I Missed My Chance

I messed up. Big time. There was this girl, Sarah, back in college. We were in the same history class, and I swear, from the first moment I saw her, I was hooked. She had this laugh, a real, genuine laugh that made you want to laugh along, even if you didn’t know what was funny. And she was smart, like, really smart. Not the kind of smart that made you feel dumb, but the kind that made you want to learn more just to keep up.

We became friends, good friends. Hung out, studied together, went to parties. Everyone thought we were dating, but we weren't. I wanted to ask her out, I really did. But I was too scared. Scared of rejection, scared of ruining the friendship, scared of… everything, I guess. So I just stayed quiet. I told myself that maybe she didn't like me that way, that I was just imagining things. But deep down, I knew. I saw the way she looked at me sometimes, the way she lingered a little too long when we hugged.

Then, graduation happened. People moved away, life got in the way. We stayed in touch for a while, emails, the occasional phone call. But it faded. I heard through the grapevine that she got married a few years ago, has a couple of kids now. And I'm happy for her, I really am. But there's this little voice in the back of my head that keeps whispering, 'What if?' What if I had just been brave enough to tell her how I felt? What if we could have been something more?

It's been years, and I know I should move on. But sometimes, when I'm alone, I think about Sarah and wonder what could have been. It's my biggest regret. I missed my chance, and now it's gone. I just hope she's happy.