Love Story, Pt. 2

Two weeks later...New Year's Eve, 2000...We both attended a progressive party that evening starting at our friend Sarah's house and ending at our friend Emily's house. I remember seeing her at Sarah's, and I remember remembering her from the Logan's parking lot. I led in with probably the cheesiest line about how I would dance with her on the beach in the headlights of my Jeep ala Zach Morris from Saved by the Bell. I still don't know why, but it worked. We talked off and on through the party, but I didn't "make my move" until later in the night.

"Would it be okay if I took you out sometime?"--Matt

"Of course."--Jenny

"Oh man, oh man, oh man, yeah, yeah, wow, she's really hot, oh man, don't mess this up."--Matt's Insides

I'll never forget the little yellow napkin she wrote her number on for me. It had her name, a smiley face, and those great seven numbers: 867-5309. Wait...nevermind. Now, I'm generally a believer in the two-three day rule for calling a girl so you don't look desperate, but I was ready to call later that night. I think I held off for 34 1/2 hours before I caved to the yellow napkin. We were set for date number 1 on Friday night. Now, I had to plan.

It was the kind of first date you dream of. The conversation never hit a lull, and it was a great time. I knew when she said she wanted to see "Dude, Where's My Car?" that this was the start of something special. And it was. For the next five months or so, we were pretty much inseparable. I'm sure that her mom often grew tired of this 18 year old kid hanging at her apartment every single day, but I couldn't get enough time with Jenny. It seemed as if nothing could bring us down to reality.

Going off to college has a way of bringing you down to reality, doesn't it? The only sad part of this story happened a couple of weeks after graduation in the summer of 2001. It was time to put high school behind us and look forward to the things to come. We weren't meant to be a part of each other's college experience. Well, the first two years of college anyway.

Don't be sad. It all comes full circle in the end. Stay tuned for Part 3 coming soon.