I've had maybe three romantic movie moments in my life and they pretty much make up for all the bullshit I've dealt with up to this point.
My favorite of the three is also my favorite first date -
High school. I was 17 and very inexperienced when it came to dating. I'd had girlfriends and whatnot before, sure, but nothing serious. So for context, I'd met this girl around the high school I went to a few times, but had never really interacted with her. We were friends on Facebook and of course there were the "flirtatious likes" and comments on posts (strategically planned, naturally), but overall I was AWFUL at taking any sort of initiative. But there was something about this girl, man. We're not together now and don't really talk (another story), but she's still regularly in the back of my mind, years later. First love and all that.
If memory serves, I had somehow gone from a comment on how I liked her scarf to asking her out on a date, and while I don't remember the conversation details, I remember it being awkward. She was extremely charismatic, and took the awkward conversation in stride - said yes. It was a date.
She'd text me later and let me know she couldn't do a date because she forgot a promise to show up to a high school Beauty and the Beast play her friend was starring in, and I was left thinking "well it was worth a shot" for the longest 30 minutes I'd ever experienced. She'd reply to my "hey no worries! There's always another day!" with a cool, casual "I mean you're gonna come with me, right?"
I was entranced.
I remember the outfit she wore, and how in hindsight I had no idea how it worked for her, but it involved a denim jacket and a graphic T-shirt with matching jeans and cute, brown boots, and somehow no jokes were made about it because she pulled it off so well (A DENIM JACKET). She came over and I drove to the play. I think we only stayed for 30 minutes before she decided it was time to wander the school halls (it was after school hours, around 7pm or so?)
At this point in my life, I'm extremely sheltered. I was a bit of a problem child, but ultimately didn't do anything "against the rules" but somehow we ended up breaking into the gym and here's where, for me, it turned into this crazy, manic pixie dream girl encounter.
We played basketball, poorly, and laughed and joked about all sorts of things as we got to know each other and as I tried to impress her at every turn, and we freaked out at any noise not made by us, wincing each time the basketball bounced off the backboard because we were making so much noise in this dark gym room and I was scared we'd get caught. That lasted a while before we took off to the parking lot in a frantic hurry when someone popped in like "HEY YOU CAN'T BE IN HERE"
I remember this part pretty vividly. I had grabbed her hand and started running, and she was fine with it. We hid next to lockers and behind trash bins, basically exaggerating our way outside as if we were on the run. When we made it to my car, we were both out of breath, wheezing and laughing. Absolutely nobody had been after us, but the "chase" was exhilarating. I think the "chase" was between the two of us. We held hands that entire time, and that seems silly, but when you're in this sort of moment, it feels like this spark of magic that you only get once or twice in a lifetime. Somewhere along the line, we began pretending we were married (so silly, so silly) and REALLY needed to make it home to our kids before the babysitter got upset. I remember she oddly complimented my hands. She said "you have nice hands, I like them. I like holding them." and I laughed, because it was indeed weird, but I liked it. She sounded sincere, and her smile pierced my heart. On the drive home, we never stopped with the banter, an endless stream of flirting, pretend scenarios, and laughter. The kind of thing you see in a coming-of-age movie, a teenage romance. She had to leave once we got back to my house, and we didn't kiss. Not that night. But there was a prolonged look, a sort of silent approval between the both of us. I remember that moment. Nearly 7 years later, I've never gotten that look from anyone else. But to be honest, I've never wanted it from anyone but her.
I want to know your movie moments - send them to me on Twitter - @ibarfonbabies