1995

I had been dating Orioles Boy for several months. He won huge points for being there for me after GWU Boy broke my nose during sex. In some senses, Orioles Boy and I were very close. I spent almost every night at his place. We caught much of the season at Camden Yards together and even went up to Boston to see the O’s at Fenway. Orioles Boy understood me and was a genuinely sweet and smart guy.

On the other hand, there was this elephant in the room or rather, two elephants. I was still in love with my ex, UConn Boy, and Orioles Boy was still in love with his ex, Allison. To confuse the situation even more, Orioles Boy and I didn’t have a lot of sex. It was almost odd how infrequently he wanted to have sex. When we had sex, it was great, but how many 21-year-old guys do you know who don’t want to get laid every night?

Anyway, it was a warm September night. My guy friends from the bar were off to 1720, a strip club on I Street that has since closed down. These guys were friends with UConn Boy, and really didn’t like Orioles Boy. They had even nicknamed him, “The Chump.” I was trying to encourage everyone to get along, and since UConn Boy wasn’t going to 1720, I asked my boys to take Orioles Boy. They were cool with that plan. I left them all at the bar, and told them to have fun.

As I was heading up 21st Street to my group house, I noticed a guy walking in front of me. Orange Girbaud jeans. Shoulder-length, thick brown hair that curled at the end. A white tee shirt that showed off his perfect body. We smiled at each other and started talking. His face was as fine as his ass in those Girbaud jeans, and I couldn’t stop staring at his big brown eyes with the longest lashes imaginable. He was in law school, and said that he had lived overseas. I don’t expect to have much in common with a random guy on the street, but in this case I did.

“Would you like to grab a drink?” Girbaud Boy asked me.

“Sure. My house is right around the corner. OK if I drop off my briefcase?” I replied.

“Of course.”

Well, we never made it out for that drink. I opened the door to my house, and it sounded like no one was home. We started making out before we made it past the foyer, and ended up having sex right there on the living room floor with the blinds open. It was hot, it was fun, and it was everything that a great quickie should be.

(Oh, he did happen to have condoms in those jeans so we were safe. And, remember, I was 22 at the time so my standards were much looser back then, as was I.)

We went upstairs and had sex again, and then he went home. I gave him my number, but I didn’t even ask for his digits. A one-night stand is just that, right?

A few hours later, Orioles Boy called me as he was heading home from 1720. He had fun with the guys, and was putting his drunken ass to bed. We agreed to meet the following night after work at Tequila Grill. (That bar has since closed, but it used to get a great crowd for Thursday Happy Hours with $1 beer specials.)

I walked into Tequila Grill and guess who is at the door with a cute, petite girl? Girbaud Boy! How small is this city? I just met this guy and a day later, run into him again! What are the chances? We smiled and said hi, and I kept walking.

I turned to the right and at the front of the bar were UConn Boy, GWU Boy, Ryan and UConn Boy’s best friend, Gus (who I had slept with one night a few months back to piss UConn Boy off). Holy Shit?!? When did Tequila Grill become my bedroom annex?

It didn’t surprise me that UConn Boy and Gus were together, but to see them with GWU Boy and Ryan was odd. Ryan rarely hung out at GWU bars, and GWU Boy and UConn Boy hadn’t talked much since GWU Boy and I dated. But, they were all college athletes and all lived in the same neighborhood in DC so maybe it wasn’t that odd.

Anyway, I had two options: 1) run to Orioles Boy’s booth in the back; or 2) say hello to the guys. I chose the latter because I didn’t have anything to hide. And, I knew that they were going to talk about me whichever option I chose.

“Hey guys,” I said as I approached them, “it’s nice to see you all here! I guess I could stay and reminisce, but I’ll let you guys do that without me. Have a nice night!”

They smiled and laughed appropriately. I headed to the back of the restaurant to sit down with Orioles Boy. Thoughts swirled through my head as to what were the odds of this happening. I also wondered if it was time for me to leave DC, but I knew that I wouldn’t seriously consider moving away from my home. I guess I would just keeping being me, and try to live in a state of peaceful co-existence with my ex-boyfriends and casual hook-ups. Especially since there were so many of them ;).