wanted. Instead of being a jerk and ordering his drink and ignoring my plight, the man said, "I believe she was here first, could you get her a drink?" Finally!!! I ordered my drink and started to chat with the man sitting next to me, turns out he's an Officer in the Navy, he's funny, he's cute, and oh my gosh- it's the same ugly shirt from the smoking lounge. After our drink, he kindly offered to pay for mine and I suggested having another cigarette.
We enjoyed the smoking lounge once more in Concourse E, admiring the children's artwork on the way there and the strange artwork inside. We talked about youtube videos, I brought up Where Da Gold At and he brought up White and Nerdy- we watched them both on his phone and had a good laugh. While we were in the smoking lounge we exchanged emails. At first, I wasn't quite sure about him so I gave him a work email address that didn't come to my blackberry, but when he noticed what I had done he asked why it wasn't showing up on my phone, making me feel guilty... so I gave him a working address and soon enough we were sending emails back and forth. We parted ways soon after... something made me turn around one last time as I walked away and when I did he was looking at me still and I said "It was really great to meet you." When I got to my gate I was 2nd to last in line, but honestly I wouldn't have cared if the plane had already left without me.
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Apparently, we have some discrepancies between what She says happened and what actually happened. I will comment on the things that She has grossly distorted or just plain made up and the things I do not comment on will be assumed to be generally undisputed until further notice.When I walked into the smoking lounge in Concourse E it was obvious that all eyes were fixated on me, no doubt my striking appearance was enhanced by the handsome red corduroy shirt I was wearing (while this may not be the exact same shirt, it is close enough; you would have to see it on my strapping frame to get the full effect). Needing a light for my cigarette, I asked the pudgy, bald british guy to my left if he had a light. He indicated he did not. Not in the least bit shy, I asked in a deep voice "Does anyone have a light?". Immediately several young women stopped what they were doing and stared at me, mouths open as if they wanted to say something but were too stricken to utter a sound. I then heard a voice say "I have matches". It had come from a young lady with the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen.
Our gazes locked for a moment which was probably imperceptible to any onlookers, but definitely noticeable to me. I remember a sense of time standing still and instinctively knew that this young woman was something special. She seemed to recognize that the man she had offered her matches to was very different from the current crop of "metrosexual" twinkletoes and pale, pasty, spaghetti armed, black t-shirted, chain walleted weaklings that are so prolific in our society.
Without being boastful, her feminine instinct that I was the Alpha was correct. Due to my unique background, superior intellect and not to mention overall physical attractiveness, I do stand out in the crowd and generally have more than my share of female admirers. I typically use a combination of self confident charisma and classic gentlemanlike mannerisms to scare off the shallow materialists.
After my cigarette, I decided it was time to get something to drink. I walked towards the bars and restaurants and everything was packed. I noticed there was an empty seat in PassPort Lounge so I went up to the bar but was told by another patron that the seat was being held. It turned out that the seat belonged to the pudgy, bald british guy from the smoking lounge. I was determined to get a drink so I asked the hostess if I could order drinks at one of the empty tables. The waitress informed me that I would have to order food if she served me at a table so I asked her if I could just sit there to wait for a seat to open at the bar.
About 5 minutes later a pair of seats opened up at the bar. As I walked over to claim my stake, some woman jumped into one of the chairs. I was determined to get my drink but assumed that this person was not alone. I held back a for a bit until I realized she was indeed unaccompanied. I approached the bar and asked if the seat next to her was available. She looked at me and indicated that she was okay with me sitting next to her. There was some college football game on the TV and we started to talk about football and other small talk.
BTW Who knew Cupid was a pudgy bald British guy in a light blue sweater?
I soon learned that she was a student at Florida state and planning on attending law school after her pending graduation. She also told me a a few tall tales regarding her trip to Toronto. We finished our drinks and I offered to pay for hers which was readily agreed to. Then we walked back to the smoking area while casually chatting and pointing out quirky airport decor.
There can be no denying the instantaneous compatibility. We made each other laugh and smile. We were comfortable walking together and sitting next to each other. Towards the end of our encounter, she made a comment regarding a friend who did not want her to get on the plane. At that moment our gazes locked and I said rather confidently that it was because your friend knew you would run into me.
