I'm not sure if anyone here will remember me, but I joined in October of '09, shortly after I started a long distance relationship with my now-husband Aaron. I stopped posting shortly after we ended the distance when the forums were in transition. Here's our story 
Aaron first saw me on 'Are You Interested?' a ridiculous Facebook app that I had added out of curiosity, and had been embarrassed to learn was no more than Hot-or-Not mixed with a dating service. He clicked Yes on me, but three months out of a bad relationship, I was certain he would be just another player. He persisted, and something about him drew me in, and I had the strangest feeling that a decision that small could change my life. Finally--on September 21st--I clicked Yes on him too, and replied to his message, telling him if he really had any interest in getting to know me, he should add me on Facebook. He did, and it only took one conversation for him to prove me wrong.
We talked every night, but one, and had an unquenchable desire to learn as much about each other as possible. In the first week, we all but wore out the question game, and quickly became friends...Not long after we started talking Aaron not-so-subtly hinted that he would be willing to give a long-distance relationship a try since he had seen such a success with it in his friend his girlfriend and later how he had been thinking that if he chose to go to a certain school the next year, he would be that much closer to me. I responded in kind, thrilled that he was obviously feeling what I was. We have always been open, so we shared how surprised we were at how quickly, smoothly, fantastically things were moving…Neither of us wanted to put a stop to what was happening between us.
My heart fell further when we had our first conversation. Hearing his voice, and his accent, for the first time was amazing. He’s from Wisconsin originally, and had moved that same year to North Carolina to be with his family (Army chaplain father, Marine brother), and his slight accent is adorable. I have always been told that I don’t have even a hint of an accent, but Aaron claimed I had a Southern accent. I suppose it’s understandable since I am from West Virginia…He found my accent adorable as well, and called me his “Southern Belle.”
I knew it would be right to take the risk of starting something with him when he laid it all on the line. He told me whether I wanted to take things slow, or make things official, or even leave things just as they were, he supported that because he knew without a doubt how he felt and that would never change. He had no interest in getting to know anyone else for a relationship, or anything else, he said, so not to feel pressured to rush into anything because he would be there waiting for me. Without me having to say a word, he understood my hesitation, a hesitation I never let him see. In that moment I made my decision, and a couple of days later--on the 7th of October--we became a couple. From the start, it has been incredible, and since we became a couple, it has only grown in measure.
When we planned to meet, I was so excited and nervous. I had faith in him, and what’s between us, but I am also human enough to have doubts…mainly about whether he would like me as much in person as he did online. It turned out to be the best, most incredible day and a half of my life…I drove to meet him at the inn where he would be staying, and my heart nearly beat me to death. I looked for a white truck, but didn’t see one without a company emblem, so I parked near the hotel office, and got out, punching his number into my phone. I intended to call him, and tell him to meet me inside, but something had me looking to my left. There he was, standing with his arms crossed and Brandon--his brother--sat on the back of the truck. My heart stopped, because he was even more gorgeous in person than he was in his photos, and I could hardly believe that he was here with me when I had wished for it so many times…It was so amazing to see him in person, or “3D” as he said since we had only seen each other on webcam and in pictures. We hugged tightly, and talked a little, and just got used to being together. Brandon had come along to keep Aaron from getting too bored on the five hour drive, and did his best to be invisible, and did his own thing the first day of Aaron’s visit. Aaron gave me a dozen roses, and I later learned I was the first girl he had ever given flowers. He told me how he had wanted to get me something special when he remember how much I love flowers….We went to The Island and walked along the river, holding hands, until the shore ran out and talked about everything under the sun. At the end of our walk, he had me choose a stone for him to keep, so I chose one that made a nearly-perfect circle, like serendipity.
At the park, we went to the empty ampitheater and jokingly performed, we played on the swings and the playground equipment. We sat in the tunnels of the fort and talked. I was so tempted to kiss him, but resisted the urge. As we were headed back to Aaron’s truck, I felt him press something into the palm of my hand. His keys. I had never driven a truck before, and while the idea of it was at first terrifying, it was fun! We picked Brandon something up to eat from Wendy’s before we went to my favorite Chinese restaurant. Once there, we shared good food and conversation, and simply enjoyed being together. We smiled over our fortunes, and mine read, “There’s a deep, sincere friendship between you both.” Fitting since we both found friendship to be the most important foundation for a relationship.
After, I took him to a surprise location. The whole time that we were planning his trip, he knew there was a place I wanted to take him. and I managed to keep it a secret, somehow. I had only been to this place once before, at night, so it was an adventure to find. We got lost twice, first finding ourselves at an abandoned campsite with a strange dock. We joked that it could be the set of a horror film, but then after a similar occurrence, we found it: A place off the Greenbrier River Trail where the rocks make a pathway out to a huge boulder in the middle of the river. Together we stood on the boulder, the river rushing below us, and the stars shining ever-bright above, and it was breathtaking. He loved it. Aaron thanked me for sharing it with him, and later, for being a part of the best date he had ever been on.
