a love story {part 2}

So there I was, sitting in my RA's room, tearfully apologizing for letting myself fall for someone within a month of school starting despite the first semester no-dating policy. Although all of our interactions had thus far been in a group setting, it was apparently painfully obvious that we REALLY liked each other. Funny thing was, neither one of us had expressed any feelings to the other, at all. We just knew.

So that was a little awkward. I mean, how do you explain to someone that you've been reprimanded for liking them when you haven't told them you like them yet, and you're not supposed to tell them that you like them? Worse yet, how do you do it in a group setting?

The perfect solution seemed to be the same as in grade school...write a note. Technically, it wasn't "pairing off" and something had to be said...

So I wrote a note. It went something like this:

Kevin.

I have been accused of really liking you, but I can't like you right now because it's against the rules. I don't want to get in trouble. So we'd better chill and pretend like we don't like each other.

{It wasn't quite that explicit.}

So began the daunting task of pretending that we didn't like each other. Which was really, really hard.

By this point, we had many of the same friends, and we were always going out to eat, or doing homework, or going to church together. So we did our best to be just friends and hang out. It actually went pretty well, for the most part.

There was one occasion at Sonic when we were all sitting around talking, and he was in his car parked at the carhop ordering box by himself. I don't know why.

I couldn't resist. I walked over to the box and popped my head over and said, "What can I get you, mister?"

Without hesitation he replied, "One Jenny, second semester, please."

*Gulp*

I had asked for it.

There was another incident, I don't remember the timing exactly, when he and I and two other friends went to sit on the beach after dark. I can't remember exactly who the two other people were, but they took off down the beach about 2 seconds after we got out of the car. (Thanks, people.) So there we were, unintentionally paired off, sitting on the beach. That was one of the first times we just talked. About life. About our individual hopes and dreams. And of course, we had to run into the waves before we headed back to make curfew. I remember standing waist deep in the dark, churning water that reflected the black sky and a million stars, with this amazing man I was pretty sure I was falling in love with less than 10 feet away. So close, but so far away. That moment is forever etched in my memory.

And then it was gone. Our wandering friends came back. We all piled back in his car and went through the Taco Bell drive through on our way home. As I turned to tell him what I wanted, he held out a flower, picked from the bushes lining the drive through lane. I put it behind my ear, and he took a picture of me, with my soaking wet hair and running mascara and a smile that couldn't be helped.

I kept that flower in my journal for a long, long time. Until it fell apart.

To be continued...