Hmm, how far?
When I was a college student in Japan, I dated quite a few young women, but there was one who outright denied me for my entire tenure there. I went home without her ever acquiescing to even go to lunch with me. I thought she was incredibly beautiful and the fact that she wouldn't date me, but consistently paired up with me in our language class just made her all the more desirable. Unfortunately, nothing came of it and I had to leave.
I returned to America and thought little more about it. I never thought I'd see her again because she didn't even give me an email address to contact her at!
After about two months back in America, I happened to start dating a woman that I met through a series of coincidences. We were pretty serious, and it was my first really serious relationship.
Five months later, I was having lunch with that girlfriend when I heard someone call out my name from behind me. I have a fairly common name so I didn't even respond at first, but then I heard it again, so I turned around.
I couldn't believe it when I saw that it was the same young lady I had asked out a number of times in Japan here, half way around the world, coincidently at the same University I was attending! I almost didn't remember her name at the time, since I had just plain figured I'd never see her ever again. But I did, and this time, she gave me her phone number and email. Oh... and I introduced her to my girlfriend.
So we became good friends. She confided in me that when I was in Japan, she couldn't stand me because she thought I was full of myself! Maybe I was. But then she said she was happy that we had met a second time and gotten to know each other. I agreed completely.
About six months after we met for the second time, my roommates and I had a party at our apartment (we had parties pretty regularly, actually, and they usually got crazy). Anyway, I of course invited my girlfriend, but she declined to come (as she always did). But my friend from Japan did come. We were both quite intoxicated and danced closely and quite a bit. After a couple of hours, I had a seat to take a little break and enjoy a drink and she sat on my lap. I wasn't thinking and we just started making out right there. And then I realized what I was doing and stopped and apologized.
I am never an advocate of cheating. But that was probably the biggest mistake I've ever made in my personal life. Stopping, I mean. We never did anything again, mostly because neither of us let it happen again.
Anyway, we remained friends for long after that even to this day. But I was with that same girlfriend for almost the entire time. We actually just broke up about a month ago (we should have separated long before this).
And already, I'm thinking about how I ought to contact that woman in Japan and tell her I'm finally single and want to come to Japan and be with her.
I guess that's pretty strange, to have someone in the back of your mind for years.
Anyway, I guess the answer to that question is at least 9000km. Or however far it is between me and her, assuming she'd have me. :tongue:
