Romantic moments come in all different shapes and sizes. Sometimes, it can be a grand, romantic gesture. Other times, it can be the simple act of just being there for a person you care about.
My high school boyfriend was really romantic and always organized some amazing dates. People who know about those think those would be the most romantic experiences of my life, but that's not true.
Prom was a huge deal in my high school, and girls were being asked with big "prom-posals" like the ones in teen rom-coms. As a shy person who hated being in the spotlight, I told my boyfriend in no uncertain terms that I didn't want anything like that. We were together and planned to stay together, so we could just go together without the fanfare.
He understood but thought I deserved something special. Instead of a huge prom-posal, he took five tennis balls, dyed them blue and spelled out 'PROM?' in silver lettering. He stuck them in my locker so it was the first thing I saw when I opened it. As a varsity tennis player, this was perfect for me.
Despite all the amazing dates, it was this unexpected experience that told me how well he knew me and how he wanted me to feel special while still respecting my wishes that was the most romantic of my teenage years.
Redditors have their own unexpected romantic experiences and are eager to share.
It all started when Redditor Swarlee_tales asked:
"Redditors, what's the most unexpectedly romantic or sensual experience you've had that still makes you smile when you think about it?"
By My Side
"When I was a senior in high school I got in a bad car accident. I got pretty severe chemical burns on my face from the airbag and my contacts came out and sliced my cornea. I had to wear sunglasses so I was just wandering around basically blind because I have very poor vision. My boyfriend was so gentle and caring during that time. We were supposed to go on an overnight school trip and he talked my mom into letting me go and stuck by my side the whole time so I could still participate."
"What particularly stands out to me is that while my classmates were having a water balloon fight I was sitting on the porch of our cabin to avoid the mayhem because I wasn't allowed to get my face wet. He came and sat down next to me and I told him, "I really don't mind it all, I just wish I could read my book. I was at the good part." I even brought the book with me hoping I could get it close enough and squint but it didn't work."
"So he went into my cabin got my book and read it to me for at least an hour. It's been 16 years but I can still remember it clearly in my mind. Us in rocking chairs on the porch, with the sound of his voice until it got too dark."
"We didn't work out but he was a good person and I hope he's happy."
– Freddie_boy
A Simple Touch
"I remember many years ago, as a teenager, walking downtown with my fairly new GF and she spontaneously put her arm through my arm to walk arm in arm...heart started pounding."
– brickiex2
Good Morning
"When my boyfriend worked at his previous job, he would leave the house early when I’d still be asleep. Every morning before he left, he would kiss me on the forehead. That’s how I woke up pretty much every morning. That has always stayed with me."
"Now with his new job, he works from home. So I leave for work when he’s still in bed. I make sure I ALWAYS kiss that man’s forehead. No matter what."
– walrusanator
You Spin Me Right Round
"I went on a two week camping trip to Spain and France with my boyfriend at the time. We drove from campsite to campsite with a guide book to direct us and ended up in a nice little site outside Bordeaux. We'd had a lot of busy days so decided to spend one evening hanging out at the campsite."
"That evening the social activities gradually petered out and the sun went down. The bartender started quietly cleaning up at the outside bar and put on music while he did so - an acoustic album of 10,000 Maniacs songs in fact. It was a warm evening and the bar faced onto a now totally empty area of decking with hundreds of tiny coloured lanterns strung up as decoration. As no one was using it, my boyfriend invited me over to the decking and we danced to the music all alone. I remember the little lights swirling in my vision as he spun me around. It was the best part of the whole holiday."
"We are married of course!"
– sfish27
The Perfect Date
"There was this guy in a friend group I had just been accepted into I had huge crush on and he invited me over for what I thought was a Netflix and chill situation. But when I came in he had set up a whole blanket fort in his living room and told me we could put on whatever I wanted to watch. I called his bluff and chose “Particle fever” a very good, but also very nerdy documentary about the first experiments performed with the large hadron collider. He was more of a meat head type guy, but he was totally into it."
"But the big romantic thing was when I said I was hungry and he told me go into the kitchen and see what he had that I might want to eat. When I opened the freezer he had an enormous box of mozzarella sticks, which was one of my favorite snacks. It was something I’d mentioned in passing in group settings but I was shocked he had picked up on it and stocked some just for me. I’ve never been so charmed in my life and it was such a simple gesture but showed that he really listened to me and that was incredibly romantic."
"Anyway, he’s my husband and we still make blanket forts and eat mozzarella sticks but now our two kids steal most of them."
– SlipperySloane
Breakfast In Bed
"I’m usually the one who cooks for me and my partner, but one morning after I couldn’t sleep due to my insomnia, she came an brought me some fried eggs to eat in bed. It meant so much to me."
