Hi All, Kate here (obviously). One of the things I wanted to do when I started this blog was feature ridiculous dating stories from my friends, because let’s be honest, we all have those stories. This is the first go from my best friend, S. She was kind enough to write up the whole thing, so you’ll just see my snarky remarks in a few spots. Enjoy!

–  K

Red Hair and Freckles

My first elementary school crush was on a boy with red hair and freckles. He was a grade older and we had the same homeroom. I started and ended every school day with firey red hair in my sight. It wasn’t until my late twenties, however, that I would land a date with a Red Hair and Freckles, not my junior high crush, but another. (Kate here- love you BFF, but really with the gingers? You can’t take them to the beach you know…)

While I can’t remember how the first date happened…was it Match? MySpace? (sketch….) Facebook? I was psyched for this date with Red Hair and Freckles. Now that it’s been many years since this date happened, there are very few things about it that I can recall.

• Our first date was at the Downtown Lounge
• We wore a plaid flannel shirt (it was summer but this is Maine)
• He walked me to my car (Awww!!  That’s right, the bar is that low, gentleman)
• He initiated plans for future dates immediately

At this point in my life, I had not gone on a date in years. I had sworn off dating after a long-term relationship all throughout college. I was excited to be in the game and was totally crushing on Red Hair and Freckles. The dates were fun, he liked to go out and explore Portland and we usually had plenty to talk about.  A few weeks in, Red Hair and Freckles told me he was going to California to visit his sister and we should get together when he returned.

That’s cool, but two weeks after his return date and no word, I decided to move on from Red Hair and Freckles and meet some new male suitors.

Middle of week three: Red Hair and Freckles calls with a list of excuses for not having contacted me sooner. By then, I was over it and rather enjoying my Match.com subscription with plenty of dates.  I told him that I’d give him another chance but that I was going to continue to go on dates with other guys. His response to this became legendary amongst my group of friends.

It was the longest text message response that I have ever received, even to this day. I should note- this was around 2008.  iPhones and Androids were not the norm and to text the letter “c”, one had to hit the number “1” three times. (I remember the struggle!) This meant there was serious effort put in this text. While I wish I had kept it share with you now, I will say, the text was three paragraphs long and included the terms; platonic, mutually beneficial and reciprocal . . . if you catch the meaning of what he was hinting at. (If you don’t catch it, bless your adorable innocence. Oh, and bold move, sir.)

I decided to NOT go on another date with Red Hair and Freckles. I never went on another date with a ginger. If I want a red head in my life, I will find the perfect shade in a box and take care of that myself.  (And my husband is loves having the occasionally red head around the house!)