We stood, holding each other for a few moments, and then he looked down at me, and softly asked if he could kiss me. My heart skipped a beat as I whispered, “Yes,” and I swear that kiss lasted forever…and lead to many more. He was surprised when I deepened the kiss, and that alone would have been enough to tell me he wasn’t at all like the others. I don’t know how long we stood together. We slow danced as a star fell, and then laid together, gazing at the stars. We pointed out the stars, and talked, and then we were kissing again. In between kisses, we gazed so deeply into each others’ eyes*, touching faces like we were memorizing every detail, cherishing every moment. We stayed out for hours, but it seemed like moments. And when the night began to cool, he have me his jacket to wear.
We went back to the hotel late that night and cuddled and talked while his brother chatted with a friend online and pretended not to notice. It was so hard to leave him that night…The next morning he took Brandon and me out for breakfast before we toured my town. We toured my town, visited the mass burial ground, went to the toy store, and a couple of art galleries before deciding to go bowling. I am horrible at bowling, but it was fun, nonetheless. Afterwards, we went to the mountain where my grandparents live. I had wanted to take him there, but had been unsure he would want to go, so it meant a great deal to me that he suggested it. Aaron wasn’t able to meet my family, because they got sick, but he was able to meet my grandparents and they loved him. While I knew he was special, it stunned me that they recognized that since they were never too fond of my boyfriends or interests.
We went hiking together, and to the overlook a friend and I had discovered one summer as kids. There we took our first photos together. On the way back, we got followed by two goats and a dog. We had to outsmart them to get away, making it quite comedic. It was great fun even though we had encounters with spiders and a snake. When we were almost back to my grandparents’ house, he asked me if I thought it was possible that God had made us for each other. I told him I thought there was a chance, and smiling, he told me he hoped so.
Back at my grandparents’, he sat and talked with them before we left for town. We both knew our time together was drawing to a close, but we refused to let that overshadow our last moments together. When we weren’t far from the hotel, he tried to find “Your Guardian Angel” by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus in his playlist since it’s our song, but we didn’t find it in time…At the hotel, we held each other, kissed, talked, and made plans for when I would visit him in North Carolina, which we hoped would be soon, and countless other things. And our “goodbye” stretched on. I gave him an oil painting and you would have thought I had given him the world. He had hinted on several occasions that he wanted one of my paintings, so I gave him my favorite--one I had painted one night when we were talking on the phone. I suppose it was always meant to be his…He told me it was the best gift anyone had ever given him.
We hated the finality of “goodbye,” so we left on a “see you later” and a kiss. At the traffic light, he blew me a kiss, and we drove our separate ways, and the song “Best I Ever Had” by Drake came on the radio. It was perfect since Aaron told me that song reminded him of me, and later I learned, he had played that very song once he was on the interstate.
Aaron first saw me on 'Are You Interested?' a ridiculous Facebook app that I had added out of curiosity, and had been embarrassed to learn was no more than Hot-or-Not mixed with a dating service. He clicked Yes on me, but three months out of a bad relationship, I was certain he would be just another player. He persisted, and something about him drew me in, and I had the strangest feeling that a decision that small could change my life. Finally--on September 21st--I clicked Yes on him too, and replied to his message, telling him if he really had any interest in getting to know me, he should add me on Facebook. He did, and it only took one conversation for him to prove me wrong.
We talked every night, but one, and had an unquenchable desire to learn as much about each other as possible. In the first week, we all but wore out the question game, and quickly became friends...Not long after we started talking Aaron not-so-subtly hinted that he would be willing to give a long-distance relationship a try since he had seen such a success with it in his friend his girlfriend and later how he had been thinking that if he chose to go to a certain school the next year, he would be that much closer to me. I responded in kind, thrilled that he was obviously feeling what I was. We have always been open, so we shared how surprised we were at how quickly, smoothly, fantastically things were moving…Neither of us wanted to put a stop to what was happening between us.
My heart fell further when we had our first conversation. Hearing his voice, and his accent, for the first time was amazing. He’s from Wisconsin originally, and had moved that same year to North Carolina to be with his family (Army chaplain father, Marine brother), and his slight accent is adorable. I have always been told that I don’t have even a hint of an accent, but Aaron claimed I had a Southern accent. I suppose it’s understandable since I am from West Virginia…He found my accent adorable as well, and called me his “Southern Belle.”
I knew it would be right to take the risk of starting something with him when he laid it all on the line. He told me whether I wanted to take things slow, or make things official, or even leave things just as they were, he supported that because he knew without a doubt how he felt and that would never change. He had no interest in getting to know anyone else for a relationship, or anything else, he said, so not to feel pressured to rush into anything because he would be there waiting for me. Without me having to say a word, he understood my hesitation, a hesitation I never let him see. In that moment I made my decision, and a couple of days later--on the 7th of October--we became a couple. From the start, it has been incredible, and since we became a couple, it has only grown in measure.