– Daigon
An Incredible Connection
"There was a point in my life where me and this girl I was incredibly attracted to were sorta dealing and going out a lot together with friends and just having good times out. Nothing was ever sexual between us or like a date but regardless I was always excited and very nervous when we'd go out because I wanted her to like me and I didn't wanna screw any chance I may have up."
"Anyway, one time we're out at a friend's drinking and we're all in a circle basically. Everyone is talking, someone says something, others join in yadda yadda. At a point, I go to say something then someone else starts up talking and I see everyone else is more focused and joining in on what they said. No biggie, it happens, so I go to stop talking and I look beside me and the girl I was interested in was still paying full attention to me. Like what was going on in the rest of the group never happened and I was the only one there and... I've been chasing that feeling for a long time. Nothing ever happened between us; my advances for something more were politely turned down and we fell out of contact later on."
"I'm ashamed to say, I'm in a relationship now but I still haven't had that sort of indescribable feeling I had since, even in the new one. Life is odd."
– GetGoodOrGetRekt
Warm Me Up
"First date with this boy was going really well. We were just walking around the downtown area of my home town, each of us looking for an excuse to keep the date going."
"It was cold out though and while we kept ducking into shops to look at things we always ended up back out on the cold street. I had some gloves that I eventually put on to keep my fingers from freezing."
"Casually he reached over and held my hand, smiled and said it was because his hand was cold. I knew at that moment he was the one for me."
"He’s my husband now :)"
– Arianwen75
Flora
"I love when the lilacs bloom in spring - we have a few bushes by the front porch. It's my favorite time of year. My ex left for work before I did (and came home later) and one morning I walked out to find a bunch shoved in my driver's door handle. Sometimes he'd walk in and put a sprig behind my ear. Made me feel so special!"
– auntiepink007
A Cup Of Ambition
"My fiancé brings me coffee in bed every morning. She knows when my alarm is set and she is up before me so she makes it ready for then. I wake up and it’s perfect drinking temperature. This makes me feel loved as f**k. (I’m a man so these things are huge bonuses in life)."
– Special_Minute
A Scary Surprise
"An old boyfriend, in the beginning of our relationship decided to pop by with flowers one day, but I wasn’t home and he didn’t know. My mother on the other hand was, she was working nights at the time and was woken up by the front door opened and knew it wouldn’t be me. So she took a broom and charged out to the hall and met my new boyfriend for the first time. To this day we still talk about she didn’t know who was more surprised, her or my boyfriend. A romantic little gesture that I think of from time to time even though it’s more than 20 years ago."
– yakdingaling
My Best Hug
"Lately, it was this: I had some coins from the country I visited recently. And I was staying at my friend's place. I adore that woman. My wallet was full of them and I didn't know what to do with them. So passing through the hall, I gave her one. For good luck, I told her. I got the best, tightest, sweetest, most genuine ambush hug of my life. I still want to live inside it. ******, I f**king adore you."
– Party-Concept-1086
My Best Kiss
"I had started seeing a guy I had known all my life and when he kissed me for the first time, he told me he had been waiting 10 years to do that."
"Remembering that comment makes me smile still."
– mordred1911
Taken Care Of
"I went through a really bad depressive episode around Christmas time of 2022, and with that came insomnia stemming from racing thoughts and unstoppable night crying. It was honestly very scary. I’d leave the bed I shared with my fiancé to go and sit in the living room because I didn’t want to disturb him - partially because I didn’t want to disturb his sleep when he had work in the morning, partially because I didn’t want to burden him with my constant crying."
"One morning, I woke up to my duvet being tucked into my sides. My fiancé was tucking me back into bed before he went off to work, kissed my head and told me to get some more sleep before he left for work. When he came back from work that night and I asked him more about it, he said he knew I was probably up most of the night and wanted to make sure I was cosy. He also wanted me to know that, even though I might not want to/be able to talk about what I feel in the moment, he still cares and wants to make sure I’m safe and loved, and he’ll always be around to make sure of that. He said he’d been doing it for a while and that he didn’t mean to wake me up."
"He’s the kindest man I’ve ever known, and I have no idea what I did to deserve him."
– sta-sera
The Power Of Chocolate
"For our first date, my now husband invited me over to his house and made me chocolate chip pancakes, and we sat and talked for hours. we laughed so much, and I seriously knew right then that he was the man for me. We just fit like puzzle pieces. He still makes me chocolate chip pancakes to this day."
– scarr3d_angel
That sounds like the perfect first date!
Do you have any stories to share? Let me know in the comments below.
