Listen? You Need To Stop Making Your Crush Uncomfortable

And yes, you might just be doing it involuntarily.

- Ria Singh

Ladies, this is a non-rhetorical question: How many times have you been hit on and felt uncomfortable? I get it, they’re just trying to have a conversation...and what if they’re genuinely interested in you, right? After all, you don’t want to come across as uptight.

But let’s be real, when a random person saunters towards you, it is more awkward than endearing. It then raises a question: Do we really know how to approach someone without making it weird?

Just about two months ago, I was sitting at a hotel’s lobby, waiting for my ex-colleague to show up for an after-party. To kill time, I did what most of us do—started scrolling through shorts and reels on Instagram.

“Hello!” A voice pierced through, bringing me out of my digital reverie.

I glanced up to see a girl in a sharp pant suit. She couldn’t have been more than a couple years older than me. Before I had the chance to introduce myself, she beat me to it: “You look beautiful, by the way.”

Now, normally, I wouldn’t feel weird about this. It was a compliment. I’ve got them from drunk girls in club washrooms (IFKYK—those compliments are the best) and from female colleagues— and they are totally fine. But this felt different. As we started chatting, she painted a vivid portrait of herself: her profession, pursuits, and hobbies. She wouldn’t stop until my colleague interrupted her...I had to leave.

The next day our paths crossed again at the concierge desk. “I’ve to thank your colleague...” she said, siding up against me with the widest grin, “...if she wouldn’t have taken so long, then I wouldn’t have met you.” That’s when it hit me like a rogue wave slamming along the beach— she was flirting with me.