Ask Lemmy

Multiple stories are also fine!!!

Doesn't have to be one story.

Three summers back I was painting my house which is a miserable job especially because the walls of my house were deteriorating '70s pebble dash. Little rocks embedded in stucco kept falling out making a mess on the deck and getting stuck in vehicle tire grooves. The paint has kept them from sloughing off ever since. I went to a home hardware shop to get more paint since I underestimated how thirsty the walls would be. Dirty, overheated, and grumpy with my mind on the shitty task.

I was blasting Battle Beast in my silver 2011 Nissan Altima (yes the meme car) and apparently my parking job was so quick, immaculate, and confidently within the lines that I made a lady swoon. Or because a tall guy hopped out, who knows.

Out of the car I'm briskly walking towards the entrance across the sprawling baking-hot asphalt parking lot when she ran up behind to stop me and commented on my 1337 parking skillz. Now idk about you, but personally in my lived experience it's extremely rare to have a stranger approach you in a parking lot unless they're up to no good, begging, or mad at you for some reason.

So I immediately hedged because I figured the "compliment" was passive aggressive and maybe I just fucked up or something. I asked her if she was upset with me for some reason. She said no, and reiterated what she said which wasn't helpful and I figured that might also be sarcasm. So we stood there staring at each other as I ran back the last few minutes desperately trying to figure out what I did wrong. Eventually I blue screened and just said "okay" and turned around to continue my paint resupply mission, unsure how to handle the extremely awkward encounter with an admittedly attractive-looking woman, who in hindsight I think was being genuine.

We managed to run into each other indoors and both of us intensely avoided eye contact or saying anything further. Amazing.