Relationships and romantic feelings are going to pop up when they pop up.
Most of the time there will be no rhyme or reason.
That can either be the best way to begin a love story or a complete disaster.
This is especially true with the people who have always been there.
A best friend, a longtime acquaintance, who is suddenly seen in a new light.
That one look.
That sly lick of the lips.
A laugh that echoes for an eternity.
I may have been down this road a few times.
But I know I didn't drive alone.
Redditor kaushman2 wanted to hear about the times we've been a bit enamored by a surprise person, so they asked:
"What did your friend/random person do that accidentally turned you on?"
A Simple Touch
"Once at the cinema with a group of friends, I got a coughing fit. One of the guys, who was sitting next to me took my hand and just went gently up and down with his fingers on the inside of my wrist. The coughing stopped but I couldn’t concentrate on the movie anymore."
- rmnc-5
Touching Andrew Garfield GIF by Tony AwardsGiphy
Pretty?
"I was staying at my sister's for the summer and she would order a lot of Amazon packages. Usually, the same delivery guy would drop them off, and he was very attractive. I would just see him from the window (I’m super shy) but one day I got the courage and went out to grab the package from him and told him you’re very pretty."
"He stopped and looked shocked, he said 'pretty?' I said yes pretty. He smiled so big and genuinely, he looked so happy like it was the first time anyone had told him something like that. And I melted. He looked even more gorgeous smiling like that. He said 'Oh wow thank you' and then giddily walked off."
- Flat-Syllabub-9271
Somewhere in the Eastern Bloc
"Stood extra close to me while looking at a map."
"The context was, that he was telling me about an obscure country he was due to go visit a year later, so I asked where it was on the map he had on his wall. He wasn’t sure either, so we both stood up to take a look (he’s taller than me)."
"Knew it was somewhere in the Eastern Bloc, but the writing on the map was small and we couldn’t see sh*t. So we both just stood there squinting at this map with our bodies and heads quite close together (closer than they should have been for friends, anyway). Eventually, we moved so close together that my hip bumped against his thigh. I apologized and started to move away but stumbled ever so slightly - and before I could regain balance, his hand shot out and held my waist."
"No idea if he genuinely thought I was about to fall over, or if he was just using it as an excuse to touch me - but honest to god, my heart was beating nineteen to the dozen. His hand must have only been there for about 5 seconds, but my palms went sweaty, my throat went dry… you name it. Obscure country found, we turned to look at each other and were so close, we were practically stood in each other’s arms."
- bouncing_off_clouds
The Roller
"We were all having our drinks and all, a group of like 7 or 8. There was this girl, a friend of my friend and we'd just met and were having a good conversation. We were kinda hammered. She was rolling her own tobacco cigs and she kinda sucked... lol. She and I were the only ones in the group who were smoking. Then I told her that she was kinda sloppy rolling and I'd do it myself. Rolled one, and when it was time to lick it to seal it, I just held it and she licked it. Without taking her eyes off of mine... damn it shook me to my soul."
- don_pelicano
10 Months Later
"My best friend/roommate and I used to have this bit last year where we would race back to our dorm and see who could unlock the door first. One night I beat her to the door, but she spun me around, pinned me to the door for just long enough to make me wonder what the hell was happening, then threw me out of the way and unlocked the door."
"Anyway, we’ve been dating for ten months now."
- airr-conditioning
Hips Don't Lie
"Rehearsing a show together. I was standing in front of him and asked if my position was ok for his next move. He put his hands on my hips and moved me a step upstage. Discovered I really like that!'
- MrsDink
Adult Swim Dance GIF by HULUGiphy
Amazons
"I was at a bar when a friend of mine came up and introduced the girl he was with. She was visibly drunk and out of nowhere slapped me in the face, slammed me against the wall, and started choking me.. but not like super forcefully. A split second later another friend of mine who can be best described as an Amazon woman threw her off and pushed me behind her and started screaming in the woman’s face while protecting me. I am a large hairy man but in that instant, I felt both small and confusedly turned on by both women. Still, think about that moment a lot... lol."
