Summer Lovin’
It was the summer of 2004. Lucky me, I was getting to go to Hawaii for a work conference. (Yes, you read that right. HAWAII. For a WORK conference. How awesome is that?) 10 days in paradise. Only half a day actually spent at the conference. One night, the girls I went with and I go to a luau and as we board the bus, we notice a cute guy sitting across the aisle with some girls.
Figuring one of the girls had to be his girlfriend, I didn’t think much of it. During the trip, we all strike up a conversation and by the time we actually get to the luau we are fast friends. We all sit together and there is definitely some flirting going on between me and Cute Boy. By the end of the luau, we’ve kissed a few times. Oh the sparks! Here I am, in Hawaii (quite possibly one of the most romantic places ever) and I’m kissing a cute boy!
Turns out he’s there for the same conference. We exchange numbers and two days later, we meet up and spend some quality time together… dinner, kissing, etc. The following day we go snorkeling together. By the end of the trip I was convinced I was in love. How can you not fall in love in Hawaii?
We go out for dinner, drinks, and dancing on my last night there. He was a perfect gentleman and treated me so well for the week or so we were together. He even got up bright and early the morning I was leaving to have breakfast with me one more time.
Now given that he lived in California and I (at the time) lived in Florida, there wasn’t a high probability that we’d make our summer romance last. And we didn’t. Oh we talked a couple times after I left, but the plans of visiting one another never panned out.
Looking back on it, I think I’m glad it remained just a vacation fling. It was wonderfully romantic and I will always think of him fondly instead of trying to make something last when it ultimately probably never would have worked out. But I still have a shirt of his and keep a picture of the two of us up in my house to remind me of how good guys really do exist.
What about you guys? Has anyone else had a summer romance or vacation fling? And if so, has it ever turned into something more than just a summer fling? Am I the only one who thinks that vacation loves are the most romantic things ever?