Unrequited Love

Author's Note: Trying a little something different. This is a Love Story. Hopefully you enjoy the character development and the struggles they go through searching for a happy ending.

I was scrolling through Twitter and a retweet from someone I was following caught my eye. Not the words of the tweet, I can't even tell you what they were, but the tiny circle with the profile picture. In that small picture was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. With all the possible Photoshop touchups and filters, I didn't even think it was real. I quickly clicked on her name and used my fingers to pinch the screen to zoom out and enlarge the picture. Staring back at me was a smoking hot woman with Dark Black Hair. She had Big Blue Eyes that sparkled. They looked like blue marbles, almost like I was staring at the earth from a distance. I could tell she was a natural beauty, but the makeup she didn't need was done perfectly anyway. She had Long Eyelashes with a touch of Pink Eye Shadow above them, cute Rosy Cheeks, complete with a wonderful smile and lips applied with the perfect color of Red Lipstick. The grin on her face was complete with the most adorable dimples you've ever seen. Her name was Jessica, she lived in Indiana, and she seemed to be in her late 20s-early 30s.

I had been successful in business, but unlucky in love. I tried all the common techniques: going out to bars and clubs, having friends trying to set me up and the last ditch resort was the dating apps. I was a handsome guy that made good money and couldn't find a woman to share it with. Here I was on Twitter and I've found love at first sight. Now what? How do I meet a girl from Twitter? Is that a thing? I knew I had to do something.

My first step was to click "Follow" on her profile. I wasn't a Twitter expert, but I knew that sometimes when you followed someone they would follow you back. This was not one of those times. As she would Tweet, I would reply every once in a while, always trying to be clever so she would notice. I went about my life and about a month later a heart popped up in my phone notifications. I scrolled down to check it and she had clicked 'like' on one of my Tweets! It was literally a nothing, but I was so excited that she noticed me. I spent the rest of the day wondering if she had clicked on my profile and checked me out. I was at 33 years old and I was acting like a kid in high school.

Another month had gone by and the 'likes' continued to mount. Virtually every Tweet I would reply to would receive a like from Jessica. The only problem is that the engagement only went one way. She would post something and I would reply. She never commented on anything I posted.

The one way street continued until she posted about Notre Dame's upcoming football season. No way! Not only was she a college football fan, but she was a Notre Dame fan. I was too! Being from New York City there were no college football teams here and growing up Notre Dame was the only team that was on TV every week. She lived in Indiana so it made sense that she would root for them. I was starting to think this girl was a unicorn. She was gorgeous and liked sports?! I didn't think a girl like this existed.

I quickly replied to the Tweet, commenting that I was excited about the upcoming season and had always wanted to go to a game there. Only a few minutes went by and my Notification Icon on the app displayed the number 3. I clicked it faster than I've ever clicked something in my life. I was met with the three most exciting items:

Jessica Liked your Tweet

Jessica Replied to your Tweet: "You totally should come to a game, they're so much fun!"

Jessica Followed You Back

I was so ecstatic I almost dropped the phone. After months of trying to get her to notice me I finally got some type of engagement from her. But now what? She was in Indiana and I was in New York. Even if I had the balls to ask her out, I was a minimum of two hours away by plane or twelve hours by car.

I was getting busy at work, so I continued my pattern. I would reply to her tweets and we found ourselves having conversations in public through the app. I turned up the charm and her replies started to have cute emojis with them. I was flirting with her heavily and in the meantime I had no idea what was really in her mind.

We had become friends, at least I considered us to be. She started to comment on my posts, we wish each other Happy Birthday, and I helped her when she had some tech problems. Six months had gone by and in my mind it was the longest relationship I've ever had. Forget about the fact that we've never spoken and every communication was visible to anyone who had the Twitter app.

I had a long day and work so I hadn't had a chance to check Twitter that day. I opened the app to see if she had posted anything and everything came crashing down.

Jessica posted: I'M MARRIED!

