Italian Stallion

The last time I had an honest, sincere crush on a guy, I still wore converse sneakers, ribbons in my half-pulled back hair, and overalls. Yes, the last heart-throbbing, day-dreaming, palm-sweating crush I had was my best friend’s brother. We were in second grade, and he was a cool fifth grader. I remember having my girlfriend tell him every day after lunch that I liked him and thought he was cute.

These days I try to go about revealing my crush through more subtle ways such as smiling, talking, maybe even a little flirting. That would seem to work out, but for the real thing, here’s my story. Last winter, I thought I found the man of my dreams. The one I would marry some day. I just could never get his attention long enough to start a conversation or at least get a name exchange. For that reason, he remains the anonymous Italian Stallion. He’s a cup of hot chocolate: tall, dark, and delicious. (Actually, I don’t think he has a drop of Italian blood in his gorgeous body. He might come from Greece or somewhere exotic where the sun shines most the time.)

Recently, I ran into him at our gym up at school. Midday, not too crowded, plenty of open treadmills, and he just happened to get one right next to mine. Time ticked away. As he warmed up, I saw I had only 3 minutes left till my cool down. I frantically conjured up a plan to get his attention. I would speed the pace up to 10 MPH so he could see how in shape I was. Then, just at the climax, I would “trip” and go flying back off the moving belt. It might hurt, I thought, but the action would prove its worth when he came to my rescue.

Well, this never happened because just as I built up the guts to go through with it, my machine signaled the end reading, “COOL DOWN…5 MINUTES”. I walked out my time, a sweaty mess, and got off. I made my way to an empty corner in the gym and proceeded to stretch. Off in the distance, I could see the Italian Stallion going full speed. Maybe next time I’ll challenge him to a race, I thought. At least I have time before the next rendez vous to think of a more natural (and socially acceptable) approach.