Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world...

You would think on an island of 8 million people, you could go a lifetime without seeing the same person twice. I have the notorious reputation with my friends that when you walk with me it is inevitable that your most recent heartbreak, asshole, or one night stand will reappear.

Fate's Practical Jokes
It was 9:00am on a crisp Sunday morning and I was doing what all New Yorkers dread, searching for a new apartment. The Soho streets were eerily quiet as I strutted down Prince Street without a soul in sight. A lone figure suddenly appeared in the distance. I was hidden under layers of cashmere and leather with my typical oversized blackout shades. I was in the zone with my moody indie iPod playlist wondering if the open house would be worth waking up so early on a Sunday. I came out of the mental fog just as the runner was in my reach. From 6 feet away: I realized he was actually tall! At 5 feet: I realized he was really cute, 3 feet: I thought he looked familiar and at 2 feet past me: I realized it was Jason! Jason was a friend of a friend, whom I met a couple of times, went out with a couple of times, slept with a couple of times and then ruined because I have a commitment problem & always want the BBD (Bigger, Better Deal). It ended awkwardly yet amicably over text and had been a year since we crossed paths. He was that guy that you always think…”what if” ...like The One Who Got Away- because you decided to be an idiot. As the shock wore off, I fumbled through my phone contacts to see if I still had his number. I sent him a text- like a paper airplane into the sky- having no idea if it would reach him or if he would respond. Seconds later, I received a really sweet text from him saying he realized it was me about 5 paces after he ran by. He ended the text with “You looked great, BTW”. Suddenly my early rising on that morning was all worth it. I sent back another friendly and mildly flirtatious text that he looked great too. We continued flirting for 3 more texts before he stopped responding. I decided to continue to test the waters and friend him on Facebook.

A month passed. I was now in a fantastic new apartment right by the Westside Highway. One afternoon I decided to go for a long run and enjoy the new hood. On my way back, about 2.5 miles in, as the sweat became a steady flow out of every pore, I see Jason, running…again! This time we literally ran straight towards each other. I flagged him down and we exchanged an awkward half-tap, half-sweaty hug. I was still trying to catch my breathe and almost tripped as my legs started to feel like noodles. So there I was, wobbling, sweating, and breathing like I was in labor, trying to look attractive, yet failing miserably. This actual face-to-face exchange had more tension than necessary or maybe we were both feeling really self-conscious. He ended the conversation with “I will keep an eye out for you running” as he actually mimed running with his arms! Not the reaction I hoped for.

Two days later, I agreed to go to watch a basketball game with a group of people that I rarely ever see, at a bar that I had never been to, in a part of town that I never enter: Murray Hill. It was packed wall-to-wall with frat guys and stocky Southern girls. I was just approaching the table when I saw Jason! He looked to be saying goodbye to a group and walked down the sidewalk. I stared through the window as he walked past me, but could not move to get outside to stop him, so I sent him a text. He was just as shocked because he said that he had never been to the bar or that part of town either. He then joked that I must be stalking him and that it would “awesome” if I was. He said that he was going to go home and sleep, so I sat and pretended to be interested in the game for another 30 minutes before calling it a night as well.

I now hear that he just moved into an apartment two blocks away from me but I haven’t run into him again. For an optimistic moment, I thought the universe was trying to tell us something by throwing us together over and over again in the most random places. Why else would you run into someone so many times in New York? But, in the end it's just fate laughing as it continues to fuck with me.

*aries*