Our crazy/silly/roller-coastery story, part five

Then the first weekend in October came.

The first mission reunion.

I wanted to go, see the mission buddies, and show everyone that I hadn't been wasting time. Maybe not so much the last one, but I was excited nonetheless. Troy and TD&H accompanied Diana and myself. It was a little awkward at first, but I am glad that we both had "friends" there and that they both had someone to talk to--each other. It was really fun to see old friends, and Diana and I were having fun watching people try to figure out what was going on between us and these guys. We certainly didn't divulge too much information!

The next day Di and I were invited to the guys' apartment to watch General Conference. From the moment I sat down on the couch next Mr. TD&H, I could feel something was different. He was serious about being with me (if you catch my drift). The sparks were flying, and I was having a hard time concentrating on the talks. As he got closer and cuddlier, I had to ask myself some serious questions. Like: was I ready to kiss this guy? Did I think that was okay? I was TOTALLY gun-shy when it came to physical affection, and I almost panicked at the prospect. Still unsure of myself, I avoided looking him in the eye (you know, lips in close proximity) until I could sort things out. Turns out my defenses weren't too strong. As he walked me to the car, I felt my moment of truth had come. And it had. He cornered me--there was nowhere to go. I decided to move forward in faith (how's that for misquoting?), and we kissed. I hadn't done that in a long time. I liked it. A lot.

There it was. The first kiss. A little awkward. And wonderful.

Where were we going with this? We'd soon find out.

Soon after that I was invited to a party at another mission companion's house--Mel K. She became my companion right after Diana went home. I missed Di very much, and Mel was the perfect companion for me at that time. She was absolutely the most loving, supportive, optimistic, sensitive, spiritual person I had ever known. I would go anywhere or do anything to be with her for an evening. I was excited to introduce her to Mr. TD&H. She was thrilled to meet this guy. We went, and it was like another mission reunion. Mel and her mom were so welcoming and kind to both of us. I was so busy greeting people that I didn't pay that much attention to my guy. As we were going home, we were deep in conversation. It was your basic DTR (define the relationship). I was having fun being with him, getting to know him, and getting back into the single social scene. But he proceeded to lay things on the line. He was 26 years old. He had dated a LOT (about 50 girls). He was ready to get married. He wanted to date me to figure out if he wanted to marry me. YIKES!!! He was dead serious. He was so earnest in saying what was in his heart that we drove all the way to Payson before he realized that we had missed the exit for Provo. Of course, I being the ultra-observant person that I was, I had noticed about 5 seconds after he missed the University Parkway off-ramp. I have to admit that he was freaking me out a little bit. But strangely enough, I wasn't turned off by him. I found his honesty and humility so refreshing. He was so completely different than any other guy I had ever been interested in. I was willing to give it a try with this TD&H man. I could tell he was worth it.

to be continued...