A coy glance over the top of a pair of glasses. A wink, a laugh, an especially casual shrug of the shoulder. In the mind of a lovelorn second-guesser, the tiniest sign of interest can set off a long night of romantic speculation, followed by a last-ditch effort at rekindling the spark through an anonymous message board.
The following are real, painfully hopeful entries from the Missed Connections section of Charleston Craigslist, broken into lines and stanzas and minimally edited for clarity:
My waiteress – m4w (King Street)
You were my waiteress
at lunch today and you
caught me checking
you out a few times.
You circled
your name
on my check.
theater restroom – m4m – 26
You were working there.
I was walking out of the bathroom
when you were walking in.
You stopped to let me go by
Ihop on main street – m4w – 28 (Summerville)
You work there..
Me I’ve gone in
a couple times and
just can’t find the balls
to tell you
how much I like you..
You are skinny and short..
We made eye contact a couple times
and I was breathtaken by your smile..
I know this is crazy
but if you read this
please get back to me..
ASIAN guy at Musc wellness center – m4m – 40 (Charleston)
We talked today in sauna.
You are Chinese.
We talked about building in china
that was built in 14 days.
U are very hot.
Would love to play around sometime.
I am tall white dude. Married
here from Macon, ga
Brett in Mt. P – w4m
We met tonight.
You walked away because
you thought I was with the guy at my table.
I wasn’t.
Restaurant tonight watching SBowl – m4m – 41 (MtP)
Hey bud,
you were sitting at the bar
in the restaurant I was eating dinner tonight
watching super bowl.
You walked past the booth I was sitting in
with my family on your way to bathroom.
I really thought you locked eyes with me
as you walked by.
I’m a married dude,
but finding myself
curious and interested
in exploring with someone like you .