In fourth grade, I put a tack on a teacher’s chair because a girl told me to. Actually, a boy dared me, but the girl was sitting next to me. She laughed when he said it, so I did it. I got sent home from school, and my mom wanted to kill me. But the teacher deserved it and that girl was my first kiss. So was it worth it? Well, it took me twenty years just to remember the specifics. How can I regret it? Seemed like good trade at the time, and still does. That teacher was the worst. Plus, I liked the girl. So yeah, it was worth it.

I’ve been out and about, thought I was attracted to someone. Then she turned the wrong way, said the wrong thing, I don’t know, and just like that my interest faded. Superficial? Not really. You’ve done the same. But a girl can also set up camp in my mind. You know, won’t leave me alone. I try to avoid her, but how could I? Each time I return to solitude, there she is sitting around the fire. Will I pull up next to her on the log and start making s’mores?

Attraction is an unspoken connection. It’s a twinkle in the eye or a flame in the heart, but either way, that’s your opportunity. You either act or you don’t, but the only certain thing is that little space in time where anything is possible. I’ve lived in this void for the majority of my life. I’ve been single more than I’ve been attached. Exciting? Often. Tiring? At times. Here’s what I know, though. Attraction can be three seconds or three years, but eventually, it will run from you. It’s as elusive as it is alluring. What’s that silly saying? Oh, right: “Here today, gone tomorrow.”

So, should you pull up on the log or put the tack on the chair? That’s your call. I say do it—if not for you, for the rest of us. At least, it’ll be a story worth sharing.

*This article is part of the ongoing Morning After series: short, reflective pieces on thoughts, feelings, and ideas about life. They’re kind of like well-manicured journal entries, written the morning after a night out.