When just receiving a phone call from someone these days can be seen as intimate, it’s hard not to assume romance is dead. But there are still people out there who believe in grand, romantic gestures and believe that confessions of love require a lil’ more effort than just a right swipe. These 11 stories from real people will remind you that there is hope out there for humanity.
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Challenge them to a friendly game.
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“I once turned around to a guy who sat behind me in a lecture (with whom I was super in love despite exchanging zero words) and asked if he wanted to play me in Words With Friends. It completely worked and we ended up hooking up consistently and nearly dating.”—Dia B., 27
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Do something that shows you listen.
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“My now-boyfriend slid a note under the door of my dorm room after we spent the night before talking about letters and childhood pen pals a the party where we met. He lived directly across the hall, which could’ve been a disaster, but thankfully worked out.”—Sarah W., 23
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Include their favorite sweet treat.
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“In high school, my crush got my favorite candy, a York peppermint patty. He carefully opened it, slipped a note inside asking me to go out with him and re-sealed it and gave it to me at lunch. Still one of the cutest ways I’ve been asked out.”—Alli K., 23
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Plan a romantic scavenger hunt.
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“One time in college, I couldn’t go home for Easter weekend and I was really sad. My crush set up a mini Easter egg / scavenger hunt for me where each egg had a clue of where to find the next egg. In the last egg was a handwritten note that said ‘will you go to formal with me?’”—Becky K., 25
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Be bold when a latte is at stake.
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She caught his eye when she walked into Starbucks one day, but he didn't have the courage to approach her — just to make her drink order. Same with the next day. And the next. Until one day, he snuck a little message onto the bottom of her cup and winked when handing it over.
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Offer a piece of gum.
Emi Boscamp
He walked up to her with a quiet confidence and offered a piece of gum on the way to class. She took the one partially sticking out and found a surprise inside. The message on the wrapper read, "Will you go out with me?" and the two ended up dating for almost three years. [Editor's note: This actually happened to the author!]
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Open up your heart — and journal.
@hiitaylorblake
After taking a shot at a beautiful girl named Josie on a dating app, Taylor Blake started a journal to log each of their dates. They started out simple, but, as they got to know each other more, the entries became more intense — until, finally, she presented Josie with the journal, putting all her feelings on the table, and asked if she'd officially be her girlfriend. She said yes, of course.
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Add the pressure of millions of viewers.
Got Talent Global
After high school a cappella group OneVoice performed flawlessly on America's Got Talent, one of the band members took the opportunity to ask his crush a special question — on national television, no less: Prom?
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Steal a phone for the only acceptable reason to steal a phone.
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When his crush wasn't looking, he took her phone, changed his name and photo in her contacts, and placed it back next to her. Then, he called. When she looked down to see who was calling, she couldn't help but swoon.
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Know that no amount of cheese is ever too much.
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The only thing better than opening a box with an engagement ring is opening a box of ooey, gooey, cheesy pizza. She'll be drooling too much to say no.
Asking someone to go to the movies is one thing. Asking someone to be your girlfriend is another. Instead of waiting the whole movie, through racing hearts and clammy hands, to pop the question, this girl let her golden ticket do all the talking before they even entered the theater.
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Tap into their inner nerd.
themetapicture
Always seated at the front of the chem class taking notes and answering questions, she knew she had to be clever to get his attention. So, she turned to her textbook for inspiration. And, as it turned out, they had quite a lot of chemistry.