Love

I Fell in Love With the Girl Next Door

My Valentine’s Day Story

Every Valentine’s day I always think about the most serious love that I had when I was in high school in Ohio. I’m almost embarrassed to talk about it since I never told anyone and I was barely able to face the girl who literally lived next to me.

It turns out that when I was a sophomore in Athens, Ohio, my mother moved my brothers and sister next door to an English woman who had a beautiful daughter. She was one grade above me, a junior, and so, right away, I thought maybe there was a chance I could become her friend.

My First Encounter

And then it happened. One day shortly after we moved I took a phone call and it was her! Let’s call her Nina.

Nina said she was calling just to say how happy she was that we had moved in and also she had heard that I was a Christian. She was too, she said, and she was glad that we were now neighbors.

Wow, I thought. Who had ever heard of this? Not only had I landed next door to the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, but she was calling me and talking to me. Plus, Nina said was a Christian and was glad that I was too! A pure, thoughtful, and warm girl, to boot.

Over the next year, I came to realize that this was par for the course for Nina. She was bright, beautiful, engaging, smart, and always easy to talk to. This stemmed from the way her amazing English mother was as well.

I spent every chance I could going over to their house and talking with them. Nina was always great to talk to.

But then one day I saw her come home on the back of a motorcycle with a boy who everyone knew was trouble. He was a classic bad boy. I knew from my friends that he was heavy into drugs, and constantly getting smashed and doped up. What was Nina doing with him?

I was hurt. I knew then that I was deeply in love with her, but I could never really tell her.

It turns out that Nina liked bad boys. This was classic too, but, at the time, I did not realize it. It took me a long time to get over this “inappropriate” choice of hers. I was hoping it was a phase, and then she would be willing to spend time with me.

My Ultimate Strategy and One Last Chance

I had one trump up my sleeve. I was a good piano and guitar player. I knew Nina loved music as well. I tried to use this to attract her to me.

In fact, at one point I remember coming home after school with Nina and her friend, Sharon, and we all began singing in harmony in the car. We laughed and I hoped that Nina thought about this.

In the end, though, I couldn’t overcome my awkwardness, shyness, and fear. Why would she ever be willing to go out with me?

And then there was one last chance. Her mother invited me to go to a conference in Indiana with her and her daughter. It was to be a Christian conference, a getaway.

I spent the whole conference trying to find her. Nina went out of her way to avoid me — or at least I thought so. It was a hard let-down.

Years later, when I was walking home in winter from college (in the same town- Ohio University), I ran into Nina on the street leading to our house. She was as beautiful as ever.

Nina told me she was moving to Florida since her mother wanted to move there. She was in nursing school now and she planned to move abroad eventually.

I knew I would never see her again. I kept that encounter and our words in mind ever since. It was a snapshot I would treasure.

I heard somewhere she got married and she was still in Florida. I hope someday I get to meet Nina again. If only because I feel so deeply in love with her, and I hope her life turned out to be happy.

And that is what I think about every Valentine. How I let the girl next door get away from me.

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Originally published at https://original.newsbreak.com.