We’ve All Been There: Does He Like Me?

I'm gonna have to get this boy drunk.

You met him on the first day of class. He showed up late and took the seat next to you. As the professor droned on (and on) about the books you need, the upcoming group projects and the exam schedule, you two sat in the back of the lecture hall and whined about how awful the next 10 weeks were going to be.

You start sitting together in every class. When a group project is assigned, you choose to work together. When exam time comes, you make a study date at the library. Not that it’s all work; you guys really get along and start chatting daily on AIM and Facebook.

You like this boy. He’s everything you want: he’s smart, he’s funny, he’s got a great smile that makes his eyes scrunch up, he’s interested in the same things as you, he wears great shoes… Sigh.

When you tell your friends about him they urge you to go for it. You, however, aren’t so sure. You have to see him nearly every day for the rest of the semester. What if he doesn’t feel the same way as you? What if he’s just hanging out with you to get the notes from lecture? What if that girl in 3 of his Facebook photos is actually his girlfriend?

But as time goes on you start to like him more. You start putting makeup on before class every day and spend your evenings stalking him online. You start making up excuses to contact him (“I…uh….lost my pen. Can I come over and borrow one?”) and get upset when he doesn’t show up to class (“Oh no, he was probably up late last night hooking up with some other girl. That girl who sits in the front row is gone too. It must be her.”)

When you start drawing out your names in hearts on your notebook paper you realize you need to do something. You only live once, you don’t want to miss out on something great… and you really need to make out with someone. And it’s not like you need to send him a love letter (sprayed with your favorite perfume) expressing your feelings; you guys just need to get drunk together. One night of making out in the corner of a bar will let you know once and for all how he feels.

In class the next morning you casually (or so it seems – you spent hours planning out what you were going to say to him) ask him if he wants to hang out with you and your friends later that night. He agrees.

After hours spent applying makeup, putting together the perfect “I’m a lot hotter than I look in class” outfit and taking a few shots to ease your butterflies, you head out with your friends to meet up with him. No matter how many times they tell you how hot you look and how he obviously likes you, you can’t relax. A million things are going through your mind:

“What am I doing? Am I crazy? Shut up. Stop freaking out. You’re just hanging out. Oh god what if he pushes me away and then I can’t go to class eve again? I’ll fail out of school! Ok, chill. If nothing else, you can just pretend you blacked out. Stop being crazy. OMG I need to poop.”

You pound a few more drinks the moment you step into the bar. Your friend spots him across the room. And he’s wearing a button down. Mmmm.

“Go get him,” she says.

You take a deep breath and go. Then stop. Your friends shove you. You grab one of their beers, chug it and go. The time has come to make your move.

Yeah, we’ve all been there.
There’s nothing like a night of drinking to get a college relationship started.