The Beginning

My Story, Part 1

I know I haven't consistently written in, oh, probably 4 years, but I really do love this space and everything it creates for me--it allows for me to count my blessings, make new friends, and provides a little peace when my life seems to be in turmoil.

So where do I begin?
I'll start with how he and I started. We truly had a whirlwind romance that I thought would last a lifetime. Because if you truly know me, you know I don't fall in love. But I did. I fell fast and hard and passionately.

AT the end of July 2012, my mother and I went on a cruise together. We planned and booked it in February. I had vacation time and money burning a hole in my pocket, and the last time I had gone on vacation was spring break 2011 just before I graduated. I was ready for something a little different and was excited for my first-ever cruise! We spent a wonderful week in tropical weather and islands. It was so much fun and relaxing at the same time.

Three weeks before I went on this cruise, I started hanging out with a couple girl friends I had made throughout my first year of being out of college. We spent our Saturday evenings at a local joint that had pool tables and an AWESOME beer special. Purchase a t-shirt with their bar's name on it, free tap from 8-midnight on Saturdays when you wear it. Perfect for the three of us as the two of them have children and I am just poor and cheap :)

I loved spending Saturday nights at this place. It was about 4 miles from my apartment at the time, and the free tap ended early enough that I never worried about driving. It was Saturday after I returned from the cruise that I met Dillon. It was one of the bartenders' birthday, so naturally I met up with my girls for a little bit. I didn't wear my shirt, so no free beer for me. I had other plans for the evening already and wanted to look cute instead of worrying about the t-shirt. We three girls hung out with a couple guys that the other two were interested in at the time, and this week, the guys brought a third. I thought he was cute but I was more worried about spending time with my girls and making sure I left in enough time to head to downtown Tulsa for a music event. I had planned on meeting up with Katy, her boyfriend, and one of my other friends.

As the night progressed, he and I started chatting while he was playing pool with one of the other guys. Me, being the cocky person that I am, made a smart remark that went along the lines of "give me your cue stick and let me show you how it's done."...mind you, I am TERRIBLE at ppol. But I made 3 shots in a row and handed the stick back to him. I could never do that again even if I tried! We chatted a lot off and on throughout the night, since he was playing pool and the bar was super loud due to a cover band playing that night. At one point, he said "I like you boots" and I said "Thanks? I bought them myself." very hatefully. Seriously, I was not digging this guy at first, but he was nice and made me laugh a few times, so what was the harm in flirting? I thought we hit it off pretty well, so at the end of my time there, I made sure I found him to tell him I was leaving. Just him. You know what he did? Absolutely nothing. Just said "Okay bye! Hopefully I'll see you again sometime!" So I thought, okay, maybe he is just a really nice guy. No biggie.

I had to work the next day (yes I worked on Sundays), and didn't really think much more about it. Or him. Work was its usual annoyance at the time, and I was so tired form staying up super late with my friends after our music fest. I checked my phone at 4PM and I had like 5 messages from one of my girls asking what I thought about Dillon. I told her he seemed nice but that's all I thought. She then proceeded to gush about how he had been messaging her all day and asking about me. So we DID hit it off, he was just chicken. Not 10 minutes after I got off work, I had a friend request from him on Facebook. I confirmed the friendship and within seconds he messaged me asking how work went. This was before facebook messenger (can you believe that app is not even two years old?!), so trying to have conversation was annoying. I had to purposely pull up facebook constantly. On top of that, Katy came to my apartment so we could watch the Olympic opening ceremonies together. So here I am, watching one of my favorite events in the world with one of my favorite persons in the world and trying to hold a conversation through facebook messenger with this guy. I was actually a little annoyed about the whole situation, because this wouldn't have had to happen if he had just pulled up his big boy panties and asked for my number when I left.

Katy left after the ceremonies were over, and he and I continued our conversation. I asked him if it would have been easier to just get my number, so then he asked for it. But at that point I had already found his number on facebook (one of the many reasons I have mine hidden) and sent him a text saying it was me and I was going to bed because I had to work the next day.

I think that's probably a good place to stop for now.