Stars and the Moon

Stars and the Moon. That was the name my friend Rachel and I gave to a boy a grade above us in grade school. His birth name is Aaron Star, but with our clever code we could talk about him (as he was the object of my affection) without him having ANY idea. The crush was incredibly short-lived, in fact not sure it lasted much past us coming up with the cryptic code name. Anyhow, he went off to boarding school and I moved on as well.

The summer after my freshman year in college I lived in the Outer Banks with some friends. I had an ill-fated job as a kayak instructor which had the huge upside of cash tips which could be given directly to my "of age" downstairs neighbors for beer. One day at work, who do I see? Good old Stars and the Moon, Aaron Star. We chatted a few times throughout the summer and that was pretty much that.

Fast forward to present day, I live in Philadelphia and see this kid everywhere!! Walking to work in the AM, at the train station, on the street. Last night we saw him when we were sitting outside eating dinner and then AGAIN on the way home. After having already had one chance encounter with this kid I feel like another would be too much and too awkward for me to handle. So I hide, turn away, or cover my face whenever he walks by. Not too different from when I was in 7th grade and had a crush on him.