He came into my life in a moment I never expected. I had recently decided that I wanted a divorce, told my husband, and we both agreed it was for the best. My best friend was giddy with excitement for me ditching him as they never saw eye to eye. The next day I saw her, she grabbed my phone (not an unusual occurrence) and created a Tinder account for me. Determined not to let me settle again, she rejected most men that popped into my account. Within an hour I had several messages, and assumed they all just wanted a piece of me. I was busy trying to pack up 7 years of my 23 on this Earth into as few boxes as possible, going through piles of what to keep, what to sell, and what to toss. Naturally Tinder became a slight distraction, as I had no experience dating as an adult. I received a message from him, simple enough, and being the kind of girl who will kiss as many frogs as I need to until I find my prince, I replied. He wanted to have a conversation with me, not just ask when we could go get a drink or hook up. I’m sure I sounded bitchy or uninterested, but truly I just wanted to get out of that house as quickly as I could. My heart hadn’t been in the relationship since before we got married. I thought that he was all I could get, so I stayed, miserable and depressed, for years longer than our shelf life.
We talked all night, about life, relationships that have failed, and love that we hoped we would find. He was cautious, as was I, but there was something immediately different with him. I told him how I had to find a new home for my cats, and he offered to take them for as long as I couldn’t keep them myself. We arranged a time for him to pick up, which was about a week later. He lived two hours away, but drove through my town twice a week coming and going from work. We continued to talk about everything and nothing for the next few days, and then decided to meet up for coffee a couple days before he was to pick up my babies.
Monday came, the day I was going to meet him, and I was an absolute wreck. I didn’t know what to wear, my hair wouldn’t cooperate, and I was running on about three hours of sleep. I’m perpetually early, so I left about 20 minutes before we said we would meet up, and texted him when I got there about five minutes later letting him know what car I was in. He responded immediately saying he was already there and he would start walking to the door. I saw him instantly, and thought he was incredibly cute. He held the door open for me, let me order first, and we just sat and talked for hours. I didn’t realize that he worked a couple hours away, and he never made it seem like he needed to be anywhere. Our phones never came out of our pockets and we didn’t stop the conversation. The store was about to close, he held the door open for me, and walked me to my car. He said goodnight, took my hand, and kissed it, and closed my car door behind me.
I drove home in a daze, wondering if he was even real. When I got home there was a text waiting for me.
“I just want to say thank you for getting coffee with me today. I had a wonderful time and I look forward to seeing you again.”
Could I have actually found a gentleman in an age where fuck boys were everywhere, or was he just putting his best foot forward to try and get into my pants? I had a feeling it wasn’t the latter, but you never really know. We continued texting all night, and into the next day. Wednesday that week was when he was picking up my babies, and he asked me out to dinner and a movie beforehand. We had both realized we loved kid movies as much as the other, so we went to see Sing. We laughed at the same parts, sang the songs quietly to ourselves, and I even held his hand for a while. We’re both socially awkward, he hides behind his romance skills, and I’ve always hid behind my sexuality. I think it kept us both on our toes, but for the first time in my life, I wanted to take things slow.
After the movie we went to my old place, as I had already moved out by then. My ex-husband was crashing with his brother as he didn’t want to be alone in the home we had built together, thankfully. He took his time letting them get used to him being there, Belle was the first to come up to him. Belle, being the love bug that she is, immediately started purring and let him pick her up. He spoiled her with belly scratches and then got her in the kennel while I went searching for Beast. He was in his usual hiding spot under the bed and after some coercing I got him out and let them meet each other. I excused myself for a moment while a few tears fell from my cheeks. I knew that I would see them again, but I had both of them since they were 12 weeks old. They had never known another home, and although I knew he would take care of them as well as I did, they would still be hours away.
We packed them into the car and started to drive home, listening to them cry in the back seat, and I hid my sorrow with laughter like I normally did. He walked me to my door, kissed my hand goodnight, and drove away with a piece of my heart that night. I received a text a few hours later letting me know they made it safe and sound, and he listed to Beast cry the entire ride home.
Over the next few weeks we talked nonstop. He drove to work on Sundays, and would come spend a few hours with me, and then again on Thursdays when he got off work.
On our third date I was determined to get a kiss. We went bowling, played best two out of three, and it was a close game. My last frame he told me he bet I could hit at least 8 pins, so I asked what the stakes were. I know that we both were thinking the same thing, but he was still erring on the side of caution and wouldn’t say what I wanted him to. I looked at him, a devilish grin, and said I have an idea. I turned around, rolled, and hit nine pins. I quickly spun around and kissed him, receiving an instant blush from both our parts. He had told me the night before that he had a surprise for me, so I was anxious to know what it was. He had bought a vase and some Post-it notes, and told me to write down everything I’ve always wanted to do, and he would do his best to make them happen. When he dropped me off at home that night, we kissed goodnight, and he left with another piece of my heart.
The next time I saw him my ex-husband had been driving me crazy all weekend. Instead of having two more weeks to clean out our place he told our landlord that we would be out by that Thursday. I felt terrible and told him that I had to spend our Sunday cleaning instead of being with him, and without even thinking about it he offered to help. We got a few rooms done, but I just wanted to leave so I said that I would finish up the next day. We went and ate dinner, talked for a few hours and before we knew it, it was time for him to finish the drive to work.
We’ve talked every day for the past 4 weeks, and I know it seems crazy that I know without a doubt he’s the one, but I do. I never expected to find love, and I never could’ve imagined it would look like this when I did. He is my prince charming, my friend, my lover, and so much more. I see our future clearly, and so can he. They match up perfectly, and I can not wait to see what else is in store for us. With every day that passes, I fall for him more and more. He is the only man I see and ever want to see. Most people would think he stole my heart, but that’s not the case. I have given it to him willingly, knowing that, as with anything, it may end up broken beyond repair. But I trust him to protect it, love it, treasure it, as I do with his.
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