A 'What-If' Special Memory

I am transported down a pleasant memory lane as I write this post. It was some few years ago, I was an undergrad student at the university and working at the same time. It was a choice I made because I could do both without much stress and did not want to stay idle.

It happened that I was tired of the inefficiencies of my bank so I went with a colleague to open another bank account with another bank.

Arriving at the bank, I was offered a seat in a clean, well furnished, air-conditioned office. The fragrance of citrus air freshener permeated the office and I felt calm. I was told that the marketing officer would be with me shortly. I waited for a few minutes and in walked this tall, good looking, young man dressed in a black suit with an office file in his hand.

He looked up from the file at me…my heart rate must have tripled. I could not look away. Not because he was stunning, that was part of it. But for some inexplicable reason, I felt good inside just looking at him. The attraction was instantaneous and mutual.

He smiled, introduced himself as Thompson and we got talking. We did not talk about opening an account until almost an hour passed because I remember checking my wristwatch and realizing my break time was over. Our conversation was smooth and so effortless that I wished I had more time to spend with him. I gave him my details for the account opening and left the bank.

At the time I was twenty years old and my next birthday was in a few months. I was not in any relationship then and had no interest. But I could not get him out of my mind. After about a week, I was working on my desktop in my cubicle, when the receptionist informed me I had a visitor named Thompson! Omg! I could not believe it. He came!

I made sure my surprise and excitement did not show. He looked good and professionally dressed in a dark blue suit. He was with a colleague and thought to drop by with my documents. Talk about VIP treatment!

After a little chat, he promised to swing by when I closed from work. I told him I may work late because of my workload. It was suitable for him since bankers closed late. We had a wonderful evening that day. I remember I got home at about 9-ish pm.

Our friendship grew within months. Whenever Thompson closed and I happened to work late, we would eat dinner together, walk together in the cool night and he would see me off to the bus stop.

We never really defined our relationship. We just enjoyed spending time together, knowing one another. I know that may be hard to believe. In a way, he did more of the talking. Whenever he asked questions that got too personal for me, I would change the subject. I knew I had feelings for him but did not want to put myself out there.

When I turned 21, he went all out and gave me the best birthday bash I'd ever had with our close friends at a garden park. It was memorable for me. A month later, we met for lunch because he said it was urgent. He told me he'd been transferred out of the state to another branch.

I was shocked and a little sad. He admitted his feelings and told me he liked me but felt I was holding back a lot. He gave me two options - If I opened up and trusted him with some of the things I was going through, he would keep in touch with me. If I choose not to, he would leave and that would be the end of our relationship.

I don't like being arm-twisted or pressured so I chose the latter. At the time, I was not sure I could trust him. That was how we parted as friends. He moved out of the state and we never saw each other nor stay in contact.

Have you had moments of what-if?

I'd always thought - what if I'd opened up to him, would we have made it as a couple? Or was it all my imagination? I really did like him but circumstances at the time were unsuitable for a romantic relationship.

Did I miss him after he left? I did, very much. Thompson was one good memory I'll always cherish.

This is my entry to Special Moments With BAE Contest hosted by @galenkp. You are invited to participate.

^{Image 1
image 2}