Once upon a time, at a small Christian university called Northwestern, there was a guy entering college with some lofty ambitions. He was going to college to get a degree... and a girlfriend. Sixty percent for one and forty percent for the other (though he'd never admit which was which).

And, at that same small Christian university called Northwestern, there was a girl who entered college with the lofty ambition of NOT dating ANYONE until her senior year so that she could focus on school and her future teaching plans.

Their paths intertwined through a church, a Bible study, and common friends who would take far too much credit for what comes at the end.

She grabbed his attention quickly through her beautiful smile and sharp-witted mind. So, through pumpkins and stories and a few other things, he tried to capture her heart.

She was rather annoyed that someone was trying to distract her from her no-dating promise to herself. However, she found that she loved talking to this interesting, funny individual and spending time with him, so she continued to do so whenever they found themselves together.

They talked about everything they could think about - microwaves, silly debates, the metallic taste of the salad in the Billy cafeteria, their favorite stories, stories they'd written, their families... and the list wound on.

Now, it did not take the young man long to share his feelings with this girl. (Though, to him, it felt like an eternity.) He slowly worked up his courage to admit his feelings to this girl with advice from family and friends. On her part, she was still hiding her gathering suspicions about his feelings and her own under a thin veneer of blatant denial.

Then, something happened that the pair did not expect. Amid the turmoil of fall 2020, the girl was exposed to a very certain virus and unfortunately had to travel back home to quarantine - the day before the young man had planned his grand first move in the delicate game of chess that was certain to commence. :(

Because this untimely quarantine ruined his plans, the guy turned to texting the girl, and watching Kung Fu Panda became his only comfort for days on end.

The girl appreciated the attention that the guy was paying her during this time, and she knew, deep in the back of her mind, that she was starting to maybe not dislike the fact that he seemed to like her.

And so, they kept talking, until...

... he paid her a compliment that was a little too real during one of their texting conversations (throwing dynamite in the hole he was digging for himself, one might say). This begged the necessity of a phone call between them, in which he said:

"So, hypothetically, there is this guy. And he sees this girl. She has a really beautiful smile and a very kind heart, and he really likes this girl. And he's wondering if she likes him, too."

And, hearing the silence on the other end of the phone, and panicking, she replied:

"On a scale of one to ten, how scared are you right now?"

Which was not an answer!

But he replied with some witty response... Probably. (It's difficult to keep the details straight anymore.) They decided to wait to further discuss the matter later so that she could take some time to think about it. (Of course, the answer was obvious.)

The two continued to make small talk until she returned from quarantine. Upon her return, they took a long walk around the beautiful waning autumn colors on campus and discussed feelings and reasons to date - or to wait.

After a few weeks and a few "non-dates," they decided (she decided, and he already knew) that dating sounded like a pretty good idea, after all.

And so, in December of 2020, they became boyfriend and girlfriend and went on their first official date.

(Yay!)

Still to be written - and how we are excited to see what is to come!