“Are you from Nashville? Because you’re the only Ten-I-See.” “It must have hurt when you fell from heaven.” “Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?” (Are you gagging yet?)
More than one guy has called me a tough audience. Maybe I am. I don’t hook up, I don’t give out my number all that much, and I make guys work pretty hard right from the get-go (gotta filter, ladies). And in general, I hate pick-up lines. Most lines are so overused that you get a bad taste in your mouth the moment they fall from his. However, occasionally I run across a real gem.
At the time I found these lines creative and cute instead of creepy. Above all, though, the delivery made these cheesy pick-up lines work.
The bait and switch
“You see my friends over there? They’re both these great guys, up-and-comers, going to have amazing careers.” And he didn’t stop there… he listed tons of his friends’ positive traits, pointing at them from across the bar. But in between his apparent wingman-ing, he also stopped to ask me questions about myself and engage in a little flirting. “But my friends, you know, I’ll introduce you to them if you want,” he said, with a coy smile. “Both such great, solid guys.” After completely charming me with witty conversation, I cocked my head to the side and spit out an, “Oh, yeah?” that really conveyed, “Oh, yeah right.” He laughed, and slid into the seat next to me. “Let me take you out.” (And we did go out the next week.)
The going-for-broke line
“I hate to see you go, I love to watch you leave.” Ohmygosh, I thought. What a line! I knew it was a line, even at the time — I rolled my eyes and giggled, plugging my number into his phone on the yet-to-be-opened patio of the new restaurant where we’d just met, a place we were supposed to be for just five minutes. I knew it was a line, but delivered with a devilish smirk and a sigh as he leaned back in his chair, I couldn’t help but smile. It was fun, and set up the tenor of our connection, which was all about the banter and the challenge of it — for better or worse. Sometimes you can just drop it for the whole over-the-top quality, for the shock value of it. Us girls occasionally like when guys spit their best game. If not for the excitement, what else is dating about?
The “old friends” banter
“Finally!” he said, sliding right into the booth next to me. I gaped at him. Um. Finally what? I had zero clue what he was talking about, naturally, which opened the door to organic conversation — because, obviously, I asked! He said he’d been waiting for an opening to talk to me, and finally snuck up when there was a lull in conversation between my friend and me. I admired his ability to get the ball rolling.
The straight-up, non-line line
I have a lot of respect for guys who don’t resort to flattery, opting for simple sincerity instead. “Hey, I’m insert-name-here” followed by an “I wanted to meet you” or “I just wanted to say hello. How’s your day going?” Unless they display something off-putting in the meantime, these guys always get my attention (and number, if they ask for it!). Also, usually, these are the most quality, non-player-type guys too — they’re just looking for a connection with a girl they find attractive.
Generally, if you believe in you, then I believe in you, and whatever you say will work more often than not. So if you can’t sell a line, don’t use it. Just say hello. Simply breaking the ice is 90 percent of the battle.
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