What The Fuck! I screamed out loud to myself. I knew I had to reply, but had no clue what to say. I typed dozens of things and deleted them. I finally settled on:

Me: Whoa, that was unexpected. Congrats!

What else could I do? She obviously found someone and she seemed happy. I was depressed, but I still considered her a friend. I sat and stared at my phone. Hours had gone by with no response. It was a weekday so I figured she eloped and was doing what newly married people do. I had just about given up on her for the night and my phone dinged indicating I had a Direct Message.

Jessica: Hey, thanks so much for the well wishes.

Me: Of course. You caught me by surprise though. I didn't even know you were seeing someone.

Jessica: Yeah, I try to keep my personal life off of social media.

Me: Makes sense. Did you two date long before getting married?

Jessica: It's funny, two months ago he DM'ed me one day and we started talking. He came to town to take me out, and here we are married in Vegas!

So many thoughts and emotions went through me. How could I have been so stupid? I had a friendly relationship with her and all I had to do was send her a lousy DM and ask her out?! I was half furious with myself and half depressed. Was I really this stupid? A beautiful girl that was so cool, and most importantly, she gave me the time of day. It felt like my whole world came crashing down in those two words she had tweeted. I realized it had been over ten minutes since my last DM reply. I knew I had to say something so I just typed:

Me: I'm happy you're happy. Enjoy Vegas. I'll check in with you when you get back home.

Jessica: Thanks again!

I put down my phone and tried to think of my next move. It didn't take too long to realize there wasn't one. I had blown my chance. My Dream Girl was married to another dude. I walked over to my liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. This was usually reserved for special occasions, but as I was about to drink my sorrows away, I wanted to do it with the good stuff. Half a bottle later I was drunk and exhausted. I fell asleep shortly after, figuring I would regroup tomorrow.

SIX MONTHS LATER

Our Twitter relationship had continued over the next six months. We were still friends, even though I was madly in love with her and she had no idea. She was happily married and I was sitting here pining over her. I should have just moved on. She was so cool and fun that I decided I'd rather be her friend than not have her in my life at all. She stuck to her guns and rarely talked about her personal life online. She never posted a picture of her husband, in fact she didn't mention him at all. That was until her next devastating Tweet:

Jessica: I'M PREGNANT!

Included with the Tweet was a picture of a sonogram. She was three months along already. That was it for me. I really loved this girl, but there was no way I could compete with a Husband and a Baby. The good guy in me didn't want to either. Being that we were friends, I had to reply with something. I chose to answer her in public with something similar to my reply to her married tweet:

Me: Whoa, you guys don't waste any time! Congrats!

Jessica: Thanks! Yeah, we're really excited!

The word 'We're' really got to me. I slammed down my phone and pounded the remaining half of the bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue that I hadn't touched since her wedding news.

FOUR MONTHS LATER

I had pretty much taken a break from tweeting with Jessica. She was happy. On the other hand, I was miserable and jealous of a dude I had never seen and didn't even know his name. I responded with a 'Like' from time to time and even an occasional "Lol", but it was nothing like it used to be. I probably should have just unfollowed her and moved on.

I started hanging out more with my friends who were always on the prowl to meet girls. I met a few girls and flirted with some others, but no one could compare to Jessica. I even went on a few dates, but I never felt a connection and nothing ever lasted.

The one night, out of the blue, my phone dinged. Throughout our relationship I was always happy to give Jessica advice and help her with any questions she had. Not to toot my own horn, but I am very smart and really good at solving problems. I was not surprised when she DM'ed me for my opinion. It was the topic that caught me off guard.

Jessica: Hey, can you do me a favor and check out my Baby Registry? I think there are too many things on there that are expensive and I don't want to look greedy.

She's asking me to look at her Baby Registry? This girl is going to drive me into the insane asylum. Then I thought to myself, why wouldn't she ask me? We were friends and I had always helped her in the past. She had no idea I was in love with her and she was just asking a good buddy for advice.

I clicked the link and there it was "Jessica and Tommy's Baby Registry." I finally knew her Husband's name. I also learned that she was having a boy, something she hadn't revealed in public. Scrolling down the list, I saw she had nothing to worry about.

Me: Hi, it looks great. I'm sure you have friends and family members that would be happy to buy you those things. Plus it's only a guide, they can always get you things that are not on the list.

Jessica: Thanks for looking at that. You're the best!

Me: Anytime!

Then I did something stupid. I clicked on the $200 car seat she had selected and I clicked 'Purchase.' The second I clicked it I regretted it, but I still closed the lid to my laptop before I changed my mind and cancelled it. Having no experience with a Baby Registry, I didn't know it notified the person when each item was purchased. Apparently it also told them who bought the item.

I woke up the next morning to another DM:

Jessica: I'm mad at you!

What? She had never talked to me that way before and I had no idea what was happening.

Me:?

Jessica: I didn't send you the site so you could buy me something! I just wanted your opinion.

I still wasn't sure if she was seriously mad or what, but knowing her, I figured she was just messing around.

Me: If that's your way of saying Thanks, You're Welcome!

Jessica: Yeah, that was rude of me. Thank you so much! But you still shouldn't have done that!

Me: Well, the little man needs to be safe while you're gallivanting all over town!

Jessica: LOL

I didn't reply after that, and I went back to having limited interactions with her.

TWO MONTHS LATER

I was still checking in on Jessica's tweets while continuing to have no luck in the dating scene. I knew she had to be getting close to having the baby and then the Tweet came.

Jessica: Welcome to the world Baby William, 8lbs, 1 oz!

She had included a picture was Jessica holding William. She had a huge smile on her face and the baby was adorable. I was happy for my friend, but still jealous that I wasn't the one with her in the hospital, wishing she was holding my son.

Me: That's awesome! He's so cute! Hope you two are doing well!

She didn't reply until the next day, which was understandable.

Jessica: Thanks so much! I'm a little sore and exhausted, but everything is wonderful! Soooo ready to go home!

Me: Happy to hear! Talk to you soon!

SIX MONTHS LATER

Jessica hadn't Tweeted much since giving birth. She was enjoying her new baby boy and I'm sure he wasn't letting her sleep much. I was busy at work and didn't have time for my social life. Work trips always came up to various places around the country. They didn't make you go, and it was always on a voluntary basis. They would send an email with the city and the first person to reply go to go. Since I had been at this company, all the trips were to boring areas, so I never requested to go on one.

One morning I got to work and there was an email for a 5 day trip to Indiana. I immediately replied that I would go. My boss was thrilled that I finally agreed to go on a trip. I wasn't sure what my intentions were, but at least I was helping my career. One thing about being a Notre Dame fan is that you can buy their apparel anywhere, but there is nothing like buying things from the on campus bookstore. In addition to going to a football game, going to the bookstore was on my bucket list.

I didn't really have a plan, but I had to let my friend know I would be in the area, right?

I tweeted at Jessica:

Me: Hey, I have some business in your area. Other than hitting the ND bookstore, are there any other places I should go? Restaurants? Etc.

She didn't reply right away, but a few hours later my phone dinged with a DM:

Jessica: You're not thinking of going to the bookstore without me, are you?

Me: Oh, I figured you were busy with the baby and didn't want to bother you.

I lied. I knew exactly what I was doing, even though it was a huge mistake.

Jessica: He's due for a trip there. We haven't been out of the house much. It will give us a chance to break in your fancy car seat!

Whoa, I was finally going to meet Jessica, and she took my hint and invited herself along!

Me: That would be great! I'd love to meet the little guy!

Jessica: Perfect! And Tommy is dying to meet you. Let us know when you have a break from work and the four of us will take a drive over there!

I guess he knows who I am. She must've told him who bought them the car seat. Dying to meet me? That's interesting. I wasn't even sure if I was going to meet him and in the back of my mind was thinking he would want to kick my ass. Then I remembered she didn't know I had feelings for her. It was all in my crazy mind. We were friends and it made sense that she would want her Husband to meet me.

