In love

It was late in October; I was studying for a test and in bed because I had to work in the morning. My best friend came home earlier than I expected and looked really sad. It was her 21st birthday so I figured I wouldn't see her that night at all. Turns out, she got stood up and had nothing to do. So, I told her I'd take her to Applebee's, a local hangout that she can have an alcoholic beverage at, and me being underage could still hangout with her. She got a phone call from a male friend and invited him to come see us, yes us, as if I wanted to hangout or even be there in the first place. I reminded her I wanted to go home soon and was not going to be out all night. I didn't want to be a downer but I had mid terms on the brain and work at 6:00am. The boys came, yes plural so that it would be perfectly set up - one for me, one for her. I saw them and went to the restroom planning my "text escape" when I noticed them both following me into the bathroom. I knew Zach, but not his friend. His friend, apparently, didn't know how to read because he was still following me even into the woman's bathroom. I looked at him crazy and said "wrong bathroom," he looked at me dazed and confused. Said "huh" and suddenly realized what he was doing and went into the men's room. The whole time I was in the restroom, I wondered what he was thinking. When I got back to our table, he was sitting in my spot! My friend even moved and didn't take my purse. Naturally, I was weirded out and concerned for my purse. I asked Zach's friend to move and to give me my purse. He, once again, looked dazed and confused and had no response. I remember looking at my friend giving her the "I'm going to kill you" look. Finally, I was able to get "homeboy" to move and had my purse, although he stayed sitting next to me. Zach finally introduced me to Dallas and I actually heard Dallas say more than "oh" and "huh." I noticed right away he articulated his words and spoke with intelligence. Zach started to get rowdy and embarrass us, so I picked up the tab, grabbed my friend and left.

As we were sitting in the car we pulled out our favorite CD and had a mini jam session as if we were alone in the world. The next thing I knew, Zach and Dallas were at our windows. Dallas was on my side and we talked a little bit. Then my friend looked at me and asked if I was ready to go. Before I could say anything, she drove off, leaving me with no goodbye to Dallas. During our conversation, I learned he was about to leave for New York. I was so excited because I too, had planned on moving there soon. I wanted to keep in touch with him, but since my friend drove off, I had no way of contacting him. We decided to go to a local market and see what ridiculous things we could buy. As we were checking out her phone rang, it was Zach and Dallas. Needless to say Dallas and I exchanged numbers. Days later, as I was packing for a trip to California, I got a text from Dallas. He wanted to see me before he left for New York, but due to my busy schedule that wasn't possible. So I told him to keep in touch and we would meet again soon in New York. He did just that - for two months straight we talked everyday, all day. I learned everything about this man. I shared so many details about myself and learned all about his joys and fears. I fell in love. We fell in love.

The distance became too much to bare. I would dream about holding his hands, holding him tight and kissing his lips. I finally convinced him to come back to Texas after 2 1/2 months. We fell in love fast and hard. Nothing else mattered to either one of us. I dropped out of law school and switched jobs. I made my life around his. Within two weeks of him being back, we moved in together, worked together, worked out together and even showered together. The passion of our love was so strong that I wanted to spend every second with him, and our time together was perfection. We were in love and there was no denying it. Soon enough, we were planning our move to New York. This time, we were moving together and we were engaged. We packed up our life in Texas and moved to New York. We drove across the country, the most amazing road trip ever. We took funny pictures, laughed a lot and bought a bunch of crazy nick nacks from all the cool gas stations we passed. We made a life in New York together, it was beautiful! We got married, and soon became pregnant.

I often think about how I met my Prince Charming... it was at an Applebee's and we barely spoke. Now, almost ten years later, we are married with kids and I still have that same raging passion pumping through my veins. The only difference is I now share my heart with him and my kids.

Who is Ari?  She's a woman....