I must admit, Eric had me from day 1. We first met at the Bethelfields neighborhood pool. The year was 2010 and I was age 15. He invited me over to dinner with his family, where I felt welcomed among the Hurley Clan. We spent a fun summer as teenagers. Then, Eric broke my heart. *cue dramatic music* I must admit, the last two years of high school were rough. I avoided him at all costs, even running into doors to make sure my presence was unknown. Fast forward 6 (or 7?) years. My closest friend at the time noticed Eric shared a football music video I created on his Facebook page. I said "THE AUDACITY OF THIS MAN TO SHARE MY WORK!" (To his defense, him and his buddies were in the video.) I thought "well, let me check this dude out!" Hmm, I add him as a friend. Immediately he accepted my friend request. My next impression "Oh, he got real cute!" I screamed with excitement. I don't quite remember who messaged who first... but after days of non stop texting, we began to go on adventures hiking, to concerts, to music festivals and more. Oh, who said "I love you" first? Ha! I did. It was the day after Thanksgiving. Eric and I woke up early to grab Dunkin Donuts at 7am on the way to my parents house to decorate the Christmas tree. They messed up our order, and I found Eric's anger slightly amusing and adorable. I giggled and said "Oh my goodness! I love yo-" I zapped my lips shut. I was mortified. But, it was too late! Eric heard the famous three words. I tried my best to back pedal. Nothing was going to save me. He was amused. "What did you say?" he asked with a grin. "Nothing! It was nothing!" I replied. He kept driving until I confessed. He said to me, "Hey, just know that just because I didn't say the words back doesn't mean the feelings aren't there." I breathed. Later that night at a concert, he screamed those famous three words in my ear.