Our Adventure Begins!

Even though she knows Hannah has sworn off dating for good, Hannah’s girlfriend, Katie Knight, attempts to set her up with a cute guy she knows. The next day, the cute guy, Tim, texts Hannah Jane. She is caught off guard when he immediately asks her out on a date without any of the “let’s get to know each other chit chat,” and is surprised when she finds herself agreeing to a date!

After an exhausting day at work, Hannah begins texting Tim a long excuse for why she needs to bail on their date. She is worn out, has nothing to wear (what a joke - have you seen her shopaholic closet?) is craving sweatpants and a glass of wine, is sick of dating, and is having anxiety about going on what she thinks will be yet another dead end date.    Before she hits send, her roommate Danielle calls to ask if she’s ready and excited for the date. Hannah Jane grumbles about how she’s going to cancel. Danielle says, “Absolutely not, put some lipstick on and borrow one of my necklaces to match. If anything...it’s a free meal.” Hannah replies with a “Fiiiiiiiine, I’ll go,” hangs up and deletes the text she had been so eager to send minutes before. That night, she received three compliments on her necklace, including one from Tim, so thank you Danielle!! 

Tim and Hannah Jane agree to meet at a restaurant in South Barrington called ‪the Lucky Monk‬. As Hannah Jane walks up she realizes that she didn’t know what he looked like and neither did Tim. They didn’t even describe their outfits! What if she walks up to the wrong guy?! What if he introduces himself to another girl?! Awkward.    Luckily, the anxiety doesn’t last long because Tim is waiting for her on the bench outside. As soon as he stands up to introduce himself, Hannah Jane felt butterflies. She chalks it up to anxiety and that she didn’t want to be there - but we all know the real reason - he was super cute.    As they sit down to dinner, they chat nervously with the standard “tell me about yourself,” and “what are your interests?” But as the date went on they feel more comfortable and the conversation flows naturally. They start to see they have a lot in common - their love for country music (despite both going through a major emo phase in high school), both went to big ten schools, they are foodies, craft beer lovers, the majority of his family is from the town she grew up in, and Tim actually used to hangout with a ton of people Hannah went to high school with...and yet their paths had never crossed. Small world.    This guy might not be so bad, Hannah thinks!   When dinner ends, Tim, like a gentleman, pays the bill and walks Hannah to her car. He gives her a hug and sys the date was fun and they should do it again soon! She agrees, they get in their cars and go their separate ways. Hannah calls her friend Katie immediately to thank her for setting her up, it went well and he seems like a really nice guy. Hannah says she hopes they’d get together again soon, those little butterflies creeping their way back in at the thought.

Not even 5 minutes after ending her call, Tim calls Hannah. Turns out, Tim called Katie right after Hannah had called to tell her how great the date was. Such dorks we were.    He asks Hannah, “Hey it’s still early yet, do you want to grab a beer?” Hannah is shocked at the fact that he is interested in her enough to want to continue the date. She agrees and he suggests going to a bar they had talked about at dinner called ‪Light the Lamp Brewery‬. Neither one had ever been and it was conveniently located above where she happened to be living. There is live music and good beer. What could be better?    They hang out in the brewery for one more beer and have a blast. They are so comfortable around each other already. At the end of the night, Tim hugs her goodnight and Hannah is a little bummed he didn’t try and kiss her. As it turns out, he has a rule that he never kisses on the first date...such a gentleman!

Tim text Hannah the next afternoon saying what a great time he had last night and asks what she was up to later that night. “No plans,” Hannah says. He says he has a housewarming party earlier in the evening but asks if she wants to meet him at a local place called ‪Lindys Landing‬. She immediately says yes and is super excited to see Tim again.   It was a warm night so they sit at the outdoor beach bar enjoying the weather and each other’s company. The night flew by with amazing conversation and laughter. They really hit it off. Soon enough, the bartender called last call. They paid their bill but didn’t leave the bar. The bartenders close up, turn off the tiki lights, roll down the bar flaps, and leave. But Hannah and Tim don’t leave their stools. It’s just them and the lake on a warm fall night. They continue to talk for the next hour. It starts sprinkling and a storm begins rolling in when they decide to head out. But before they do, Tim leans in for that first kiss, right as lightning lit up the sky.    Hannah leave the bar grinning from ear to ear. As crazy as it sounds, she just knew right then and there that he was the one. It’s like something in her butterfly filled stomach sighed and said yes, this is it.  

From that night forward they were basically joined at the hip, seeing each other every day.    A week and a half into dating, Hannah boldly asked Tim to go out of town with her to her family's house in Door County, WI with the entire family. Although Tim was surprised at how soon it was for them, he agreed. And it turned out to be one of the best times they ever had. During their first trip to ‪door County‬ together they visited Cave Point County Park, where Tim would eventually propose to Hannah exactly 5 years later.    Now the adventure really begins.