Better Late Than Never

I'm a little fuzzy on exact dates, but about a year ago I was in my dry cleaner's with L because he was getting some new jeans hemmed. I was waiting for him outside the dressing room when an insanely gorgeous guy walked in.

At this moment, I of course started sending out mental messages to L to stay put in the room unless he wanted me to hurt him.

I loitered closely by, in a totally not weird way obviously, while the hot guy gave the dry cleaner his full name and address (score and score). Of course, I began reciting this information back to myself. This wasn't that hard considering the address was the apartment building next to mine.

I managed to weasel my way into the conversation and exchange a few pleasantries with him before he left, disappointingly without my phone number.

L came out of the dressing room and said immediately, "I heard you giggling and flirting, so I thought it would be best to stay in there until you were done."

Just the idea of L sitting down in a tiny dressing room in his too-long jeans, waiting for me to be done hitting on a guy, still cracks me up to this day.

"He didn't ask for my phone number," I pouted.

"Well you can always stalk him," L pointed out.

Of course, this got my brain working. After all, I did know where he lived....

"Ok, this is the plan," I said, "I know which apartment building he lives in, so I'll just sit outside until he walks in or out and then pretend I accidentally ran into him."

"It's not like you have anything better to do," L helpfully contributed.

I was actually contemplating this plan, better known as stalking, when it hit me a few hours later what was an even better idea.

I got out a notepad and wrote him a note that said:

"Dear Guy, I am the adorably charming girl you met in the dry cleaner yesterday and I was wondering if I could take you out for a drink next week. Call me."

I added my name and phone number, put it in an envelope with his full name on the front, and the following day I walked over to his apartment building and left the note with his doorman.

Two days later, I got a voicemail from him:

"Errr S, I got your note and I wanted to give you a call. It was one of the ballsier things I've ever seen a girl do, so I wanted to give you props. The thing is I actually live in California and was just visiting my parents for the weekend. My mom got your note and read it to me over the phone..."

That's right. As if the entire stalking thing wasn't embarrassing enough to begin with, his MOTHER read him my note. Just picture it: his mother on the phone with him reading my remark about being "adorably charming" and then saying to him, "So Son, do you often meet girls at the dry cleaner's?"

I called him back to laugh about the whole situation and apologize, but then promptly deleted his number and never expected to hear from him again.

That is, until tonight. I got a call from a number I didn't know and when I picked it up, he said, "Do you remember me? I met you at the dry cleaner and then you left a note..."

And as the memories flooded back, he asked me if I'd like to go get dinner.

"Wait, don't you live in California?" I asked.

"No, actually, I moved to New York about six months," he told me.

"Then why didn't you call me six months ago?" Ok, yes it was blunt, but I think it was an entirely reasonable question.

He laughed and then said, "It's better late than never, right?"

This has to be some kind of record, having a guy call for a date a YEAR after I gave him my phone number, in one of the most bizarre ways I've ever given a guy my phone number.

My working theory is that he moved to NY for a girl, but they recently broke up, thus the phone call.

My only question is how the hell did he remember me after all this time? I had pretty much erased him from my memory banks and probably wouldn't even recognize him if I passed him on the street.

So there you go, never give up on someone calling because sometimes it takes a guy a year to get around to calling and asking you out.