How to Flirt During COVID-19
I have on a full face mask that covers my cheeks, smile, and neck. I have a beanie on top of my baseball hat. I have a sweatshirt on top of my sweatshirt. Indeed, my entire body is covered except for a slit revealing my eyes. I pass a man during my daily walk in the park alone. I cross the street, because — COVID (obvi).
And then magic happened. I flash him a smile as I cross as if to say, ‘I’m not crossing because I don’t like you, but you know, the pandemic and all.’ I’d forgotten that he couldn’t see my smile because... he smiled BACK. And THEN, we lingered! Not with our bodies. Actually we definitely kept walking. But our eyes. I think.... we were.... flirting???? IS THAT POSSIBLE? He can’t see my body under all these layers, nor my face. But we’d passed each other completely yet our eyes were still locked. Dare I say... I had BUTTERFLIES?
I used to have butterflies everyday. Cut to— Salisha locked alone in her tower... I haven’t touched a human in WEEKS.
That’s how I met one of my exes. I was on Disney grounds watching a show I’d never seen. And there was this White boy on the drums. And the whole show... our eyes kept meeting. It felt sexy and fun and anonymous. But after the show when I went to play in the Park with my friends, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. And I sent a note backstage. It definitely wasn’t in my head. He responded, and we dated for about two years. EYE BANGING IS TOTALLY A THING.
Cut back to- this man in the park here in NYC. If he didn’t have two little girls racing ahead of him on their bikes, we possibly could have had a very romantic conversation standing 20 feet away on opposite sides of the street.
I actually have gone on one date during all this. A socially distant, yet IN PERSON date. Folks, that was a first. My first few days into quarantining, I was FREAKING the eff OUT. 😂 And I went up to an ambulance and asked the guy in the driver’s seat a million questions. The next week the Ambulance Guy and myself took a long walk 6 feet apart and watched the sun set over the Hudson. I just needed to hear a first responder say, “Miss... you’re FINE. I’m looking at you and can say with confidence, you are OKAY.”
Here’s some good news folks: Today is a beautiful day. If you’re reading this, you’re definitely still alive. So that’s good. I got word that... (whispering with cautious optimism) the numbers started to go down yesterday. During my workout on Zoom with an Instagram community I heard about, the founders announced that they’ll need to change the workout times because.... a lot of their friends are going back to work. OKAY, they obviously don’t live in New York, and that MAY be slightly pre-mature BUT, it’s still good news. Because— there’s a LIGHT at the end of the tunnel.
It’s so important to keep being safe right now and to not go buck wild touching everything. It’s not time to relax any sanitary standards (that should, in my opinion, stay in place forever). But there’s a light. I FEEL hopeful.
The trees are blooming. The weather is getting warmer. Everything is temporary. You guys. Let’s keep our chins up. We are going to get through this.
We are all in this together. ♥️