Me: Excellent!

Jessica: Here's my cell. It's easier than this online stuff. When we figure out a time, come to my house and we'll go from here.

I quickly put her number in my phone and texted her a Sunglasses face emoji.

Me: Great! I'm excited! I just texted you so you have my number too.

Jessica replied to my text with a Thumbs Up and said "See you soon!"

INDIANA

I had a nice flight to Indiana. While I was waiting at the rental car counted I texted Jessica that I had arrived and would have time tomorrow afternoon if that worked. She replied that it was perfect and sent me her address.

The company had put me up in a nice hotel and for a 5 day trip my work schedule was lighter than expected. Either I picked the right trip or they were all like this and I had been missing out. I planned on getting a good night's sleep, but I was too excited and too nervous. I kept getting up in the middle of the night and thinking about what tomorrow would bring.

When I finally got out of bed I took a shower and shaved. I picked a button down shirt and a pair of shorts. It was the middle of the summer and it was too hot for pants. I got in my rental car and punched the address into the navigation system. I texted Jessica that I was on my way and the car said 15 minutes.

I pulled up in front of Jessica's house and it was a lot bigger than I expected. I figured houses in Indiana would be nicer than New York City houses, but this was impressive. It was a Two Story Colonial with a Two Car Attached Garage. The exterior was White Stucco with Black Trim around the Windows and Front Door. They had a cement walkway leading up to the Front Door with a beautifully Landscaped Front Yard.

I walked up to the door and rang the bell. It was only a few seconds before Jessica opened the door holding baby Will. Her pictures online didn't do her justice. She was so much more beautiful in person! She surprised me when she leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek.

"Welcome!" she said.

"Wow, you have a beautiful home!" I said.

"Thanks!" she said.

The Baby looked at me and started to babble.

"And this must be William. He's so cute. Must take after his father," I joked.

"Hey!" She said, pretending to be offended.

"You know I'm kidding. He has the same beautiful eyes that you do!" I said.

"That's more like it!" She said. "Why don't you come in? Tommy will be here in a few minutes."

I followed her inside and she led me to her Living Room. She put Will in his swing and we sat down on the couch together.

"Want a drink?" She offered.

"I'm good," I said.

"It's so nice to meet you in person," she said, "How long have we been talking on Twitter?"

"I'm not sure," I said. I looked in Will's direction and said, "Definitely more than nine months!"

"Ha," she said, "I think it was back when I was still single."

That hurt. I knew she wasn't rubbing it in, but it felt that way. "That's right," I said.

Just then the door opened and I heard, "Honey, I'm home!"

In walked Tommy. It was the first time I had seen him. From my eye he was about 6' 2" with brown hair and was a relatively handsome guy. He had to be to get a girl like Jessica. He bypassed the two of us and went right for the baby. He tickled him and made funny faces to make Will scream in delight. Will had the cutest little baby chuckle and I could see he loved his dad. Tommy came over to the couch and kissed Jessica hello. I stood up and shook his hand.

"Hey Buddy," he said, "So nice to meet you!"

"Yeah, nice to meet you too," I said, "I was telling Jess that you have a beautiful home."

"Thanks Pal," he said. "She didn't offer you a drink?"

"She did, but I figured we were leaving soon," I said.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

"I could eat," I said.

"Cool, let's grab some lunch first before we hit campus," he said.

Jess picked up Will to change his diaper and Tommy went into his bedroom. They told me they would be right back and we would hit the road. Sitting on their couch, all I could think about is how much of an asshole I was. I always considered myself to be a nice guy, but Tommy was quite possibly the nicest guy on the planet. I felt stupid that I even considered trying to break them up. I could see they were both very happy and they loved their little boy. My mind had been all over the place going into this trip. I didn't really think I would be able to seduce her and get her to leave the man she just had a baby with. Now that I've seen the three of them together, I decided I was content to have her as a friend and officially gave up all hope that we would be together.