We were both giving blood
and you commented on the book I was reading
by Jesse Andrews
and you said that you had read it
and had loved it
and I made a point not to say
and I love you
because you might not have noticed me staring
the last two times
we had given blood together
and I was trying to keep it cool
and hopefully you didn’t notice
but just thought I WAS cool
and not attempting to be.

I mentioned that I knew Jesse Andrews
and you didn’t seem as impressed
as you could have
but you kept the conversation going
until I was done giving blood.
I tried to stall
and slow down the amount escaping my vein
but there was nothing for it
and I eventually had to abandon you there.

I tried to figure out your schedule of donation
so we could meet again
but soon after
I got into this accident
and gave a lot of blood at once
so I lost track of you
at the Red Cross.

Now, though,
there’s this new Jesse Andrews book,
The Haters?
And maybe you’ve already read it
but I haven’t
and
I was wondering
maybe
could you possibly lend me your copy?