When we planned to meet, I was so excited and nervous. I had faith in him, and what’s between us, but I am also human enough to have doubts…mainly about whether he would like me as much in person as he did online. It turned out to be the best, most incredible day and a half of my life…I drove to meet him at the inn where he would be staying, and my heart nearly beat me to death. I looked for a white truck, but didn’t see one without a company emblem, so I parked near the hotel office, and got out, punching his number into my phone. I intended to call him, and tell him to meet me inside, but something had me looking to my left. There he was, standing with his arms crossed and Brandon--his brother--sat on the back of the truck. My heart stopped, because he was even more gorgeous in person than he was in his photos, and I could hardly believe that he was here with me when I had wished for it so many times…It was so amazing to see him in person, or “3D” as he said since we had only seen each other on webcam and in pictures. We hugged tightly, and talked a little, and just got used to being together. Brandon had come along to keep Aaron from getting too bored on the five hour drive, and did his best to be invisible, and did his own thing the first day of Aaron’s visit. Aaron gave me a dozen roses, and I later learned I was the first girl he had ever given flowers. He told me how he had wanted to get me something special when he remember how much I love flowers….We went to The Island and walked along the river, holding hands, until the shore ran out and talked about everything under the sun. At the end of our walk, he had me choose a stone for him to keep, so I chose one that made a nearly-perfect circle, like serendipity.
At the park, we went to the empty ampitheater and jokingly performed, we played on the swings and the playground equipment. We sat in the tunnels of the fort and talked. I was so tempted to kiss him, but resisted the urge. As we were headed back to Aaron’s truck, I felt him press something into the palm of my hand. His keys. I had never driven a truck before, and while the idea of it was at first terrifying, it was fun! We picked Brandon something up to eat from Wendy’s before we went to my favorite Chinese restaurant. Once there, we shared good food and conversation, and simply enjoyed being together. We smiled over our fortunes, and mine read, “There’s a deep, sincere friendship between you both.” Fitting since we both found friendship to be the most important foundation for a relationship.
After, I took him to a surprise location. The whole time that we were planning his trip, he knew there was a place I wanted to take him. and I managed to keep it a secret, somehow. I had only been to this place once before, at night, so it was an adventure to find. We got lost twice, first finding ourselves at an abandoned campsite with a strange dock. We joked that it could be the set of a horror film, but then after a similar occurrence, we found it: A place off the Greenbrier River Trail where the rocks make a pathway out to a huge boulder in the middle of the river. Together we stood on the boulder, the river rushing below us, and the stars shining ever-bright above, and it was breathtaking. He loved it. Aaron thanked me for sharing it with him, and later, for being a part of the best date he had ever been on.
We stood, holding each other for a few moments, and then he looked down at me, and softly asked if he could kiss me. My heart skipped a beat as I whispered, “Yes,” and I swear that kiss lasted forever…and lead to many more. He was surprised when I deepened the kiss, and that alone would have been enough to tell me he wasn’t at all like the others. I don’t know how long we stood together. We slow danced as a star fell, and then laid together, gazing at the stars. We pointed out the stars, and talked, and then we were kissing again. In between kisses, we gazed so deeply into each others’ eyes*, touching faces like we were memorizing every detail, cherishing every moment. We stayed out for hours, but it seemed like moments. And when the night began to cool, he have me his jacket to wear.
We went back to the hotel late that night and cuddled and talked while his brother chatted with a friend online and pretended not to notice. It was so hard to leave him that night…The next morning he took Brandon and me out for breakfast before we toured my town. We toured my town, visited the mass burial ground, went to the toy store, and a couple of art galleries before deciding to go bowling. I am horrible at bowling, but it was fun, nonetheless. Afterwards, we went to the mountain where my grandparents live. I had wanted to take him there, but had been unsure he would want to go, so it meant a great deal to me that he suggested it. Aaron wasn’t able to meet my family, because they got sick, but he was able to meet my grandparents and they loved him. While I knew he was special, it stunned me that they recognized that since they were never too fond of my boyfriends or interests.
We went hiking together, and to the overlook a friend and I had discovered one summer as kids. There we took our first photos together. On the way back, we got followed by two goats and a dog. We had to outsmart them to get away, making it quite comedic. It was great fun even though we had encounters with spiders and a snake. When we were almost back to my grandparents’ house, he asked me if I thought it was possible that God had made us for each other. I told him I thought there was a chance, and smiling, he told me he hoped so.
Back at my grandparents’, he sat and talked with them before we left for town. We both knew our time together was drawing to a close, but we refused to let that overshadow our last moments together. When we weren’t far from the hotel, he tried to find “Your Guardian Angel” by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus in his playlist since it’s our song, but we didn’t find it in time…At the hotel, we held each other, kissed, talked, and made plans for when I would visit him in North Carolina, which we hoped would be soon, and countless other things. And our “goodbye” stretched on. I gave him an oil painting and you would have thought I had given him the world. He had hinted on several occasions that he wanted one of my paintings, so I gave him my favorite--one I had painted one night when we were talking on the phone. I suppose it was always meant to be his…He told me it was the best gift anyone had ever given him.
We hated the finality of “goodbye,” so we left on a “see you later” and a kiss. At the traffic light, he blew me a kiss, and we drove our separate ways, and the song “Best I Ever Had” by Drake came on the radio. It was perfect since Aaron told me that song reminded him of me, and later I learned, he had played that very song once he was on the interstate.
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