The First Date

"Is that what you are going to wear?" My mom asked me as I walked past her room on my way out.

"Yeah. I am comfortable and plus, I like this shirt." I said as I kissed her on the forehead. "Bye, Mom. I'll be home before midnight."

I was on my way to go on my first date with Jeff. I was wearing a green over-sized hooded sweatshirt. This was not only my first date with Jeff but my first real date with a boy.

I remember that I didn't feel like I thought I would feel about my first date. In the movies, girls were always nervous and stressed about what they were going to wear and their make-up. Those things really didn't matter to me. Sure, there were a few butterflies in my stomach but for the most part, I just felt comfortable.

I liked Jeff. He was easy to talk to. He made me laugh. I liked the way I felt around him. I liked how I could just be me. I liked how it just felt right. It was like my heart knew something before my head did.

Although, our first date almost didn't happen. Jeff and I actually met for the first time a couple weeks earlier. I was going out with my best friend and she knew some guys that were going to hang out. She wanted to go over to their house. I just wanted to go out.

Upon meeting Jeff, I really never gave him a second thought. I thought that he was not 'my type'. He had blond hair, blue eyes and he was shorter than me. I was suppose to be with someone tall, dark and handsome, or so I thought.

But throughout the night, Jeff just kept showing up to talk to me. He was funny. I laughed a lot when he was around. And I liked the way he made me feel.

But the thing that sealed the deal for me was towards the end of the night. I was tired. I wanted to go home but my girl friend wanted to stay. So I lay down on the couch to wait for her.

The problem was I was cold. I tried to curl up as tight as I could to get warm and go to sleep but I couldn't stop shivering. Then suddenly, someone put a coat over me. I opened my eyes and Jeff's sweet smile was what a I saw. He then took a seat down by my feet and began to give me a foot message.

At that moment, it was like a light bulb went off. I knew there was something about this guy. I knew I needed to see him again.

It took some doing but I finally got his phone number. I held onto to for a week and stressed about whether to call him or not. Until finally, my best friend dialed his number and then when he answered, she handed me the phone.

I asked him if he had any plans for Friday night. He told me, not really but he had to mop the kitchen floor for his mom before he could go out. (For the record, I thought this was the sweetest thing ever.)

We talked for over two hours but decided that the next night, Valentine's Day, we would go out to eat and see a movie.

During our date, he opened every door for me, held my hand during the movie, held me close when I got scared during the movie and at the end of the night, he asked if he could see me again. Then he leaned in and kissed me good night on the cheek.

From then on, I was hooked.

That date was 13 years ago. We have spent Valentine's day together ever since. Some dates have been better than others, some more fancy and some more romantic. But at the end of the day, the only real thing that matters is that we are together.

And God willing, we always will be.