Our love story: part 3

I was so not ready to get married. I was still a teenager! Could I be wrong, though? I mean, I barely knew this guy. He was the exact opposite of every guy I'd ever dated. He tried so hard to be Mr. Suave but was so...not. He was so dorky it was adorable.

I went up to my room and sat on my bed, so giddy with excitement, yet overcome with uneasiness. I knew very little about this guy. I knew he had just returned home from serving in El Salvador for two years. And he was cute. That was about it...Needless to say, I had some investigating to do before I called this guy my future husband.

There was a YSA ward picnic in a few days and he said he'd be there. Which meant I would too, obvi. I didn't want to be right on time (I have a problem with my punctuality, you see. I'm always on time. Always. But for parties/gatherings, when you're right on time, you look like a loser. Mormons don't show up until at least 30 minutes after the scheduled time. I didn't want to show up and A) be all alone or B) have Chad already be there and see what a loser I am).

When I finally showed up (over an hour later--I got lost...), he was there having a conversation in Spanish with someone. I, like a complete desperate dummy, walked right up to him and said "HI!". Well, he was talking to someone already, so he casually said hi back and continued his conversation.
I felt so ridiculous. I was not being myself, at all. I was nervous and came off desperate. The thing is, I had promised myself no more boyfriends for a while. I was not interested in any sort of relationship. So why was I acting this way?

All the guys were heading towards the baseball field to get a game going. Chad was excited to play, that was obvious. His excitement was clear, and it made me curious to see if he was excited because it was something to do or because he was actually good. Well, he rocked it. He was showing off, and normally I hate that, but it was clear he was showing off for me, and I liked it. He'd hit the ball, run to first base and look at me to make sure I saw. So cute.

When the game was over we talked for a bit.

"My cousin is having a few friends over to play games tonight if you want to come. Or not, whatever. It's really not a big deal".

Do you want me to go, or not?

I had already been invited by another guy to a bonfire at his place that night and told him I'd go, so I was a little unsure what to do. The bonfire sounded like fun, but come on, that guy wasn't my future husband. So I told Chad I had other plans but I hated bonfires so games sounded much more appealing.

When he came to pick me up he had Garth Brooks playing in his car. HA. I immediately went for his CD case to pick something else.

"Why do you have Garth Brooks playing when you could be playing only the best band ever, Incubus?"

"Girls like Garth Brooks", he replied.

"Not this girl", I said.

He smiled and changed out the CD's. Based on his CD collection, it was pretty clear he didn't like country music either. One more reason I knew I liked him: he had awesome taste in music.

We got to his cousins place, played games and had a blast. We watched a few episodes of The Office and decided to call it a night. Chad took me home, and as much as I wanted him to kiss me, I was glad when he didn't. This game he was playing, although it was nothing I was used to, kept things interesting. He had my 100% attention.

The next day was Sunday. We sat next to each other at church and he invited me to go to ward prayer with him later that evening. Afterwards, he invited me to his house to watch a movie. We watched 27 Dresses (how was that even an option??) on opposite sides of the couch. Towards the end of the movie he asked me to sit closer to him. I obliged and our bodies touched, but we didn't hold hands. He was driving me crazy. I knew he liked me but was making zero moves.

When the movie was over he said,

"Come here".

"No. I know what you're doing. You come here", I said.

I was not going to give in. He had pulled every bit of information out of me. I had given in too quickly. But if he wanted to kiss me, he was going to make the move. I was putting my foot down.

He scooted over, put his hand on my knee and leaned in.

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008 I had my last first kiss.

go here for part 1

go here for part 2