- whatingobsname
The Show Off
"I went to university with a guy, that was a bit of a gray man. He wasn't introverted as such just had a bit very focused outlook, which could be off-putting."
"He contacted me out of the blue a while back. He had completed a project that was pretty impressive without going into details. He invited me to visit so he could show it off. I thought it was going to be some sort of industry-style PR reveal. Instead, it was just a one-on-one tour."
"He was rightfully, extremely proud, and when I realized he wanted to show off to me. It did turn me on massively."
- Lucy_HR_Prob
Patrick Hall
"Back on my campus, it’s courtesy to fold someone’s clothes if their clothes were still in the dryer and you needed to use it. Of course, with college boys, as they are, it was normal to leave your basket in front of the dryer and whoever needed to use it next could just toss it all in and slide it to the side. Well, one time I had come back from class and went straight to go get my laundry."
"I opened the door to the laundry room and immediately made eye contact with this shaved-cut, buff, ROTC-looking guy as he finished folding the last of my clothes in front of me into my basket. It was just the two of us in the room, and I swear I was lost in those eyes until he asked, 'Are these yours?' and I shyly replied, 'Yes. Thanks for folding them.' I swiftly grabbed my clothes and walked out so fast."
"It was a small but very kind-hearted gesture. Looking back, I shoulda offered to fold his clothes and befriended him, but all my introverted @ss could think of at that time was I needed to get out of there quickly. After that, I never saw the guy again. So if this sounds like you, please DM me and let me fold your clothes for you. Patrick Hall was the dorm’s name."
- Gokou01
Letting Go
"I went to a dance party thing with a platonic female friend of mine, who is a bit buttoned up, and she started letting go and dancing like an absolute dork, not giving a crap what anyone else thought of her and it made me instantly attracted to her."- Apprehensive-Law-923
party dancing GIFGiphy
Be Helpful
"A friend of mine asked me to hang out with her in her dorm room. We were planning on watching a movie, but at the same time, she said she was going to do some laundry. I told her I had no issue helping her with, i.e. carrying the actual laundry bag, maybe some light folding. I knew she was kind of taking advantage of me, but she also made killer nachos, so it seemed like a fair trade."
"When I got there she was essentially wearing sleepwear. A tank top half shirt and very tight red running shorts. It was very difficult to pay attention to the movie."
- ConneryFTW
Cat & Mouse
"We were in Target, and looking at stuff and I had walked off to look at something, I didn’t even realize he asked me to stay with him in the store. He walked up behind me in the makeup section, his chest pressed against my back lightly and put his hand on my hip, and spoke very lowly in my ear where NO ONE but I could hear him and said 'I thought I told you to stay with me' girl I damn near gave him a son in the store. Couldn’t wait to get home. He still does this whenever I wander off in stores, I’ll never admit that I LOVE this game of cat and mouse and I will never stop 'wandering' away."
That’s all. A smile.
"Walking through the park on a cold night at midnight. It’s lightly raining, and I’m feeling depressed about life and in my own world of despair. There’s a little bridge across a lake, and I stop there to stare out at the water for a while and forget my troubles. This young woman appears, sort of dancing to herself and bobbing her head as she quietly sings a song. She appears not troubled by the cold and the rain, but somehow in love with it. As she passes, we make eye contact, and she smiles. That’s all. A smile. I’ll never forget her."
- cruyfff
For the Camera
"A couple of friends and I were trying to take photos in a photobooth that was pretty small. We paid and as the camera began counting down, I couldn’t figure out a way for me to fit in the photo. My friend quickly grabbed me by my hips and pulled me onto his lap just in time for the camera. it was strictly for photo purposes, but it definitely gave me butterflies."
- apologeticallymyself
It really is the small things that have the biggest impact.
Like I said earlier... a look, a lip, a laugh, they can all be sirens.
Whether or not it's a good idea to head down this road remains to be seen.
But love and relationships are always a coin toss.
And maybe sometimes "that" person was always just standing right there.