We first noticed each other through the crowd from a block and a half away on North 3rd, near Soul Cycle and Trader Joe's. (Well, I did, at least.) You noticed my glance and walked past me then stopped at the end of the street where it meets the water. I started in your direction and you glanced back toward me and held the gaze. I considered stopping at the railing with you but decided to let go of our gaze and, with a slight smile, glance back in your direction again in a "i'm game to play, are you?" kind of way. I stopped at a bench—just in time for the sun to shake that grey cloud—in hopes you'd come sit next to me. I noticed that you followed behind me for the bench closer to the water and took it as my cue that this was more than coincidence and that we truly were in the chase, so I fixed my hair to come over to sit next to you to chat. When I looked over, I paused when I saw that you pulled out your phone. Based on the way you were holding it, it looked like you were on a video call / FaceTime, though perhaps it was just to shield it from the sun's glare. (I'll admit, though, it did sort of read to me as a loss of interest.) So I waited. I propped my leg up, closed my eyes to take in a deep breath of the sunshine, and, by the time I reopened them, you were leaving. No glance back to see if I was paying attention. I looked for you, but you had enough of a lead that, by the time I turned the corner, you had vanished. Maybe I should have checked Trader Joe's in hopes of a funny meet-cute, but it was that time of day when it gets hectic so I could barely get in the front door. Perhaps it wasn't the chase I thought it was or perhaps it was. Perhaps, it was our mismatched sartorial choices which suggested a potential mismatch in personalities & proclivities (you: posh-yet-versatile pre-Autumnal transitionary outfit complete with stiletto-heeled knee-high ruffled suede boots, me: breezy summer thrifted chic). Perhaps it was my far-too-casual, languid vibe. Perhaps, you simply had some place to be and no time to see the chase through to the end. Or, perhaps, neither of us were even all that drawn to each other and instead intrigued simply by the chase itself. Whatever the case, our brief encounter was fun while it lasted. Perhaps you felt the same. Perhaps we can finish what we started one day.