Will and S

From an unnamed university in the greater San Francisco Bay Area...

As someone who lives in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, I like to think I have better-than-average gaydar. I'm definitely not 100%, but I think I'm pretty solid at spotting a gay dude, save the one I took to my junior prom (true story).

So though I've never asked him point-blank, I feel completely confident saying that a colleague of mine from an East Coast university is a gay man. He loves working out, he's a great dancer, he's gone to Berlin for LoveFest. It all adds up. Once we were both at a conference in Atlanta, we grabbed dinner together at a hip, local restaurant. Like many hip, local restaurants, this one had a wait, so he suggested we go to Banana Republic to kill time before our table was ready. He is gay.

Anyway, we get along great, which is handy because we see each other at different conferences and school-related events several times a year. We make fun of people, scour for the best snacks, and get cocktails when the day is done. It's win-win really.

So I was happy to find out that he was going to be at the conference I attended in LA last week. We gave each other big, showy cheek kisses, talked about each other's shoes, then promptly went off in search of cookies, gossiping about our colleagues all the way. When I came back to my table, the woman next to me leaned over like a junior high school girl and said "I think he likes you!" I assumed she was kidding and laughed it off. "And, he's not wearing a wedding ring!" she added. "Oh wait, are you serious?" "Yes, he's been flirting with you all morning." "Oh no, he's gay." "I don't think so! I think he has a crush on you!" "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's gay."

I had forgotten all about this little exchange until this morning where I got a nice email from that lady saying it was good to meet me and we should keep in touch when we're in each other's neck of the woods and ended with "ps: anything happen with that cute guy from [Redacted] University?"

Yes. As we were walking to our cars, I told him that you thought he had a crush on me, then we had a good laugh. Then a good margarita.