Our first date I told him wasn't going to date him unless he loved God more than me and I think he reeled from my words. He said nothing but more than once I caught him staring at me. Every day for the next four he came over after work and by Friday I was annoyed.
It was shortly therafter that my roommates youngest son sealed my fate with Ben forever. We had all gone out to dinner at Cheddar's and Justin looked at Ben and I and asked me if "Ben was my boyfriend". I said "no, why do you ask"? He shot back, just wondering since you said you went through men like water." I about died!!! Infuriated I got up to cool down and finally cooled off. Ben was patient and tried to calm me down, but I wanted nothing to do with him.
Over the next week I barely acknowledged him and continued to flirt and that is when it hit me. For the first time in my life I missed a guy that I had "quit" talking to and decided to see if he was still interested. So I threw on my ugliest clean the apt clothes, threw my hair up in a disheveled ponytail and invited him over to hang out. He came over within 30 minutes, took one look at me and told me I was absolutely beautiful.
I still played coy with him and he later commented that I was such a challenge to him that he didn't care what it took, I was going to be his no matter what. This was a first. In my past I have had guys chase me like there was no tomorrow, take me out, freak out, disappear and then show up a few months or even a year later to see if I was still single. Not Ben. He was tenacious, assertive, a constant presence and somebody I didn't expect to have in my life.
It took me a long time to fall in love with him, but he didn't care. He was in love. Before he got stationed at Hunter Army Airfield, he told a few of his buddies that he was going to find a true Southern girl and marry her. He told me that he had almost given up when he stumbled across my picture and about fell out of his chair. He never dreamed I would respond to his request to talk and when I did, he wasn't letting me go.
Ben is a dream. Funny, intelligent, trustworthy, patient (except when driving...love you Baby! LOL) and never ever fails to tell me every single day how much he loves me. When I go to Forsyth Park to hang out with my homeless friends, he quietly stands near me so I feel safe and when we leave, he listens to my incessant chattering about how much I love being around my friends in the park.
We laugh constantly, he gives me piggy back rides and we kiss like two crazy teenagers in love. He is my world and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him.
I share all this, because I fell in love when I stopped having expectations and started having fun. Don't ya think life is so much better that way? Sure it has been a whirlwind romance, but ya'll know me, I wouldn't have it any other way!!!
;-)
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