when you know, you know. ya know? part 5

After a night of botched plans, we agreed to have a re-do and go out again.
He took me to a quaint café, and this time I knew I needed to spill the beans about my relationship with Home Teacher. This was going to be brutal.
He listened. Sometimes looking concerned. Sometimes confused.

“I guess I should tell you about a girl in Arizona.” He confessed. He was just letting go of a relationship as well. In fact, he had just been with her a week earlier.
We agreed we were both on the rebound. So where do we go from here? I honestly had no idea.

The next day as I was walking out of class, Jeff was waiting at the bottom of the stairs to talk with me. “Hey, I just want you to know that I’m okay with what you told me last night. I don’t think you’re weird even though you probably feel pretty vulnerable right now.” 
He was right. I had felt like an open book with my excess baggage scattered all around me. What a relief that he didn’t feel the urge to run the other way, leaving it all at my feet.

But the drama wasn’t quite over yet. Not too much time went by before Home Teacher resurfaced. Without going into too much detail, all I can say is it was painful.  I couldn’t handle this anymore—no men, no dating, and no relationships of any sort. I needed out.

I met up with Jeff to break the news. 
“I need some time.” I lamented. “I have to clear my mind and not hurt anyone else. So if you want to move on, go ahead.”
“I understand,” he said. “Take whatever time you need. But if it were up to me, I’d still be with you every day.”
“You are too nice.” I said, shocked at his reply. “This could take months though.”
“Well, I won’t just be sitting around. But you know where to find me.”

It would take months. I was sure of it. I didn’t want to even think about the opposite sex at all. Nope. Not one bit.

So how long did my self-imposed quarantine last? Three excruciatingly long days. On the third night, I showed up at his door holding a single gerbera daisy. I timidly knocked and waited. The door opened and immediately a house full of people was staring at a ridiculously frightened girl wanting to shrink in embarrassment. They were having a party. Just great.

His back was towards me. He was on the phone. I was tempted to drop the flower and hide. All eyes followed as someone nudged him to turn around. Looking at me in disbelief, he stopped mid sentence. His conversation ended short as he quickly hung up the phone, stepped outside, and closed the door.

He grinned with amazement. “Does this mean what I think it does?”
“Yes,” my voice trembled. “I’m ready. I want this. With you.”

From then on, we spent every spare minute together. The days simply weren’t long enough. That Sunday evening we decided to hang out and watch one of my favorite love stories—Legacy. As we were sitting on the couch, an intensely warm and electrifying feeling swept over me. A thought passed clearly through my mind, You could be really good together. Stunned, I glanced over at him. He looked me with the same wonder.
“Are you feeling what I’m feeling?” he asked.
Nervously, I replied, “I think so.”
He pulled me close without saying a word. But we both knew. No doubts. No doubts at all.

Blissfully I sailed home and through my apartment door. My roommates anxiously asked for the update. “What do you think?” “What happened?” “Is he the one?” They grilled me with excitement. My back against the bedroom wall, I slid down and wrapped my hands around my knees.

Undeniably, I knew I would spend my life and longer with him.