Stars, And How They Make Me Fall For Men's BS And Like It

Logically, star gazing shouldn't be something I really enjoy. Not terribly climate controlled. It happens at weird hours. And because the first stars I saw were in D.C., 'normal' stars are 'painted or lit up on the wall.' (Planetariums? Awesome. Still the best date idea ever. Much more likely to get some, just because you had the good sense to choose the planetarium.) But there is something about being outside in nature, not quite warm enough, the quiet and solitude, the beautiful night sky seemingly engulfing you, that creates quite an ideal environment for keeping close to the person next to you.

Love it.

Love it even though (because?) it makes me fall unwittingly, unquestionably, for some of the more BS pickup moves. And like them. Just ask Jeff, whom I met in college summer school. (I was an over-achiever and wanted to graduate early.) We met in English and pretty soon were hanging out, going out dancing, but just as friends. Our finals in August coincided with The Perseids, the meteor shower that happens every summer. I mentioned it as a curiosity; he recommended we watch together to celebrate the end of finals. Sure. No biggie. Simple star gazing between friends is never a bad idea, eh? Plus, scientific and educational. Two of my five favorite things for a date to be. (Kidding? You decide.)

So some weird things happened:

1. We met at his place because he had a backyard. When I showed up at 2:00 AM or so, he answered the door in boxers. Ummm...he knew we'd be going outside, right? No biggie, I waited while he threw on some clothes.

2. He had a headache from so much computer-time, would I mind rubbing his head for a bit? Of course I wouldn't mind. No biggie, he put his head in my lap and I ran my fingers along his neck and ears, through his hair, my fingernails massaging his scalp. He liked this. (I'm good, y'all.)

3. His bed blanket couldn't get dirty, but my old throw blanket could, so "Can we just use yours?" My blanket wasn't really big enough for two. Because, duh, I thought he'd have his own, but whatever. No biggie, we crowded together in mine.

4. Even though we watched the meteor shower burritoed together cozily in the blanket (and I have to say, I still laugh that I fell for that), there was no smooching. Was he a bad closer? Or am I really just that distracted by stars? I'm still not sure.

So the BS moves I actually fell for kinda ended up being for naught (unless his goal was to have me write about them later, in which case, score), but that evening turned out to be very educational after all: the Perseids? Very cool. I highly recommend trying to catch them. BS moves? Totally believeable under the right circumstances. Star gazing? Right circumstances².

My advice to men: don't waste the stars. She'll probably fall for just about anything.