We were friends. He always could count on me as a last-minute date, and we would dance. At his brother’s wedding, it was the last song and we hadn’t danced yet. I said, “Don’t just stand there—dance with me.” The minute we started to dance I knew what it was like to dance on air.

—Maureen

Postscript: Marriage, kids, more dancing.

1

It just so happened the other six people we were supposed to meet on the train platform to go to a movie never showed up (not a date). The train moved three blocks and then shut down. While it was stalled, we chatted with a bum: bottle in a bag, week-old beard. “How long you two been together?” “Oh, no, we’re not dating.” He took a swig. “Uh-huh.” Then, confidingly, to the boy: “You stick with her, my man; that’s the one you gonna marry.”

—Ann

Postscript: We were together nine years before we got married six years ago. Two kids. We still take the train to movies.

3

We had plans to go out, but I got a really bad cold and had to cancel. He called to see how I was feeling and said he was out running errands. About five minutes after we hung up, the doorman called and said I had a package. I found a care package of chicken noodle soup, orange juice, cough drops and a beautiful sunflower plant.

—Shermi

Postscript: I was so touched because he was so thoughtful and he didn’t even know if I liked him. We started dating and got engaged five months later.

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Love is like finding the perfect pair of shoes. When I met my husband, it was like finding a pair of shoes that were so comfortable, strong and beautiful; I knew I would walk in them forever.

—Rose

Postscript: We’ve been walking together ever since.

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We’re both weird, but not quite in the same ways. I was completely smitten from the first day I met him, only to discover he had married the love of his life the week earlier.

—Alaska

Postscript: We’ll never be lovers, but it’s been worth it just to know him.

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It was New Year’s Eve, and we were drunk. We made out in her kitchen while her mom was arguing with our annoying Russian friend. She told me she loved me, and I said “I love you, too.” And I meant it. We dated in secret until the end of high school. During our first year at separate colleges, I broke up with her, not realizing it would be me with the broken heart.

—Regretta

Postscript: I’ve always wondered what my life would be like had we never split up.

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“Will you be my special friend?” he asked me one hot Texas summer night. We’d known each other for months, and I was already in love with him. We shared an awkward kiss and then sprawled on his backyard. The next year he moved to Chicago, and we sent mixed tapes and letters back and forth. He returned the next year so we could merge our mixed tapes. Two years later he convinced me to move back to Chicago with him. He dumped me the next year.

—Zooey

Postscript: Yet another year has gone by. We’re still friends, but neither of us has found a new special friend.

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