Eavesdropping at the Lake Contest

So, Dan, Jackson and I were walking around one of our city lakes today and couldn't help but people-watch. Living in a fairly big city - as we do - there are a lot of characters to entertain us. There are also a lot of everyday folks who are just out walking, like us.

We were walking behind a couple who looked pretty happy to be out. The woman was sauntering a little bit and the man was giving her sly smiles from the side. Neither one of them seemed to be wearing wedding rings (why do I know this? I pay too close attention sometimes...). At one point, they both put their arms around each other and gave a "sideways hug" while walking. Occasionally, one would pat the other one's shoulder or give a soft caress.

Okay, the picture has been painted. Why do I tell you all of this? Because here's what happened next. We decided to pick up the pace and bypass this seemingly happy couple. Dan and Jackson went first and I followed. I wasn't walking slow (I swear), but I was walking slow enough to pick up a snippet of their conversation:

She said: "Here's the thing...I'm smitten...you're great...but..."

We then proceeded to play a game of "fill in the blank" for the rest of the walk.

Contest: Whoever comes up with the best idea about what the "but" meant gets a bar of chocolate. I'm not kidding. We also laid out a picnic blanket with the Boy on this adventure and feasted on a bar of Green & Black's Organic Espresso Dark Chocolate and it was a lovely experience. I'd love to share this with you. And I'd really love to hear your responses since we had a ton of fun trying to come up with the ending of this great Lake-Walk-Drama.

Here are a few to get you going:

"Here's the thing...I'm smitten...you're great...but...I'm moving to New York tomorrow morning."

"Here's the thing...I'm smitten...you're great...but...I'm in love with your best friend."

"Here's the thing...I'm smitten...you're great...but...I'm leaving the country tomorrow on a 5-year expedition to study the mating rituals of iguanas."

Okay, now you try. The contest is officially open. Responses must be in by Friday the 8th. The best, most creative, most hysterical entry wins and we'll see what we can do about runners-up and honorable mentions if y'all are really that good. Good luck, chocolate lovers!