You walked into Jerin's apartment with a bag of oranges & I threw my arms around you. We hadn't seen each other for a couple years. The next couple of weeks you texted me nearly every day, offered me a ride to the beach party, & initiated an extremely uncomfortable hug. You were so sweet but so obvious & I didn’t want to hurt you. I had previously decided I wasn't dating anyone until I moved to TN. So I shut you down. You reacted with kindness & understanding & reassured me that we were still best friends. It wasn’t long before I missed you. So naturally, I asked you for advice about relationships to get the conversations rolling again. I was skeptical about our first trip to Bowling Green. But we went, I laid my head on your shoulder, & you just let me sleep. On our last trip it was so obvious that we had feelings for each other. On the way home you tried bringing it up, but my stomach hurt so I avoided the conversation. I knew I liked you, I knew I was leading you on, I knew I was going to tell you no again. We pulled into your driveway & I shut off my car. “We gotta talk about... all this.” I was prepared with a list of reasons why we shouldn't date. With every excuse I gave you, you smiled & responded exactly the way I wished you would. God made it clear to me that night – even though I was reluctant to date anyone, I had to give you a chance. After going back and forth so many times, I had no more excuses or reasons to tell you no. “Okay.” “Okay?!” “Okay.” The smile on your face is something I’ll never forget. You kept every promise to me. You supported me in every way you knew how. You listened to my team's presentation about the Magic Castle more than a dozen times, filled my gas tank while I was in class, left encouraging notes on my car, brought me lunch because you knew I hadn't eaten, listened to me cry with a smile, modeled for my photo shoots, made me laugh & loved me without saying the words "I love you."