Stranger Danger?

Our eyes met for no more than three seconds. He's cute. FINE. He's really handsome, by my own crooked standards. But so is more than half of the gay population. Plus I didn't even have enough time to assess his features then. So after that brief encounter, I walked on.

I had a clear goal in mind: go to the nearby mall and buy a pair of ear plugs and a book stand. But then I inadvertently looked back, and there he was, heading for my direction. I always gave everything the benefit of the doubt, so I thought, maybe he just needed to go to the mall too.

I let him go ahead, just so I can get rid of him--his handsome face and unquestionable charms. He used the escalator; I went to the hardware store--all the while we were looking at each other. When I started to look for the ear plugs, I thought our little game was over. But no, I caught him walking by each aisle, presumably checking if I was in any of them. But I was already at the counter.

And I smiled at him. He went out of the hardware store, and pretended to tinker with his phone. About three meters away from him, he smiled. I smiled back. And that's where he said, "Hi."

I died. You see, this is something I'd usually hear or read about, but I didn't think it would actually happen to me. Whenever something like that got close to happening, I'd always look away or pretend to be asleep. I'm a wuss like that...but that time, I figured I'd take my chance and see if things would take an exciting* turn. It did, but why do I only feel skepticism?

I should've trusted what my mother always told me, which I always followed...until earlier this night: don't talk to strangers.

*Exciting, by my definition, is me exchanging numbers with a total stranger, eating food in a weird restaurant, and letting another person walk me a few kilometers away frmo home. And no, it doesn't involve any sexual activity whatsoever.