“We’d been friends for three years. We’d mostly see each other...

“We’d been friends for three years.  We’d mostly see each other at the Catholic Center on campus: picnics, group outings, stuff like that.  But then we started hanging out alone.  And one day during finals week we spent an entire day together.  We talked for six hours straight, and that night we ended up eating burgers at Five Guys.  Remember it was finals week, so I was stressed out and sleep deprived and not thinking clearly.  I started telling him that he’s so great, and that I’ve never felt so comfortable with someone, and suddenly I realize that I’m practically telling him that I like him.  And he’s got this blank expression on his face.  Total poker face.  So I panicked, and said something silly.”    
“She told me, word-for-word: ‘But don’t worry.  I could never date you.’  My heart sank.  I’d been planning on asking her out after finals.  I had a whole plan.  Suddenly it felt like I’d misread the last three years, and especially the last few months.  I tried to keep a straight face.  No crying.  And after we paid for the check, I dropped her off at the dorm and walked the entire two miles home.  I kept telling myself: ‘You can recover.  She’s still a dear friend.  Life has its ups and downs.’  Two weeks later I helped her move into a new apartment.  And we kept hanging out as friends for the next few months.  But then on Valentine’s Day, she sent me a neuroscience card.  It’s a bit of a tradition because we’re both neuroscience majors.  The card said: ‘Are you a neuron? Because you have action potential.’  Then she followed up with a text that said: ‘If a man really wants to impress me, he’d bring me pancakes and yellow roses.’  Suddenly things were looking up again.”