I’m texting you this because I like you. Because when I think of you I get this sort-of insane feeling inside of my gut that makes me want to listen to really bad pop songs and go for a run (You know it’s bad when I willingly want to go running). I’m texting you this because I think about your body sometimes, pressed up against mine and what that would mean and how awesome that would feel. I’m texting you this because I like you and I’m wondering if you’ve caught on.

I’m texting you this because I want to seem like I don’t care. Isn’t it insane how we do that as humans – how we have to feign distance and disinterest as a means of expressing how we feel for one another? I think that’s just crazy and I know that you do too. I think that is a good conversation we could have, you and I. The kind we pick up over coffee that ends up dragging on for hours and getting us kicked out of the café when it closes. You know, that’s the thing that I like most about you – the way your eyes light up with every new idea and the way the conversation never wanes. I like a lot of things about you but I’m not going to text those to you because I’m playing it cool. Playing it cool is what we’re always meant to do, even though it doesn’t really seem to impress you.

I’m not texting you the link to this website because I think you’re actually going to like it. I mean you might, and that would be great, but I mostly just want your reply. What do you think of this thing that I find funny? What in your mind lines up with mine and where does it deviate? What do I enjoy that you despise? What do you analyze that I glaze over unnoticed? I’m texting you this because I want to know your thoughts on something – anything, really. Your mind is an infinite library that I would like to peruse for a while.

I’m texting you this because I had a bad day. Because my lunch order got messed up and I didn’t say the right thing in that meeting and my friends bailed on that thing that we were supposed to do tonight. I’m texting you this because when your name flashes across my screen, I temporarily forget about all of the petty annoyances that plague us when we don’t think to evade them. Something about you reminds me that there are bigger, better, more important things out there than whether I had almonds in my salad or whether or not happy hour is a go.

I’m texting you this because I’m glad I met you. Because before you came along things were okay but something about you injected color into my world and I don’t want it to fade out just yet. Because you reminded me that something as simple as human interaction could change a shitty day into a good one and a bland thought into a fascinating argument and you make me feel like I’ve had ten hours of sleep and a coffee even when I’m exhausted straight through to the bones. I’m texting you because the rhythm of your mind has gotten stuck inside of mine and I would like it to stay there for a while.

I’m texting you this because I want to see you again. Because our generation has whittled interaction down into a series of superficial scripts that we exchange with one another on autopilot but I’m almost okay with the trivialities if they end up leading me to you. Because my phone’s charged and my heart’s full and I’m sick of all the tired, useless games we end up playing to disguise our admiration of each other. I am texting you because I want to. Because I want you here beside me, with your thoughts brimming and your breath heavy and your phone all forgotten and discarded.

I’m texting you this because I like you. And I’m hoping that you like me too.