My High School Crush Kissed Me On A Bet To Humiliate Me. Now He Transferred To My College And Wants A Second Chance. Should I Give Him The Satisfaction Of A Response?

The Coffee Date

Saturday afternoon, my phone buzzed with a text from a number I didn’t recognize. It was Nico, saying he got my number from someone in our friend group and hoped that was okay. He mentioned he’d been thinking it would be good to catch up properly since we were both here now. He suggested coffee sometime, said he felt bad about how we’d lost touch after graduation.

I stared at the message for a long time. Part of me wanted to ignore it completely. Another part was curious what he could possibly say about what happened. I texted back two hours later and said:

“Sure.”

Coffee sounded fine. We made plans to meet Monday after my morning classes at the cafe on the south end of campus.

Monday came and I almost didn’t go. I stood outside the cafe for three minutes debating whether to walk away, but I’d already agreed and I wanted to see if he would actually acknowledge what he’d done or just pretend it never happened. I pushed open the door and found him already there at a corner table with two drinks in front of him.

He stood up when he saw me, smiling that same charming smile that used to make my heart race. Now it just made me tired. He said he’d ordered for me, remembered I liked vanilla lattes. I sat down and thanked him.

He started talking immediately about his classes, his new apartment off campus, how different college was from what he’d expected. He asked about my major and seemed genuinely interested when I told him about the research project I was working on. He complimented my hair, said he loved the new style. He mentioned a party coming up that weekend and suggested we should go together.

I kept my answers short and pleasant. Told him about my classes in basic terms. Said my research was going well. Thanked him for the compliments without elaborating. Declined the party invitation by saying I already had plans. I watched him work harder with each passing minute, trying different topics and angles to get me engaged in real conversation.

He never once mentioned high school beyond vague references to our friend group. Never brought up the party that summer. Never acknowledged the bet or the kiss or the laughter. He acted like our last interaction had been some normal goodbye before we headed off to different schools. Like we were old friends who’d simply drifted apart and now had a chance to reconnect.

The Pitch

After an hour of this careful small talk, Nico leaned forward and his expression shifted to something more serious. He said he’d been thinking about me a lot since seeing me again on campus. He admitted he’d always wondered what might have happened if we’d stayed in touch after graduation. He said he’d love to hang out more now that we were at the same school, maybe make up for lost time.

I smiled and told him that sounded nice, keeping my voice friendly but offering nothing concrete. I glanced at my phone and said I needed to get to class. He asked for my schedule so we could coordinate better. I stood up and said I’d text him sometime. I walked out before he could suggest anything else.

Leilani was waiting in our apartment when I got back. She’d finished her classes early and made tea for both of us. She asked how the coffee went before I’d even put my bag down. I sat on the couch and told her it went exactly how I’d expected. Nico had spent the entire hour pretending the past didn’t exist while testing whether I was still interested in him. He’d complimented me, acted fascinated by my life, suggested future plans, all without once acknowledging why we’d stopped talking in the first place.

Leilani asked what I was planning to do about it. I realized as I said it out loud that I didn’t actually need to do anything except keep living my life the way I had been. His complete inability to acknowledge what he’d done told me everything I needed to know about whether he’d really changed. I didn’t need to confront him or explain or give him chances. I just needed to continue being polite and distant until he figured it out himself.